Bulgari unveiled some very bold new products at Geneva Watch Days. Is boldness part of the brand's philosophy?
Boldness has been embedded in Bulgari's DNA since the company was founded in 1884. Sotirio Bulgari was a Greek immigrant who came to Italy to set up his jewelry workshop in Rome, and his vision was to sell his creations directly to customers rather than through wholesalers. So boldness is very much part of Bulgari.
You've just published a book retracing over 100 years of Bulgari watchmaking. What's so special about it?
We did indeed celebrate the centenary of Bulgari watchmaking five years ago, yet this art book was not only written by recognized experts. Its originality lies in the contribution of athletes such as Carl Lewis and artists such as Alessandro Gassmann, as we wanted to showcase the art of watchmaking at Bulgari, including from the standpoint of those who admire and wear the brand's products as customers. This type of content is unique, admirably backed by a very high level of production quality and strong emotional content.
As CEO of the Bulgari Group, are you observing any particular trends in luxury goods beyond watchmaking?
We were seeing certain tendencies prior to Covid that have since been amplified, resulting in fewer purchases yet of higher value, with many customers empowering themselves to consume luxury by paying attention to authenticity, craftsmanship, quality, durability and in fact the entire range of our brand values. As a jeweler, we're fortunate in that preciousness is inherently part of our offering and everything we create conveys rarity and intrinsic value, as everyone knows that precious stones are rare and gold is a safe-haven asset. This is also true of watches.
In addition, we're witnessing an accelerating polarization of the market, with the big brands gaining importance; and on the other hand, new niche brands emerging and rapidly gaining notoriety because they bring freshness. Take the example of Geneva Watch Days, which united 40 brands, two-thirds of which are not yet very well known to the general public, yet are still successful – as shown by our panels which revealed they have earned a total of 60 GPHG awards, including two “Aiguille d’Or” best-in-show prizes. The general public is gradually discovering them through similar events and we can expect them to break through and forge the future of Swiss Haute Horlogerie, which is resilient but needs to integrate such new players and their creations.
When you look to the future of Bulgari, what would you like to see?
Bulgari's future lies in respecting its Roman roots which are an integral part of the brand success, as well as in remaining true to the boldness and innovation that have forged its DNA. We want to integrate technology into the beauty of watchmaking in order to make our watches even more appealing, for example with a sculpted QR code giving access to a digital universe revealing all the nano-components powering a watch, without compromising in terms of mechanical expertise and yet without becoming a tech brand. We will also increase the emotional importance of belonging to the Bulgari community, drawing on our other fields of expertise to increase the desirability of watchmaking. At one end of the spectrum, Bulgari fragrances bring in new Gen Z customers who still have modest means; and at the other end, Bulgari hotels are the most expensive in the world and welcome high wealth individuals who are naturally willing to treat themselves to our watches and jewelry.
You mentioned very strong growth, outperforming the industry as a whole. To what do you attribute this?
I would single out two elements. About ten years ago, we went back to the drawing board and abandoned most of the existing models in an attempt to transform those we found extremely interesting, such as Octo and Serpenti, and turn them into icons. It was ambitious, naive and pretentious, yet in the end, innovation after innovation, through Finissimo for Octo and Picolissimo for Serpenti, we are succeeding. Above and beyond the reputation and respect earned by these two collections, it's also a commercial success, so we're starting to reap what we've sown over the last ten years.
Moreover, as a jeweler, Bulgari has a strong feminine bias, being one of those rare brands that create watches for women from a blank sheet of paper, such as our Diva, Lucea or Serpenti collections. Today, it's clear that the ladies’ watch market has enormous potential that has been somewhat ignored by the watch industry, whose roots are extremely masculine and whose icons are 95% masculine. The feminine range remains poor even today, except through jewelry watches which have always been created for women and which achieve higher resonance than masculine brands that simply reduce the diameter while adding a little mother-of-pearl and diamonds. Sales of ladies’ watches are exploding and the first to benefit are brands recognized by women, spearheaded by jewelry brands such as Bulgari.
You are one of the emblematic bosses who have made their mark on the watch industry, having won two “Aiguilles d'Or” awards at the GPHG for two different brands, as well as founding Geneva Watch Days in an entrepreneurial and unifying spirit. What else might still nurture your career?
Above all, I want to keep going, because Bulgari is still in its infancy. This may seem paradoxical given how far we've come in ten years, yet I'm convinced that this brand has a potential that's hugely underestimated, whether in watchmaking, jewelry or the luxury hotel business. We could quite easily double their turnover quite quickly, it's entirely feasible. Some brands are twice our size and if they could do it, it's within our reach, especially as Bulgari is on a roll. We focus our communication on unique points of attraction, while differentiating ourselves through a blend of inclusion and diversity. Bulgari expresses itself through personalities as strong and varied as Zendaya, Lisa, Anne Hathaway and Liu Yife. It’s a brand that speaks to women locally and globally, whatever their culture, something that is quite unique in the luxury sector. However, one of my greatest professional satisfactions lies in the 4,500 jobs we've created in five years, across our entire range of skills. It's a huge HR challenge, which must be backed by watchmaking schools like those we've set up in the field of jewelry, but what a joy it is to enable so many people to blossom and grow with us!
Bulgari's one-of-a-kind model for this edition of Only Watch is spectacular; what are your expectations?
Only Watch is a great cause, and Bulgari has always been a very generous brand: the Bulgari brothers were great patrons of the arts and we respect this heritage through artistic and musical, humanitarian, educational and medical sponsorship. Only Watch has another dimension, being at the heart of medical research and watchmaking creation. For us, it's above all a gesture of solidarity that confirms all our actions in this field, with an operation that must generate the greatest possible proceeds, because that's the very reason for being of Only Watch. We thus went in search of the impossible: a marble watch. Marble, of course, stands for Rome, so this is a very Bulgari watch – and at the same time unprecedented. We're accentuating the paradox with the Finissimo, which is intended to be the exact opposite of marble that is by definition massive and thick. We therefore hope it will spark a lot of interest and fetch a very high price so as to contribute to the success of Only Watch.
You initiated Geneva Watch Days event which has clearly turned a corner with this fourth edition, but do you think it has reached cruising speed?
In terms of the number of brands, we're far from having reached our maximum capacity, because the concept itself has no capacity or space limits, insofar as each brand arranges its participation according to its needs and means, relying on boutiques or hotel suites. If next year we attract 50 or 60, that's no problem, and given the success of the first 4 editions, along with the massive support of Geneva's watchmaking institutions, it seems obvious that we're going to step up the promotion of this event. I don't think it's just a watch fair, but rather a genuine forum and platform for exchanges. While the presentation of new products is of course important, the educational and informative part of the event is an enormous boost to our understanding of watchmaking. The desire for horology can inspire vocations and attract both young customers and young recruits, to whom we give the opportunity to discover our professions. Our auction indeed helped finance a dozen scholarships for the Geneva Watchmaking School. At Geneva Watch Days, the experience is as important as the commercial dimension, and we are not in competition with – but rather complementary to – other watchmaking events, both in terms of timing and participating brands. I'd like to accentuate this platform approach while continuing to attract other brands, including so that retailers and journalists can meet as many participants as possible at the event.
