THE BULGARI ALUMINIUM BRINGS FUN BACK LGARI

The vanguard watch for casual and stylish luxury is better than ever

-  Bilal Khan

The use of aluminium and rubber for a luxury sports T watch was a revolutionary move when Bulgari launched its now iconic Aluminium sports watch back in 1998. Taking design and inspiration cues from models like the Roma from the 1970s and the Diagano Scuba from 1995, the Aluminium made its rather anticipated return to the brand's catalogue in 2020 and new models have steadily been added to the lineup since. Now, remember that the use of materials like aluminium and rubber on luxury watches was still a rather novel and edgy concept back in 1998. In retrospect, the massive commercial success of this 'luxury leisure' watch served as proof of concept for not just Bulgari but many other watch brands. But there's nothing like the real thing and I am happy to say the Aluminium remains one of the best and distinctive value propositions out there.

The heart and soul of this very fun and very Italian sports watch collection lies in the design language with that iconic Bulgari Bulgari text on the bezel and the novel lug and link system used to affix the rubber strap to the case. Some fun facts: The bezel is actually a Gerald Genta design (debuting with the old Bulgari-Bulgari) while the lugs were inspired by door hinges, which goes to show how often inspiration comes from the everyday things we tend to overlook. We don't see aluminium watch cases too often these days, but it really does have a lot going for it. In terms of weight, aluminium is a third of the weight of titanium and a sixth the weight of steel. And while it is true that aluminium is less durable than steel or titanium, the hardened aluminium here is protected by the very smart application of rubber throughout the case and strap.