Bulgari has made a dreamy new watch with the French artist Laurent Grasso.
Grasso is a conceptual artist whose work has been exhibited at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, as well as around the world.
He is known for a reality-blurring style that causes the eye to question what it is seeing.
The new watch is a collaboration between Grasso and Bulgari’s Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani.
The Laurent Grasso X Bulgari Octo Finissimo has a deep blue dial with a cloud that casts “rainbow-like reflections” that create what the brand calls a “mysterious, elusive presence”.
“I thought of iridescent clouds – unique and almost magical formations,” Grasso said. “The particles in suspension and myriad frozen water droplets diffract light, rendering the cloud iridescent with multiple colours. I find this phenomenon fascinating and the dialogue with Fabrizio began with looking for ways of recreating it on the dial.”
The watch’s hands appear to hover, the intention here was to “blur the boundaries of perception” to make us wonder if what we are seeing is real.
It has a slender 40mm titanium case and an ultra-thin automatic movement with a 60 hour power reserve.
The Laurent Grasso X Bulgari Octo Finissimo is a limited edition of 200 pieces and comes in a presentation box signed by Laurent Grasso for CHF 18,900