sonnerie

Bvlgari Gerald Genta Magsonic Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon Watch

After Bvlgari engulfed the brand Gerald Genta (that it already owned), it took most of the brand's contemporary timepieces and "Bulgarized" them! Sorry, I had to say that - it made me laugh. What this means is that they took existing designs and reshaped them a bit to bit Bulgari's DNA.I was impressed they they decided the Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon should be kept alive. They barely made any changes to it at all actually! I first wrote about this watch when it was called the Gerald Genta Arena Metasonic Sonnerie. Renamed the Bvlgari Gerald Genta Magsonic Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon, the watch seems to only change the case material (looks to be in rose gold now), and the text on the ring around the dial.

Because the watch is so complex with its tourbillon and sophisticated chiming functions, Bulgari created an iPad app that explains the watch. An incredible piece, this was originally retailed for $900,000 - I wonder what it goes for now in Bvlgari form.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Bvlgari Gerald Genta Magsonic Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon Watch dial

Tags: bulgari, bvlgari, magsonic, sonnerie, tourbillon, watch

Gerald Genta Arena Metasonic Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

I was blown away seeing this surprising watch from Gerald Genta. Most of the brand's watch impress me, but I this one came out of no where, and likely cost them years of development. I assume once the Arena Metasonic watch is available, there will be very few of them to go around. The watch continues the brand's obsession of watches with a musical twist. Starting in the mid 1990s hey began to great ultra complex minute repeater and striking watches. These two complications either repeat the time to you on command (either exactly or to the nearest 5 minute or quarter hour), or automatically chime at various intervals (such as at "6:00" or when each hour passes). There are many iterations the sonnerie watch, and the most complex of which embody multiple of these musical complications.

This new Arena Metasonic starts with a 46mm wide case made of titanium and other special metal alloys designed to enhance the sound coming from within. One of the hardest parts of making watches such as this is designing the case to carry the sounds as well as possible. There is also the highly stylized construction and technical looking pushers and levers. The manually wound movement is ultra complex, being visible through the dial and caseback behind sapphire crystals. The front displays the off-centered time, tourbillon escapement, and in the lower left hand side you can see the hammers that beat playfully when the sonnerie is activated.

The rear of the watch has more of the fascinating movement and dual power reserves (for the watch and the minute repeater). I have a feeling that you'll need to be winding this watch often. The various sonnerie functions also include a silence mode (no striking unless you want to hear it), and a grande and petite sonnerie option. This chooses between louder or more soft strikes. More details will be released sooner to when the watch is made available. ~~No word on pricing yet~~. UPDATE. Price has been announced to be about $900,000.

Gerald Genta has however discussed the wild box that will come with the watch. First, it is all automatic and electronic. Gaze inside as a light goes on and the watch comes out of the nether to greet you. To access the watch, you'll need to place your finger on the biometric reader on the box, as this watch is meant for your wrist only. Crazy stuff, crazy unnecessary, and crazy fun.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Gerald Genta Arena Metasonic Watch