Bulgari

MTF recently posted a thread in the Paiget forum regarding people's perception of Piaget as a watch company.  I wanted to try and relate the question to Bulgari since, like Piaget, Bulgari is a very high end ladies jewelry oriented company as well, maybe even more so.  They offer a variety of other accessory items in addition to watches and jewelry. 

What is your perception of Bulgari as a company or what do you think the public's perception holds for the most part?  What is the first thing people think of when someone mentions Bulgari?  Jewelry?  Watches?  Perfume? Scarfs?  Bags?  etc.       

That's an interesting question.  It seems that brands like Piaget, Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston, and Bvlgari are all first and foremost, women jewelry specialists, but as a guy, I have really only wanted to own a watch from Bvlgari.  Not sure why, but perhaps it was the marketing of them.  I saw them in movies, and guys like Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, and Tom Cruise (although it really was a re-branded Omega) wore them.  Perhaps that was what made me warm up to them more. 

 

I also noticed that many more of my male friends wearing them than the other brands, as the Diagono Professional sports line of watches were particularly more masculine looking than watches made by the other brands.  I did own a Cartier Pasha Chronograph for a few years, but soon felt it looked too feminine with those Sapphire pushers, and ended up selling it and replacing it with a Breitling.  I guess I just could never see myself wearing a Piaget watch…even the name rolls off the tongue as feminine to me.

 

As for Bvlgari, the first thing that comes up in my mind (in terms of their products, are high priced, uniquely designed Jewelry), but overall, I'd say the perception I have for them as a whole is one of high luxury.  I like their watches because not only do they look good to me, but they are also different from your standard Rolex/Omega/TAG that anyone could recognize.  IMO, people of high tastes in fashion and luxury would recognize a Bvlgari watch.  Also, in many cases, for a man, the watch is the only piece of jewelry (besides their wedding band), that they can wear, so it only makes sense that a high end jewelry designer can also design a fine looking timepiece.  Friends who never even heard of Bvlgari before...when they saw my watch, commented on how cool looking it was. 

Thank you for the personal and well articulated response.  Indeed the brands that you mentioned, Rolex, TAG, and Omega do seem quite common and may not reflect the same level of status and luxury.  Out of curiousity, have you looked at any other brands with strong interest?  IWC has some nice sports watches.  Harry Winston might be a little out there in terms of design and price...perhaps Chopard.

I have looked at IWC (their sports watch line, since I am not a dress watch kinda guy), and although some of them look interesting, visually, I do not like watch dials with chronograph subdial arrangements in the 6,9,12 positions. I prefer the 3,6,9 layout. Also, I have a friend with a newer Aquatimer, and he's had a bit of a nightmare with quality control issues (first a visually flawed minute hand and then a stuck minute hand after being replaced) and long wait times in getting his watch back. After I saw that, I said no thanks.

Also, although IWC is highly regarded, I personally like my watches to be a bit more recognizable. Not as recognizable as a Rolex, but not as obscure as say, an FP Journe. An IWC is really only recognizable in my parts here by watch freaks. A Bvlgari, however, because it is also a luxury brand, is recognized by non-watch people. It also depends on where one lives I think. When I used to live and work in Hong Kong, in my circles there, pretty much everyone I knew wore a nice watch, and therefore, they all would be able to recognize an IWC or any other decent brand for that matter because image and status is so important there.

Back here in NJ, where everything is spread out and you don't run into the same people at the mall or everywhere else you go (because it is not so tightly concentrated in space and people), the last thing people really take notice of is your watch, so if you do want to have it noticed once in a while, don't buy something that is not really recognizable like an IWC that doesn't even have any storefronts to sell their wares. You can't walk into an IWC store here, but you can a Bvlgari shop...hence, more people will be aware of the brand and their watches.

...largely because I wear Bulgari perfume, and have been buying it for years.  I love their bold, unique jewelry so those designs are top of mind for me.  I think they've got some interesting watch collections currently.  So far, not unlike many other brands, there's nothing that calls out to me as a potential purchase, but I know the seeds are there to create something great for my taste! 

Cheers,

Daos

Seems like a lot of women like the Bulgari perfume.  How would you characterize it?   

I think it's supposed to be a unisex fragrance, but I find it utterly feminine -- soft, lightly citrus, with hints of tea (of course) and a little dash of something peppery.  I've been buying it for years.

Cheers,

Daos

Hi Daos,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Bulgari.  As Ping has touched on, it seems most people relate luxury to Bulgari products. 
But I'm curious to know how did you discover Bulgari perfume?  Does the scent remind you of any special events in your life?  Did you try other perfumes before going with Bulgari?  And do you switch it up,... like for example when you go out on a hot date?  :P

Regards,
ED-209

...but I could never afford the pieces I really desire, so exploring their range of perfumes was a natural progression.  I originally was drawn to their green tea scent, but the white tea has become my choice from their collection.  I love perfume so I will totally switch it up.  Often for a hot date I'll wear Samsara by Guerlain -- an oldie but goodie! 

Smell ya later!  LOL!  (I just couldn't help it!)

Cheers,

Daos

No message body

My initial perception of Bulgari is high end jewelry designs and perfume.  And also bespoke jewelry as a popular choice for female movie stars on the red carpet at events like Cannes and the Academy awards.

But after visiting a few Bulgari Boutiques I've noticed that there's a strong focus on watches.  For example at the new Crystals Mall at City Center, Las Vegas the boutique had two entrances, one for the collection of leather goods and a second entrance for their watch collection.  And they had a large selection of watches including the new Sortirio collection.

Regards,
ED-209

Bulgari seems to be having the dual store concept at many of its locations. One half of the store focuses on the jewelry and high-dollar-value items (jewelry and wristwatches) while the other half is more of a gift-giving boutique that offers scarves, neckties, very exotic ladies leathergoods, and perfumes.

I wouldn't be surprised if the revenue of the non-jewelry side is making a significant percentage of the overall revenue of Bulgari. Nevertheless, I still perceive Bulgari as a jewelry business.

I have never acquired a single piece of jewelry from Bulgari, yet I use products from the non-jewelry side. Despite this apparent contradiction, I still consider Bulgari as a precious stones jewelry company.

...which is likely shared by many.  Quite a few people admire the jewelry but not as many people own it compared to their other products.  I suppose this is mainly due to the affordabillity of their other products.  Even their low end jewelry is pretty pricey.  Can you picture yourself buying a jewelry item for someone else though?

 

I would envision the highest dollar value of my purchases with Bulgari will be for a significant other. 

However, in the meanwhile, Bulgari does offer well-constructed seven-fold neckties and will be offering extremely interesting wristwatches that I can potentially acquire for myself. 

I envision Bulgari to be eventually like Cartier; Cartier has an equal consumer admiration in both the jewelry side and in the timepiece side.  I assume that this is Bulgari's goal; and this makes me keen to see the timepieces that will be offered by Bulgari in the near future. 

 

That's kind of smart of them, have the separate watch entrance for the serious watch buyers but the two sections connected to get the crowd flow from the leather goods section.  How did the Sotirio line look in person?

 

Hi Ping,

During my visit the previous weekend it was about equal.  I like the concept of the boutique, IMO it feels like two distinct shopping experiences with one side focusing on watches and jewelry and a second side for leather goods and other accessories. 

Here's a picture that I took back in mid-December during the grand opening of Crystals and City Center.  You can see the two entrances (watch and jewelry on the right hand side).  At that time the watch section had more people visiting.  I also noticed that they only had about 3 or 4 of the Sortirio watches.  The inventory was mainly BVLGARI-BVLGARI line and jewelry pieces.   But my recent visit I was able to view more of the Sortirio.  I only briefly handled the Sortirio  Quantieme Annual Calendar and I really like the shape of the lugs.  I have small wrists and it angled down very nicely.  I hope that I can get more wrist time to really evaluate the Sortirio case.





Regards,
ED-209

I perceive Bulgari as a top jeweler. The world of haute joaillerie is occupied by Lawrence Graff, Harry Winston, Chopard, Bulgari, and Cartier. These are the brand icons people go to when they want to acquire a substantial piece of jewelry, usually say, a substantial diamond necklace etc.

Bulgari is no exception, for over 125 years, the house of Sotirio Bulgari has been the leading jeweler in Italy. I believe (if memory serves me correctly) Bulgari first started working in silver and later moved towards the highest echelon of jewelry. Today, Bulgari jewelry designs are very provoking, there is a use of geometric shapes, sometimes a gothic look, snake and reptilian designs are utilized, and overall the jewelry has a very mysterious and abstract design. These pieces use diamonds (and other stones) of tremendous importance, usually very large stones and are very important pieces. Bulgari made their name due to their important pieces of jewelry.

The Bulgari company is also very unique, to my understanding, Bulgari remains independent whereas Cartier (it's closest competitor) has been acquired by an umbrella corporation. This is but one aspect that makes Bulgari fairly unique.

When I go into a Bulgari boutique, I expect to see jewelry, even moreso jewelry than wristwatches. The original store on Via Condotti in Rome usually has a fascinating collection of significant pieces. Admittedly, I don't buy the jewelry (at least I don't need to yet) and I perceive my next acquisition at Bulgari will actually be a men's clothing accessory. Despite this, I still nevertheless perceive Bulgari to be first and foremost a firm in jewelry.

The below is heavily opinionated and almost provocative, please do not be offended.

The high end jewelers I mentioned in my previous post are all dabbling in the world of wristwatches;

1. Lawrence Graff has this very sporty new watch line that I'm not fond of. Larry, you're the King of Diamonds, but not watches.
2. Harry Winston has made a solid effort and has invited some of the most unique designers to make some very unique pieces.
3. Chopard debuted their L.U.C line within the past decade and has truly started to making a presence in the world of haute horlogerie, especially since many of the new L.U.C pieces are Geneva-sealed, of excellent quality, and very complex.
4. Bulgari is just about to enter the higher realm of the world of wristwatches, I am looking forward to seeing the product of the new partnership with G. Genta.
5. Cartier is one of the highest dollar value and highest volume luxury watch manufactures in the world. Cartier is also stepping into a new stratosphere in the wristwatch world by incorporating complications et al. However, it seems more like Cartier is just pouring money into its new watch line to make more money. I want to see a product of passion, not necessarily a product of funding and convenience.

6. Van Cleef & Arpels (I didn't mention them in my previous post) is known for their impressive jewelry, but no longer as prominent as it once was in terms of dealing with large precious stones. However, they have been making some interesting timepieces in collaboration with Jaeger-leCoultre.

Hi Patrick,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Bulgari.  What do you think of the new Sortirio collection?

Regards,
ED-209

This message has been edited by ED209 on 2010-02-22 19:44:49

I find the design to be very strong; the lugs almost have a German approach.

I've yet to see any pieces in person, so I will be reserving my judgement until I've seen the actual product in person.

I also have to remind myself that what is made today, might not necessarily hit its peak right away; the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak was designed in 1972 but did not receive widespread popularity by the masses until the mid 2000s. Same with the Patek Philippe Nautilus.

...perception is related to jewelry and expensive quartz watches for women.

I hope that changes...

Bulgari just celebrated their 125th anniversary of the founding of the Rome jewellery company BVLGARI (Italian) by Sotirios Voulgaris (Greek).

Thus, they are a jeweller foremost.

Various family machinations and inheritance intrigues later, they are now a 'luxury lifestyle' company with diversification into accessories, perfume, boutique hotels....and....er.....watches.

Their 2nd claim to fame is probably the best mens' silk neckties in the world  --  their seven-fold wonders have no peer in the prêt-à-porter segment.

Having encased watch movements for decades, they are positioned to make haute horlogerie since acquiring companies that supplied all parts of a watch. Those factories have been covered by reports on this website.

The smartest move was to get their own dial factory as that is a limiting-step for many brands when prototyping and manufacturing new watches......

 

Regards,

MTF

 

I would pass displays in store windows and think, 'Fashion', 'Trendy', 'Flashy', 'Crass'.

It would never occur to me that they were anything other than a 'name' attached to various products. It would never occur to me that they 'made' anything. I thought of them as an empty-name glued on to 'things' for trendy, flashy people. I didn't even know the name was 'real'. Meaning, not just a brand, but an actual House of some kind. They struck me as a sunglasses type name attached to anything under the sun made for fashion.

NOW.... I know they are trying to be perceived as a serious company and , shrug..... my mind is at least open to them. And some reviews of their watches on PuristsPro have opened my mind considerably. I think it will be a hard climb out of the fashion-only perception.
This message has been edited by Mostel on 2010-02-21 15:13:57

. . . Ping's day, Mostel. Cordially, Art

sarcastically or seriously, but I in no way mean to be unkind in my post. I was just speaking bluntly about my own limited perception of the brand, as the question was asked. Cheers and always a pleasure to communicate with you, Art.

. . . my interpretation of your post was that Bulgari was previously an unknown or under-appreciated quantity, and that you're now prepared to view the brand in a new light, which I think is precisely the reaction Ping and Ed are hoping for. Internet communication is devoid of nuance and tone, and after re-reading my post, I can see how it was interpreted pejoratively, and please don't take it as such. For better or worse, Clint Eastwood's interpretation of that line has given it a surly connotation, but in this instance, my intent was wholly constructive. My apologies for the poor choice of words . . . cordially, Art

You were right though, it did make my day.    I didn't get your meaning immediately, but after about 15 seconds I did so I can see how there was some slight confusion there.  Now that that is all cleared up...anyone expressing opinion on this forum makes my day.

 

best,
M

That's what I thought, but...... thanks.

. . . a post of mine has been misinterpreted thru either clumsiness on my part or just the vagaries of internet communication . . . warmest regards, Art