SJX Watches
Interview: Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani and Vianney Halter
At Geneva Watch Days, Bulgari unveiled its latest collaboration with an independent watchmaker, three years after a fateful meeting between Vianney Halter and Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Product Creation Executive Director at Bulgari. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo x Vianney Halter Both describe their encounter – seemingly improbable at first – as more natural than we might expect. It resulted in a watch they both describe as “half Octo, half Vianney”. Yet this was not simply a matter of grafting one aesthetic onto another; the collaboration went deeper. Two separate conversations bring the same themes into focus: human connection, constraint as a creative stimulus and, above all, the opportunity to learn from one another. Vianney Halter (left) with Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani. Image – Bulgari From Bulgari’s perspective, Mr Stigliani describes the Octo Finissimo as a model whose identity had become strong enough to withstand a much deeper transformation – and a manufacture challenged by the ideas of an independent watchmaker. Mr Halter, meanwhile, has long regarded collaboration as a means of moving beyond the boundaries and limitations of his own workshop – provided that the human relationship comes before the project. The interview was edited for length and clarity. Yannick Nardin (YN): Fabrizio, how did the idea of working with Vianney Halter come about? Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani (FBS): I’ve always been in love with the Antiqua. We went to see Vi...
