GWD 2022 Bulgari Aluminium Sorayama Special Edition

The legendary Japanese artist Sorayama blurs lines to inaugurate a gleaming, sensual, all-conquering ideal. Bulgari captures this radical yet poetic and charming aspiration in a new model that plays with the gleam of aluminium.

The Bulgari Aluminium Sorayama Special Edition watch is a composition reflecting the imagination and flair for details of the Japanese hyper-realism artist. Mirroring both past and future, Sorayama’s work reflects a fascination with the classicism of the 1930s and 1940s, as well as the exciting mechanical advances in the fields of aviation and automobiles.

Enduring value

The watch opts for the restrained look of galvanised textures and details recalling the aesthetics of 1930s and 1940s cars and planes. On the silver-toned dial with its shimmering pearlescent swirls evoking the light playing across gleaming bodywork, the propeller-shaped hour-markers and hands are enhanced with Super-LumiNova®. The only numeral visible is the 2, thereby honouring the artist’s lucky number and representing more than a nod and instead a deliberate reference.

This limited-edition model with its aluminium case and rubber bezel has a diameter of 40 mm and is water-resistant to a depth of 100 metres. The crown is made of reinforced black titanium. The same goes for the caseback bearing Sorayama’s signature in deep black. The iconic rubber strap picks up the metallic accents of aluminium on its links and pin buckle. Beating inside the case is a mechanical self-winding movement with a 42-hour power reserve.

Sorayama plays with metal in a vibrant and sensual way. From aeroplanes to pin-ups, his quest for an aesthetic delves into the fantasy world of the 30s and 40s, while embedding it in the here and now. As the artist explains: “When I was asked to be part of this collaboration, I developed three main design elements. The first consists of circular pattern swirls on a dial inspired by the surface of Spirit of St. Louis which made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The second was to put an actual number 2 at 2 o’clock only, because two is my lucky number: I was born on 22 February in the 22nd year of the Japanese Shōwa era. The third is my SORAYAMA logo. I entrusted Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, who has always professed to love my work, with the mechanical side of things. It is my wish that those who see the watch will experience the same joy as me in the beauty of its metal finishes and the curves that are prominent in its design.”

Italian radiance

Within the space of two generations, Bulgari Aluminium has imposed its unconventional approach: a vision born in 1998 involving an alliance of aluminium and rubber that gives shape to a pure design based on black & white graphics and defined by its sporty-chic nature. Since 2020, the case had been fitted with a mechanical self-winding movement. Bulgari thereby orchestrates an encounter between excellence and brilliance for a model that is resolutely in tune with its time. The Italian spirit of the watch does not succumb to fashion or nostalgia, but instead celebrates the timeless beauty of form.

Mirroring both past and present, the Bulgari Aluminium Special Edition Sorayama is at once classy and iconoclastic. Its dial epitomising the heritage of the golden age of aviation and the automobile bears the promise of new ideals to conquer.

Technical specifications

Bulgari Aluminium Sorayama Special Edition

Reference: 103703

Limited edition of 1000 pieces

Case

• Material: Aluminium
• Diameter: 40.00 mm
• Titanium caseback with DLC coating and engraved Sorayama logo
• Water-resistant to 100m

Dial and hands

• Dial decorated with laser engraving
• Hour-markers and hours and minutes hands filled with Super-LumiNova®
• Date window at 3 o’clock.

Movement

• Mechanical self-winding movement
• BVL 192 calibre
• Frequency: 28'800 vph (4 Hz)
• Power reserve of 42 hours

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes, seconds and date

Strap and buckle

• Rubber strap with aluminium links, aluminium pin buckle.

MSRP: EUR 3'400

For more information, please visit bulgari.com