It’s the end of summer—one of the very last (and hot) days of August in Geneva, Switzerland. Here I am, sitting in one of the many rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, at a table with Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Creative Director and Designer for Bvlgari Watches. You might wonder what’s on this table: a notebook, a pen, numerous watches, and two pages of my questions.
Chrono24: Fabrizio, it’s a pleasure to meet you here at Geneva Watch Days. I know you have a deep passion for drawing. What do you enjoy sketching the most?
Fabrizio: Objects. I don’t know why, but it has always been that way. When I’m on a phone call or in a very long meeting, I start doodling. It’s always cars, watches, and similar objects—never humans.
Chrono24: When it comes to your creative process, do you have a specific setting that helps you generate ideas? Perhaps a favorite place to sketch or a particular environment that fuels your creativity?
Fabrizio: Not really. At some point, an idea comes to me, and I just start sketching—usually with a ballpoint or fountain pen. In fact, 99 percent of the time, it’s with a pen. I don’t use pencils anymore, and I can’t even remember the last time I did—probably 20 years ago. I’m not sure why… Maybe it dates back to my time at Fiat, when a designer once told me, “We are professionals; we don’t use pencils. We use pens.”
Maybe that was the reason, maybe it wasn’t. Either way, I prefer pens—they’re my favorite tool. I start sketching, then move on to another idea, and another, depending on how deeply I’m involved. If it’s an object that I love, like watches, my process looks something like this [shows rough sketches in his notebook]
I don’t spend much time on every little detail, like the stones. For me, it’s more about capturing the essential lines, the key shapes, and getting the proportions right. The finer details can come later, but they’re less interesting to me. In the first stage, it is more important to get the idea down on paper before it slips away.
Chrono24: Is it sometimes also impulsive? Like the feeling that you need to get it on paper?
Fabrizio: I don’t know. My brain works in a very specific way. I can visualize objects with incredible precision, as if they’re rotating in my mind and assembling themselves. I can see individual screws and where they are. This is my way of working. Some designers or artists start doing sketches or paintings with a different purpose, but my way is to see the object in my mind.
Because of this, I’m able to create precise sketches, even down to the functions and mechanics of things. I can see it assembling in front of my inner eye, like: “Look at that – oh, at the back, I have too much of this section or this line, because otherwise, if I do the assembling, it won’t move…” [mimes looking at something from different angles and thinking out loud].
Even when I don’t have the object physically in front of me, I feel a strong connection between my mind and what I’m visualizing. That’s how I approach my work.
Chrono24: Since we’re talking about sketching… One of the most notable creations this year is the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Sketch, where you brought your love for drawing directly onto the dial of the watch.
Fabrizio: For this Chronograph, I made sketches on the tablet because it was easier for the production site to put them on the dial. Sometimes I use paper, sometimes the tablet or the iPad.
The process is always the same: it starts with a sketch. After scanning it, the manufacturing team takes the lines and redesigns the dial. The difficulty is that when you sketch by hand, the stroke is not perfect. The pressure you put on the paper is different. That’s why I often prefer the ballpoint pen, because it allows different types of drawings: from fine strokes to bold, intense lines. This variability makes it hard for manufacturers, as their software cannot replicate the same pressure or depth.
So, they had to run several trials. I wasn’t happy at the beginning because it looked very mechanical. After a while, they found a way, and when you see the watch at the minute or second markers, for example, you can see a certain dynamic in the stroke. The lines are not rigid or uniformly thick; it really looks like a sketch on the dial. This was the aim.
Chrono24: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this design?
Fabrizio: The first time, we celebrated the Octo. This second edition is all about celebrating the Finissimo. That’s why there is a sketch of the movement on the dial. I clearly remember when we launched the first Octo Finissimo with the automatic movement – people were amazed by the watch, but many commented on how unfortunate it was that the dial had to cover the back case. They would have loved to see the movement fully exposed, to appreciate its beauty and intricacy. Those comments stuck with me.
So, when they proposed the second sketch edition to mark the anniversary of the Octo Finissimo, I knew we had to celebrate the movement because it’s the heart of the watch. Without it, there’s no Octo Finissimo. That’s why I created a sketch of the movement on the dial, with small inscriptions and even my signature at nine o’clock.
Chrono24: Do you see this as a direction you’ll explore further in the future?
Fabrizio: I don’t know yet. We’ll see. It’s very important to find a unique idea for each sketch. For the first sketches, we focused on the dial and the indexes at 12 and 6 – those were some of the first sketches we had for the Octo Finissimo. It made sense at the time, and now we have the movement as well.
If we find another idea that is good enough, strong enough for another sketch edition, we will consider it. However, we don’t plan to release a sketch watch every year, and honestly, we don’t want to. We did it twice already with two different watches. Sketches like these are meant to be intimate and special, and we want to keep it that way.
Chrono24: Bvlgari has become a leader in ultra-thin watchmaking, particularly with the Octo Finissimo collection. What was the original vision behind this collection, and how do you see it evolving as it continues to push the boundaries of design and engineering?
Fabrizio: When we talk about ultra-thin movements with an automatic execution, we are talking about a grand complication watch. The original idea behind the Octo Finissimo was to offer a grand complication in a very contemporary style – sporty, chic, and understated. It is a watch you can easily hide under your shirt if you prefer not to show it off. We wanted to create an ultra-thin watch with a modern look, with an integrated bracelet, a sporty allure of the case, and to play with different materials.
In the future, we are working on the Octo with different movements, different materials, and different executions. It’s our pillar, our main collection for sure. It’s a flagship watch. And for us, it is very important to further push the boundaries with it.
Chrono24: We see many examples of how innovation is at the heart of Bvlgari’s watchmaking. How does Bvlgari manage to keep its traditional craftsmanship alive while also embracing modern technology? In other words, how do you blend the old and the new in your latest creations?
Fabrizio: That is a big challenge. We have an amazing heritage and a great DNA – very different from other brands. We’re coming from Rome, which is a very unique city. We work in Switzerland, but we are not Swiss. We have a different attitude; we see things in a different way. That’s why we have Serpenti, which you won’t find in another watch brand. It’s unique to use three tones of gold or the very small Tubogas. That’s why we are Finissimo. If we thought like every other watchmaking brand, we would always have the same watch.
It is incredible because we have such agility and speed. Our business unit is unique in that we combine the nimbleness of a small independent brand with the resources of a large company and an amazing team behind us. That’s a special combination.
Regarding tradition, having been with the company for over 20 years, managing it comes naturally to me, even though Bvlgari is a multi-faceted brand. When you look at the Bvlgari archive, you find so many things. Not only watches – the biggest part of aspiration in the past was driven by the jewelry. Gianni Bulgari created the Bvlgari Bvlgari and the Parentesi. The most incredible things that Bvlgari produced in the late 80s, the 90s, and at the beginning of this century were jewelry.
For me, it is very important to keep the brand’s DNA in mind, while also being able to set it aside and innovate.
Chrono24: How so?
Fabrizio: Because otherwise, you create the same watch over and over again. Even if you know the archive inside out, without the ability to envision and project something iconic for the future, you’re trapped. You’ll end up designing the same thing every time.
You need to be able to absorb the brand DNA, rather than study it. Studying might teach you that 2+2 equals 4, but understanding the underlying mechanism is crucial. You need to grasp why certain designs were created, why specific shapes were chosen, and why particular materials and colors were used. The reasoning behind these choices is more important than the product itself. I value the story more than the product. If the story is good, the product will be amazing. If the story is nothing special, the product won’t be either.
Chrono24: The theme for Bvlgari this year is “The Sound of Bvlgari.” Beyond the technical aspects of chiming watches, can you elaborate on why Bvlgari chose to elevate this focus on music and sound, and how it reflects Bvlgari’s broader identity?
Fabrizio: We’ve produced the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater, the Octo Roma Grand Sonnerie, the Octo Roma Grand Sonnerie Quantième Perpetual, the Octo Roma Striking, the Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon – it’s an amazing savoir-faire. Chiming watches are the pinnacle of the watchmaking industry, and we produce them in-house.
Our watch ambassador is Lorenzo Viotti, a chef conductor. We are producing chiming watches, but we aren’t musicians, so we started a discussion with him about it. It was interesting to talk about the movement, the gongs, the hammers, and the opportunity that we have to create something distinctive and say something different.
When you make a sketch, you have your signature – your way of designing shapes and strokes. Similarly, with chiming watches, the musical signature is very important and varies depending on the materials used. Carbon sounds different from titanium, which sounds different from gold, and platinum has its own unique tone. You need to select your ‘world’ based on these material differences.
When you look at our watches, the octagonal shape remains a key element for us. But for me, especially when discussing the Grand Sonnerie, the focus is on the movement. Aesthetics are important – an unattractive watch is simply unattractive. However, the real issue arises if a beautiful watch doesn’t function properly.
Pascal, Fabrice, and all the people in our manufactory involved in the process did an amazing job completely redesigning the movement. They changed a lot of components, and increased the volume by 20 percent. It’s like an engineer designing a new Formula 1 car. Each single element has a strong impact. Plus, thanks to Lorenzo Viotti and our watchmakers, we’ve created a melody that really says something different.
Chrono24: As someone who has had a hand in creating so many iconic designs, is there a piece that stands out as your favorite? And what makes it special to you?
Fabrizio: For sure! This one – the Octo Roma Striking Tourbillon Sapphire – is very special to me, because it is the first time we use a Finissimo movement inside of the Octo Striking case with this amazing skeleton and a manual winding movement.
I especially like the crystal sapphire on the case, the very strong design with this very thin movement that we never used before. In the past, the Octo Striking was a flying tourbillon with a very thick movement, crystal sapphire bridges, and a lot of superluminova elements. Now, for the first time, we have the same design with a different movement. This is one of my favorites.
Chrono24: Finally, as Bvlgari continues to innovate and surprise the world of haute horlogerie, what excites you most about the brand’s future? Are there any upcoming projects or trends that you’re particularly enthusiastic about?
Fabrizio: We have a lot of new projects, focusing on developments for 2026/27. We’re working on new movements, special editions, and collaborations with very important artists. We’ll have very interesting things in the near future—crazy stuff.
Chrono24: Crazy stuff? So, we have to be on the lookout?
Fabrizio: Yes, for sure. Our plans can evolve quite a bit, and while we might occasionally need to delay a project to ensure it’s just right, it’s all part of the process. Sometimes, we advance projects because we have exciting surprises in store. Embracing these changes allows us to explore extraordinary possibilities.
Chrono24: Sounds interesting. So, as a last question: What trends do you see in the watch industry in general for 2024?
Fabrizio: Definitely, small watches are in vogue, even for gentlemen. This trend was strong 2-3 years ago, but now everybody is interested in small watches.
There are different trends every year, and it’s impossible to follow all of them. It’s important not to stretch your brand too thin.
Personally, I don’t focus heavily on trends because following them often means you’re always a step behind. It’s crucial to stay true to the brand’s DNA and assess whether a trend aligns with our core identity and interests. An opportunistic approach can be easily recognized by clients. Consistency with your brand’s DNA is more important than chasing trends.
Chrono24: Thank you so much, Fabrizio, for sharing your time and insights with us today. It’s been great to learn more about your journey and your work at Bvlgari. We can’t wait to see what’s next.
