If you were to catch a glimpse of the Bvlgari Octo Solotempo Ultranero Replica from a distance, the perspective would be simple. You would see a somewhat plain deep black dress replica watch with a simple and subtle black case and rubber strap that looks plain, clean, and easy to read. This primarily is on account of its rose gold indices and hands that brilliantly reflect any kind of light. The vast complexities of its case design really don’t become apparent until you reach a much closer range. For a house that does big and bold as well as they do, Bulgari impressed me with its attempt at subtlety here. Granted, as you can see in these photos, this piece is only subtle in a truly Bulgari manner.
Credit where credit is due, there are so many things Bulgari did right with the Solotempo’s design. Pairing an extremely deep gloss-black dial with these stepped rose gold indices gives the wearer the illusion of staring into a vast expanse of nothingness where a dial would normally live, given the appropriate lighting conditions. This jet-black dial sans indices would be an excellent candidate for a 2nd version of H. Moser & Cie.’s Mystery Dial Concept without question.
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The one criticism at hand thus far would be the lack of framing for its date window. I would have loved to see this replica watch lose the date window entirely. That said, if the date was argued to be a crucial requirement on the piece, matching the gloss-finish of the date wheel with the dial would be at least the minimum requirement to balance out the attention to detail we see throughout the remainder of the replica watch.
Moving on from there, the literal and figurative sharpness of the Solotempo’s case is the next highest-ranking element of the piece’s design. Bulgari is quick to bring to our attention the significant number of facets on the timepiece’s case – 110 in total. Examining the case from top to bottom and side-to-side we don’t doubt that figure one bit. There are four stepped transitions from the bezel down to the lugs, and multiple angled cuts along each transition. The octagonal case appears almost square when viewed at a distance. Add to that its smooth round bezel, and anyone not keeping close tabs on the industry could almost speculate that Bell & Ross had decided to build a dress version of the BR-03.
The moment you’re a touch closer, it’s clear that this isn’t the case (though wouldn’t it be interesting if they did?). Up close, the last of the Octo’s facets come to light along the inner edge of the dial opening underneath the crystal where a second and more symmetrical octagon lives as a very slender rehaut.