Bvlgari now a respected watchmaker and jeweller
“Day & Night” magazine had the opportunity to sit down with Jean Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari, when he was in town recently to unveil the second edition of the Jannah High Jewellery collection. This gave us a chance to quiz him on the recent honours heaped on the brand for its horological accomplishments…
How does it feel for Bvlgari to win the “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix for your Octo Finissimo watch?
The first feeling is one of pride in the team, which has written a new page in watchmaking. We have been creating new mechanical movements, making them compatible with contemporary menswear with the slim-fit, and for doing that, we had to re-think quite a bit about what our mechanical movements should be made of – in terms of components, to remain accurate and reliable and, at the same time, to be exquisite and fit in elegant watches.
It is a great source of pride to be the first Italian brand and a brand that is not a purely-watches player to ever win the Golden Hand. It also helps us establish legitimacy for a watch brand less than a decade old. Obviously, we had an established reputation for designs as a jewellery brand, and also for watches, but not for complications or sophisticated watches. In less than a decade – thanks partly to Finissimo – we have managed to attain a strong reputation with specialists like you, collectors, the best retailers, and gradually with the final client.
For me, the Golden Hand is the crowning jewel in the genre of Swiss watchmaking. I cannot remember any brand innovating in just seven years – year after year, breaking new records, and eventually revolutionising the way you design and develop a mechanical watch movement so it can fit with a new look; daring to dress it in a very modern design. We are now considered and respected not only as jewellers but as true watchmakers, which opens for the company, new fields in terms of development. Once you have developed legitimacy and credibility in watches, you can aim, gradually, to become part of the top 10 and make watches that are really big in the business. Until you get to that position, you can always be admired for your style, but you remain in the second league. Now, probably, we will begin to be considered as first-league players.
Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar Tantalum sold for CHF220,000 at Only Watch 2021; how important is Only Watch for the brand and are you satisfied with the price?
I was amazed at the price because it was about four times more than the retail price, even though there really is no retail price as it is a unique piece. The retail price would have been around the same as for a perpetual calendar, therefore, around CHF60,000, and it sold for CHF220,000. The multiplier itself is very interesting because it confirms the fact that people consider it a collectible; you wouldn’t pay four times the price if you are not completely sure that this is something iconic. That is for the selfish part for the Bvlgari brand.
Now for Luc Pettavino and the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies, we are happy that Bvlgari has been able to contribute a small but significant donation for the cause. This is also a part of the Bvlgari generosity that is embedded in the DNA of the brand. We have tried to do good to our community, whether it is in the fight against COVID or in favour of education, and Only Watch is part of that initiative. It is good for the community and it is also good for the brand because the price eventually confirms that we are collectible and it generates money for research. It also informs the world that watches are worth a lot more than what they cost.
Moving on to the Jannah High Jewellery collection that you launched in 2020. How was the response to that?
It was huge success for a number of reasons. It was the first time ever that a jewellery brand actually co-designed with a regional princess, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It was a full-fledged jewellery collection and not just one or two pieces, because there have been jewellery brands in the past, designing one piece for one queen. Bvlgari brought out a complete collection as there were 15 high jewellery pieces. The success was very immediate, though a bit hidden because of COVID – COVID dominated evening news hiding the success of Jannah. We launched the collection in February and soon after, everything closed as the world went into lockdown. But the collection has been very successful.
During COVID, Bvlgari continued creating your jewellery collection; how?
We were very successful with the Jannah collection, but the success was marred by the fact that COVID became the name of the game everyday for many months. This obviously concerned us as this design was meant not only for high jewellery; the Sheikha made it very clear that she wanted something meant not only for the very high-end and the happy few, but it should be also accessible to more people. Our aim was to design fine jewellery that more people can afford because the prices are lower. Instead of using 5 carat gemstones, we use up to one carat; this brings the price down considerably. We had already started – while creating the high jewellery to design the fine jewellery – and then during COVID the collection was completed, so that we can proudly unveil the collection here in Dubai now. The collection will initially be available exclusively in the UAE, and then the GCC. Basing on its success – and I am pretty sure it will be successful, because the designs are beautiful and is evocative of the Expo 2020’s theme of Connecting people; beauty connects people.
The first Jannah collection was haute joaillerie, but Bvlgari is now bringing out fine jewellery; why?
The usual custom is to start with high jewellery and then move from the high to fine jewellery. This is much more successful because you have already established your reputation and are at the top of the art of high jewellery. From the high jewellery you design a collection that – because of the design, the gemstones and materials – can be crafted at prices that opens it to more people. There is a lot of prestige in high jewellery. You could start from the bottom and then move on to high jewellery, but it makes more sense if you can start from high jewellery and then step down to fine jewellery; even the fine jewellery is priced somewhere between €10,000 to €50,000.
The wearability of our high jewellery pieces is pretty amazing and is a perfect fit for an elegant evening dress. But people will not go to The Dubai Mall wearing them, whereas fine jewellery is elegant, refined and yet very discreet. It is a mark of distinction that shows you as someone liking beauty but not someone who really wants to show off. It still carries on with the story as it is themed around the same five-petal flower, but is open for more people and occasions.
