1. 10 FINANCIAL TIMES Thursday 19 March 2015
Watches & Jewellery Women’s timepieces
In the past, watchmakers might have
thrown extra diamonds on to quartz
watches to appeal to women. But now,
women’s watches are benefiting from
the meticulous, painstaking and rare
craftsmanship once reserved for men’s
pieces.
Harry Winston recently revived the
intricate 16th-century decorative art of
feather marquetry. With Nelly Saunier,
the Parisian plumassière, the com-
pany made three women’s
watches in 2012 with dials
illuminatedbybrightpurple
and turquoise pheasant, sil-
vered pheasant and guinea
fowlfeathers.
Dior, too, has released
plumage watches within its
Dior VIII collection of 2013,
with feathers decorating the
lowerhalfofthedialinevening
pieces.
Elsewhere, intricate enamel
techniquesareinevidence.Vacheron
Constantin released the Métiers d’Art
Florilège in 2013 — an enamelled wrist
watch series. The watches feature clois-
onné — a process that involves bending
gold wire and applying enamels to the
guillochédial.
Butperhapsthemostunusualembel-
lishment is the use of old and fine
textiles. Roger Dubuis’
Velvet series includes
three watches,
limited to 88 pieces each. One, made in
collaborationwithDanielBenjamin,the
Geneva-based furrier, features a wrist-
band made of mink with a face of rose
gold and brilliant-cut diamonds.
Another,madeincollaborationwithLes
Artisan Selliers, a French watchstrap
maker, features classic leather corsetry
on the blush and black band, while a
third, in partnership with Declercq
Passementerie, involves tiny, hand-
knotted,blackfish-nettingcoveringthe
camel-colouredband.
Declercq, a family-owned passemen-
tier[maker-of-trimmings]since1852,is
one of the oldest French maisons and
makes curtains and tie-backs for the
Palace of Versailles and the Garnier
Opera. Handmade, a single tieback can
costtensofthousandsofdollars.Forthe
Roger Dubuis watches, the passe-
menterie straps are made one at a time
by a craftswoman. Knots are created
onebyoneandwithoutglue.Thedesign
takes about 10 hours to create and is
wovendirectlyontothestrap.
“Women expect more from watches
than ever,” says Jean-Marc Pontroué,
chiefexecutiveofRogerDubuis.
“The movements inside these are the
same craftsmanship as our men’s
watches so these are not only
beautiful outside, the
rarities are
there inside as
well.”
Feathers and lace complement
a close attention to detail
Craftsmanship Rare textiles and trimmings are in demand, says Syl Tang
Tactile: Roger Dubuis
Velvet series watch with
fish-netting strap (above)
and with velvet strap
(left); Dior VIII watch with
feathers (right)
F
orFabrizioBuonamassa
Stigliani,2014wasastandout
year.Theseniordirectorof
Bulgari’sWatchesDesign
CentresawtheItalianhouse’s
DivaHighJewelleryEmeraldswatch
winaplumawardattheGrandPrix
d’HorlogeriedeGenève:thejewellery
watchprize.
Thewinningdesignwasinspired,he
says,bysomeoftheItalianbrand’smost
notedHollywoodclientsofthe20th
century,includingElizabethTaylorand
SophiaLoren.The18-caratwhitegold
watch,setwith444diamondsand258
emeralds,beatcompetitionfrom15
otherentries,includingwatchesby
BoucheronandChaumet.
MrBuonamassaStiglianioverseesthe
designofallBulgari’stimepieces,both
men’sandwomen’scollections,
complications,grandcomplicationsand
specialeditionwatches,atprices
rangingfrom£3,640tomorethan
£500,000.
Hejoinedthecompanyin2001after
threeyearsatFiat’sStyleCentrein
Turindesigningcars,andhasbeeninhis
currentrolesince2007.Duringhis
tenureMrBuonamassaStiglianihas
launchedBulgari’sfirstgrand
complicationforwomen—the
miniature-paintedIlGiardinoTropicale
diBulgari—andlastyear’ssundial-
inspiredLucea.Freshvariationsofthe
latterdesignwillbeonshowat
Baselworld.
MrBuonamassaStiglianiwasalso
behindthe110-facetedOctoluxury
watchesformenin2012,followedby
theOctoFinissimo,whichthehouse
claimstobetheworld’sthinnest
tourbillonmovementat1.95mm.
OtherOctocreationsincludea
collaborationwithMaserati,the
carmaker,in2012,andatBaselworld,a
sapphire-dialledBulgariBulgariwillbe
unveiled.
Bulgari,whichwasacquiredbyLVMH
in2011for$5.2bn,doesnotprovide
informationaboutitsprofits.MainFirst
Bankestimatesturnoverlastyearto
havebeenabout€1.3bn,withwatches
contributingabout€600m.
With2014’soperatingmargin
estimatedatabout13.5percent—up
fromabout8percentsinceits
acquisition—Bulgariisthe“1,000lb
gorilla”inLVMH’swatchesand
jewelleryportfolio,saysJohnGuy,
managingdirectorofluxury,branded
andsportinggoodsatthebank.
MrGuysayssincetheacquisition,
Bulgarihasbecomemoreco-ordinated
initsmarketingandcommunication
strategy.“WhatLVMHhasdonevery
wellisaddressBulgari’sheritageand
history,”hesays.
MrBuonamassaStiglianimakesthe
samepoint.Managingthecompany’s
signaturestyleandits“amazing
heritageintermsofsigns”—motifsin
particularfromancientRomeor
ancientGreece—isthe“mostimportant
thingnowformyrole”,hesays.
“WhenIimaginenewproducts,Ihave
toimaginesomethingthatworkswith
Bulgari’sroots.Ithastobetheevolution
ofBulgarisignsandfit.Ihavedesigners
inmystudiomakingthebestshapes,
prototypesandproductspossible—but
Ihavetoimaginetheconceptbehind
thoseproducts.”
MrBuonamassaStiglianiproduces
luxurytimepiecesfor“everydaywear”,
butatthesametime,hisconsumers
wanttopasswatchesontofuture
generations.Tomeetthechallenge,he
takesastrategicapproachtodesign.
“Iimaginealine-up—aproduct
thatcouldfitverywellinour
assortment—attheright
moment,withtherightprice
andrightstock-keeping
units.”
In2011,MrBuonamassa
StiglianimovedtheBulgari
designteamfromRometo
NeuchâtelinSwitzerland,
homeofBulgari’sin-house
watchmakingproduction.
“Weworkcloselywiththe
technicaldepartmentand
manufacturingsides,”hesays,and
“itwasimpossibletomanagethis
complexityfromRome”.
AlthoughMrBuonamassaStiglianiis
notinvolvedintechnicaldevelopment
ofthewatches—“Iamaluckymanfor
this”—hedescribeshimselfasthe
“guardianofthetechnicalside”.
Hesayshisroleistoensurehis
designsarenotcompromisedbySwiss
watchmakingexpertise.Thattechnical
know-howcansometimesclashwith
Italiandesignculture—atthecruxof
Bulgari’slook.
“Wedesignwatcheswithadifferent
approachtotheformandfunctionthan
youfindin[Swiss]design.This
approachisironic,inanItalianway,
withadifferentsenseandtastefor
proportion,coloursandfunction.
“It’sbeautiful,becausesometimeswe
findadifferentsolution—atother
times,it’simpossible.”
Hesayshealsofaceschallenges
‘Designers must imagine tomorrow’s market’
Interview Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Bulgari’s
creative chief, talks to Ming Liu about the challenge
of preserving the past and predicting the future
‘Weareironicinan
Italianway,adifferent
senseforproportion,
colourandfunction’
Competitive:
Buonamassa
Stigliani (left);
Bulgari’s
prizewinning
Diva High
Jewellery
Emeralds watch
(right)
withBulgari’smarketingdepartment,
whichexaminescurrentmarket
informationanddata.
Oftenthiscanleadto“fights”,
especiallyasMrBuonamassaStigliani’s
creativeideascantakebetweentwoand
sixyearstocometomarket.
Hemustimaginenewproducts,
predictevolvingtrendsandkeep
abreastofthecompetition.Asaresult,
heisoftensketchingideasfor
timepiecestwotothreeyearsahead.
“Fordesigners,themostimportant
thingisthefuture,”hesays.“Andthe
marketingteamtalksaboutthepast.
ButIhavetoimaginetomorrow’s
market.”
Hismanagerialskillsareessential,he
says.“Youareworkinginavery
complexstructure—youhavetobeable
tomanagepeople.”
MrBuonamassaStiglianialsoworks
withJean-ChristopheBabin,Bulgari’s
chiefexecutive,presentingprototypes.
Thedesignerdescribestheir
relationshipas“open”and“easy”,
notingthattheonlyaspectofhisroleto
changeaftertheLVMHacquisitionwas
dealingwithanewchiefexecutive.
“It’sagreatopportunityforthe
watchesbusinessunittoworkwith[Mr
Babin],”saysMrBuonamassaStigliani.
“He’sagreatsupportforourideas.
Heknowsthewatchesandproducts
verywell,andknowsthemarketandits
needs.”