Bulgari Divina Mosaica watches
The Roman house of Bulgari has long been known for its high jewelry and for its command of watchmaking. Now, in its newest watch collection, Divina Mosaica, the brand brings its expertise from both worlds together in a motif inspired by ancient Roman mosaic work. In fact, the brand’s designers journeyed back to the Baths of Caracalla when creating this series.
The ancient Roman public baths were built between AD 216 and AD 235 and were used for about 300 years before falling into ruin, but they have long served as inspiration for other buildings and art works, including Pennsylvania Station in New York and the Farnese Bull. Now, the fan-shaped mosaic floors of the baths are the muse for the Divina Mosaica watches – a series of three high-jeweled masterpieces.
Bulgari Divina Mosaica Minute Repeater ensconced in diamonds.
Using the round Diva case with fluted lugs, the Divina watches are a mesmerizing mosaic of diamonds and gemstones. The highlight of the collection is an all-diamond version that features multiple cuts of diamonds meticulously set on the dial to form a fan motif, on the case, case sides, lugs and more. The watch is powered by a mechanical hand-wound movement that includes a minute repeater function. From the case side at 7:00, a diamond-set fan-shaped charm is the activator for the repeater. When pulled, the watch chimes the hours, the quarter hours and the minutes past the quarter hour in beautiful harmony using two hammers and a gong. The complex caliber inside this watch is the world’s thinnest repeater movement.
The 37mm 18-karat white gold Divina Mosaica Minute Repeater is entirely set with brilliant- and baguette-cut diamonds set in a mosaic pattern. Exactly 689 diamonds weighing 11.6 carats grace this timepiece. Each stone is individually set by hand, requiring hundreds of hours of craftsmanship. The watch is finished with a blue cabochon-cut sapphire for the crown and a blue alligator strap.
Bulgari Divina Mosaica Tsavorite watch
The other two versions bring vivid color to the forefront. Each of the two 37mm color gemstone versions house the mechanical self-winding Manufacture movement, Caliber BVL 191 that offers hours and minutes. The Divina Mosaica Pink Sapphire watch is crafted in 18-karat rose gold and features a bezel set with baguette-cut pink sapphires. The bracelet lugs are set with brilliant-cut diamonds and edged with baguette-cut pink sapphires. The fan motif on the dial is created using a mix of different pink sapphire hues and diamonds. In total, the watch is set with 282 diamonds weighing 2.16 carats and 261 pink sapphires weighing 12.7 carats. IT is finished with a purple alligator strap with a rose gold folding clasp that is also set with baguette-cut pink sapphires.
The Divina Mosaica Tsavorite watch is crafted in 18-karat white gold and is set with 282 brilliant-cud diamonds on the dial and the lugs, and with 262 tsavorites. The lugs and the case are set with matching-hued baguette-cut tsavorites, while the fan motif on the dial uses gradient tones of green tsavorite to form the pattern. The watch is finished with a green tsavorite cabochon-cut crown and green alligator strap.
This article by Roberta Naas first appeared on Forbes.com.
