As CDC restrictions on large indoor gatherings start to ease, homebound night crawlers are eager to resume dancing the night away at clubs and other festive venues. Bulgari may have just introduced the perfect timepiece for a return to late night celebrations, teaming up with Grammy-nominated international DJ/producer/designer Steve Aoki to produce the most radiant version yet of its 1990s-influenced Bulgari Aluminium watch.
The Bulgari Aluminium Steve Aoki Special Edition joins the recently relaunched Aluminium family of timepieces, the first generation of which debuted in the late ’90s. Those watches’ design was influenced by the livery of Alitalia jumbo jets and matched an aluminum case with a rubber strap, a bold and unconventional styling for the era. Like many other luxury watches at the time, the original Aluminium (that’s the preferred European spelling for the metal) contained a quartz movement, which has been superseded by in-house mechanical calibers in the modern versions.
Distinguishing the Steve Aoki Special Edition from last year’s models is the coating of Super-LumiNova on the entirety of the white dial, which is also adorned with Steve Aoki’s signature logo, resulting in a boldly glowing face that “asserts itself in the darkness with a glorious radiance,” according to the Italian watchmaker-jeweler. Like its most recent predecessor’s the watch’s 40-mm case is constructed of an exceptionally resistant aluminum alloy, with a black DLC-coated caseback and a hallmark “BVLGARI BVLGARI” bezel made of black rubber.
Behind the caseback, which is inscribed with Aoki’s stylized signature, ticks Bulgari’s automatic Caliber B77 (based on the ETA 2892), which drives the luminous-tipped black hands and a 3 o’clock date display and stores a power reserve of 42 that Bulgari promises “will enable clubbers to dance until dawn.” (You may find some other practical uses for it as well.) Black rubber is also used for the strap, which is accented with aluminum links and attaches to the wrist with an aluminum ardillon buckle.
Presented in a special aluminum-and-rubber box, the Bulgari Aluminium Steve Aoki Special Edition retails for $3,050.
But why?