Maserati->ke51 is winding down its 100th anniversary celebration in the most Maserati way possible: collaborating with jeweler Bulgari, a fellow Italian brand that is celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2014, to develop a limited-edition timepiece. The two eponymous Italian brands have launched a last hurrah of sorts to celebrate their momentous anniversaries and the fruit of this collaboration is the limited-edition Octo Maserati Chronograph by Bulgari. Oh, yes. It’s another luxury->ke505 watch with ties to the auto industry, as if we haven’t seen enough of these this year already.
All joking aside, Maserati and Bulgari are concluding their respective milestones with a new and exclusive timepiece that serves as a suitable successor to the Octo Quadri-Retro Chronograph that the two brands launched in 2012. The Octo Maserati Chronograph, though, is extra special. The depths of technological know-how the two companies poured into creating this exclusive watch already makes it a must-have for any self-respecting watch connoisseur.
The watch itself is nicknamed “Velocissimo,” which in Italian means “the fastest.” That’s all you need to know about how unique this self-winding chronograph is. In fact, Bulgari’s only building 1,914 pieces of the Octo Maserati Chronograph, a direct tribute to 1914, the year the Maserati brothers founded the brand. Each of these beautiful watches has a price of €10,150, which is about $12,365 as of 12/23/2014.
We know Christmas is a few days away, but is it too late to be asking a certain Mr. Claus to put some of these watches in our Christmas stockings?
Click past the jump to read more about the Bulgari Octo Maserati Limited Edition Watch.
Why it matters
Anytime you have a brand that's commemorating a historical anniversary with a special-edition watch like this, it's going to get your attention. But two brands? That doesn't happen a lot, even in the "anything is possible" world of automaker-watchmaker collaborations.
What makes this watch even more special is that the partners in crime that created it, Bulgari and Maserati, already have a history of working together. You can't put a price on this kind of collaborative experience, especially when you're dealing with all the intricacies that come in building luxury watches.
So take advantage of this rare opportunity, even if the Octo Maserati Chronograph costs about as much as an entry-level subcompact car these days.
Bulgari Octo Maserati Limited Edition Watch in detail
The devil is in the details and no more is that evident than in the Bulgari Octo Maserati Chronograph.
The mechanism that runs the whole show is the Calibre BVL 328, Bulgari's own power unit that comes with a 50-hour power reserve, ensuring that the watch maintains the level of quality and precision Bulgari watches are known for. Take a quick browse and you’ll also notice that the watch comes with 45 jewels, each placed precisely in their respective locations in what can only be described as a time-consuming process.
Speaking of time-consuming, the watch also features a champlevé dial that’s no easy thing to build. Additionally, Maserati’s famous Trident logo can be clearly seen on the end of the second hand, and the luminous blue shade on the dial not only represents Maserati’s iconic color, but it also serves as a nice complement to the blue, alligator-print leather strap.
On the back, a semi-transparent blue case-back comes with a faded Maserati logo and an indicator identifying the specific number of the watch relative to the rest of the 1,914 units.