Piece of Admiration – Bvlgari pays tribute the 50th anniversary of the Gérald Genta brand with a new modern take of his iconic design
Looking back through the history of the brand, Bvlgari acquired Gérald Genta—a brand founded in 1969 by the designer and watch master genius himself—back in 2000. After that, the joined story of the two houses of excellence begun. His expertise, extraordinary know how, soul and most of the company’s highly skilled watchmakers have been integrated into the Bvlgari’s state-of-the-art manufacture in Le Sentier, Switzerland. In the last decades, this savoir-faire wasn’t merely preserved, but has served as an inspiration and a driving force for Bvlgari to establish itself in the top league of high-end swiss watchmakers. Now, exactly 50 years later, Bvlgari pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the brand that they acquired almost 20 years ago with a modern interpretation of one of the watch designer’s most iconic creations, the Arena Bi-Retro.
Historical Moment
One thing for sure, Bvlgari’s fast-paced growth in the watch industry can’t be separated from its wise decision to acquire Genta’s brand almost two decades ago. This very particular acquisition of Genta’s exceptional know-how gave further confidence and ambition to Bvlgari. On top of that, this historical moment also gave the brand an extra inspiration to venture into haute horlogerie complications, such as chiming mechanisms as well as eventually to envision and develop finissimo ultra-thin movements that have garnered Bvlgari four world records to date.
As suggested by the many watchmaking Grand Prix awards and other distinctions won in recent years, Gérald Genta surely has been an accelerator and an inspiration for Bvlgari horlogerie to enter and establish itself in the top league of high-end Swiss watchmakers. To top it off, daring to be different is a quality that Bvlgari enshrines in each of its watches, and it’s supported by the fact that their manufacture continues to push the boundaries of feasibility in terms of mechanical bravado as well as aesthetics. By capitalizing on the successful integration of Gérald Genta’s horological skills and brilliance with Bvlgari’s strong sense of style and also Italian flair; the result is surely exceptional.
New Endeavor
Moving on, Bvlgari pays homage to the role that Gérald Genta has played in their watchmaking success over the past 18 years, by unveiling the new modern take from one of his iconic design, titled Bvlgari Gérald Genta 50th anniversary Arena Bi-Retro. The launch of this watch—which bears the original Gérald Genta logo up front on the dial—also comes with the famous chunky, round arena case, with a smooth, wide, curved bezel in highly polished platinum.
Moreover, the jumping hours in this watch are displayed through a window at 12 o’clock, while the minutes are tracked on an arc spanning the top half of the blue lacquer dial, across which the minute hand travels and snaps back to zero every 60 minutes. Likewise, for the date, it also comes in a smaller arc at 6 o’clock. inside, the watch is powered by manufacture mechanical movement Bi-Retro BVL 300 caliber with a bidirectional self-winding movement. Then, the watch is completed with 42-hour power reserve and 41mm in diameter that fitted with blue alligator strap. Meanwhile, the beauty of the watch’s complex mechanism is visible through the scratch resistant sapphire case back.
All in all, with a special jumping hours in platinum edition honoring half a century of watchmaking genius and expertise, this watch showcases the brand’s technical prowess and their own ability to combine it with their design codes, and also an admiration to the man who laid the foundations for its watchmaking success. In short, no matter if you’re interested in the latest addition from Bvlgari or if you’ve always been mesmerized by mechanical timekeeping from Gérald Genta, no matter what your personal style is, whether you’re a collector or not, the Bvlgari Gérald Genta 50th anniversary Arena Bi-Retro is definitely a solid option worthy of a closer look.
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