Initially created as a gift watch for the exclusive clientele of the brand back in 1975, Bulgari Roma celebrated its 40th Anniversary with a limited edition collection. Despite its off-the-radar looks, the new Bulgari Roma caught our attention at first sight.
In fact, Bulgari Roma is a pretty well known model among both brand’s loyal customers and watch enthusiast. Though it’s been a little overshadowed by the iconic product lines of the brand like Diagono, Tubogas and Serpenti, Bulgari Roma was always considered as an exquisite timepiece which successfully reflected the brand’s unique styling and un-matched craftsmanship.
In the meantime, Bulgari Roma has an interesting story. Back in 1975, Bulgari decided to give a gift to its 100 exclusive customers around the world. Since the customers on the list would be chosen for their keen loyalty for the brands jewelry, that gift could not be something jewelry. So, Bulgari decided to give a wristwatch as gift and Bulgari Roma was born.
This special edition Bulgari Roma was produced in solid 18K yellow gold with a leather/fabric ( rope to be specific ) combined strap. Featuring a great assortment of Bulgari’s design clues and unique style, Bulgari Roma was fitted with a digital caliber which was quite trendy back then. From the very first moment Bulgari Roma was seen on the wrists of that exclusive hundred which were the closest to the maison, that little timepiece had made an amazing success. Bulgari had a storm of orders and eventually decided to add Bulgari Roma to the regular product line.
Bulgari Roma had very minor revisions and upgraded in terms of visual appearance. It is still considered as one the most refined designs of the brand with. In 2015, the Italian origin brand, decided to tribute its successful product line with a collection of limited models in 40 pieces of each, highlighting the 40th anniversary of Bulgari Roma under the leadership of the brand’s visionary CEO Jean-Christophe Babin.
Let’s take a close look at the collection’s stainless steel version Bulgari Roma Finissimo reference BB41BSLXT – 102357 which we had the opportunity to review in the beautiful Bulgari Boutique at Zorlu Center Shopping Mall.
Bulgari made a great progress especially for the past few years in terms of traditional watch making. We saw many new timepieces from the brand with numerous technical refinements and in-house calibers and Bulgari Roma Finissimo is no exception.
The stainless steel case features very elegant lines in a pretty bold sizing with 41mm diameter. The case offers a great wearing comfort thanks to its thickness at only 5,15mm and features sapphire crystals on both front and back sides. The elegant winding crown nicely fits with the all mirror polished case. The bezel bears the Bulgari Roma engraving like the early variants of the model. Besides its perfect balance, the case wears a bit bigger than 40mm due to its short lugs and simple design.
The dial is finished in black color with polished accents. The hour markers are baton shaped except 6 and 12 which are designed in Arabic numerals. The hands are also designed pretty simple like the indices. The small second dial is located at 7 o’clock position and it is very successful for bringing some heat without compromising the overall elegant look of the watch.
Bulgari Roma Finissimo is powered up with the brand’s in-house movement Caliber BVL 128. Manual winding movement beats at 28800vph and offers an impressive power reserve of 65 hours when fully wound. The movement features a small second at 7 o’clock position and a power reserve indicator at the back side which can be monitored through the sapphire crystal caseback.
The model is offered on a black crocodile strap with a stainless steel tang buckle.
