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Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
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The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
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The only time I've been arrested was for an admittedly absurd accumulation of speeding tickets. I found myself cuffed to a cinderblock wall explaining to the befuddled cop what I was wearing, which included a moth-eaten cashmere turtleneck, a pair of hard-carved tortoise shell eyeglasses, and a vintage Rolex Datejust. He seemed keen, yet ultimately unable, to figure me out. What I didn't tell him was that I was a Café Racer.
Café Racing emerged after World War II, as disaffected youth around the world began outfitting street-legal motorcycles with racing bodywork, lowered handlebars, and chopped exhaust pipes. Laying horizontally atop their noisy machines, these stylish kids raced from one cafe to the next. They raced in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and – most passionately – in Rome, where fashion was paramount, espresso was perfect, and Ducati motorcycles were the undisputed champions. Those who rode Ducatis formed an elite class of Café Racers known collectively as Ducatisti, and individually as a Ducatista.
Ian Hemingway is the Hudson Valley's most dedicated Ducatista. He rides a vintage Supersport 900 (pictured), works at the author's favorite hangout (Moto Coffee/Machine), and just happens to be Ernest Hemingway's nephew.
Many of the images for this story were shot at Moto Coffee in Hudson, NY.
When Hunter S. Thompson reviewed a bright-red Ducati SuperSport 900 in 1995, he understood that the only viable way to assess such a machine was from the point of view of a Café Racer. So when the Bulgari Aluminium Ducati Special Edition was announced earlier this summer, I knew it would only be possible to view the watch through that same lens.
Thompson explained that "Café Racing is mainly a matter of taste. It is an atavistic mentality, a peculiar mix of low style, high speed, pure dumbness, and overweening commitment to the Café Life and all its dangerous pleasures ... I am a Café Racer myself, on some days – and it is one of my finest addictions."
The natural synergy between Bulgari's Aluminium Chronograph and today's Ducati motorcycles is uncanny.
Exceptional espresso drinks are a staple of the Café Racer lifestyle. This La Marzocco Strada espresso machine at Moto Coffee is among the best in North America.
Rare and collectible Ducatis in the front window at Moto Coffee in Hudson, NY.
Understanding the Café Racer mindset can reveal a great deal about the Bulgari Aluminium Ducati Special Edition. It's a mindset that is all about balancing performance and style, rage and cool, passion and detachment. There is nothing that embodies those delicate equilibriums more than a Ducati motorcycle, and it's incredible to me that this 40mm automatic chronograph so reliably does the same.
Indeed, I found this collaboration between Bulgari and Ducati to feel almost effortless, like two pieces in the broader puzzle of Italian design finally interlocking. This natural fit is partly due to the fertile synergy between the two brands and partly due to an uncanny commonality of materials shared between the Bulgari Aluminium series of watches and today's Ducati motorcycles.
Along with Café Racing itself, both Ducati and Bulgari rose to brilliant heights after World War II as part of Italy's industrial design boom. By the 1970s, "Made In Italy" had become an internationally recognized brand in and of itself, one that indicated exceptional design and elevated style.
In 1973, Ducati released its masterpiece known as the 750 SuperSport, a dangerously fast racing bike made just barely street-legal. This formula of adapting Ducati race bikes for the street came to define the Ducatista's special style – basically Café Racing on Italian steroids. Today's street-adapted Ducati Panigale racing bikes remain among the most coveted Café Racers, and I proudly own and ride a bright red Panigale V2.
Ian Hemingway's Supersport 900 is the same model that Hunter S. Thompson famously reviewed in 1995.
The author's Ducati Panigale V2 at Moto Coffee in Hudson, NY.
Bulgari released its first watch in 1977, the distinctive BVLGARI BVLGARI. It was at this moment that Bulgari began to focus on industrial product design. None other than Gérald Genta drew up the BVLGARI BVLGARI, and in 1998, Bulgari adapted Genta's design to the innovative Aluminium series. The first watch to combine aluminum and rubber, the Bulgari Aluminium is an uncanny horological analog to a Ducati motorcycle. Both are unabashedly Italian, stylishly industrial, and aesthetically unto themselves.
Gérald Genta's original design references ancient Roman coins through the embossed BVLGARI BVLGARI logo around the bezel.
The importance of Ducati and Bulgari's parallel evolutions during Italy's ascent as the world's industrial design capital cannot be overstated when considering the success of the Bulgari Aluminium Ducati Special Edition released earlier this year.
A modern Ducati is a combination of steel, titanium, aluminum, and, of course, black rubber. These materials form an uber-stylish, lightweight, high-performance machine. We can adapt this description verbatim to the Bulgari Aluminium without missing a thing.
The material commonality between a Ducati and the Bulgari Aluminium includes sandblasted aluminum, titanium, and embossed black rubber.
Though Hamilton, Swatch, and Seiko have also made aluminum watches over the years, the sandblasted aluminum case of this Bulgari chronograph is a relative rarity. Cut to perfection with sharp edges and seamless joinery at the integrated lugs, the sandblasted aluminum case is unexpectedly handsome and – due to the rugged finish – resistant to scratches. The aluminum feels intentionally industrial, a quality in line with Bulgari's shift toward industrial design in the 1970s. Sandblasted aluminum also happens to be found throughout Ducati motorcycles, making the watch feel immediately familiar to any Ducatista.
The lightness of the watch is remarkable. We're talking G–Shock light. This watch feels like a piece of serious motorcycling equipment, akin to my carbon AGV helmet, or my high-tech Dianese gloves – all Made In Italy, of course.
This lightweight chronograph is right at home among other bits of Italian motorcycling equipment.
The black rubber bezel and cleverly linked rubber strap were pre-existing features of the Bulgari Aluminium, but you couldn't ask for a better analog to the embossed rubber on a Ducati motorcycle's hand grips or its Pirelli tires. When I'm off the bike, touching the rubber bezel gives me a rush of Ducati vibes – yet another synergy that makes this collaboration feel so effortless.
The embossed rubber bezel will be immediately familiar to anyone who rides a Ducati.
The pushers, crown, and caseback are in black PVD-coated titanium, a material which contributes to the light-weight feel, while looking perfectly at home when astride a Ducati. But it's how those titanium chronograph pushers feel when they're engaged that I feel really draws the watch closer to the bike.
The gear shift lever is the most intimate, tactile interaction one has with the inner workings of a motorcycle, and we can say the same of a chronograph's pushers. Chronograph aficionados and motorcyclists speak in very similar terms about the tactile response of these controls, and it's impossible for me not to draw the analogy.
The Bulgari Aluminium Ducati Special Edition in its natural habitat.
Ducati gearboxes are known as the most decisive and crisp in production, and that's a big part of why these bikes are such a joy to ride. Snap, snap, snap through the gears we go to greater speeds, with positive, precise clicks felt through the toe. Operating the Bulgari Aluminium Ducati Special Edition's chronograph is equally positive and precise, and this comes down to specific mechanical strategies used in the movement.
The caliber B130 is an adaptation of the venerable ETA 2894-2. This movement is not to be confused with older ETA chronographs like the 2892, which use a horizontal clutch and cam actuator derived from the Valjoux 7750. Notably, the 2894-2 uses a very thin (and somewhat unconventionally shaped) column wheel actuator and vertical clutch, which together produce precise clicks and positive engagement for the chronograph functionality.
Column wheel actuators are a kind of binary switching system that moves various levers in a rather snappy and instant manner when compared to cam actuators, which use smooth oblong surfaces to more gently push and release levers. Vertical clutches use a spring to instantly snap a clutch plate onto the fourth wheel, driving the chronograph's seconds hand. (The more common alternative is a less responsive horizontally meshed gear).
Though preferences vary, most chronograph aficionados characterize column wheels and vertical clutches as producing very precise and positive pusher action. The B130's action is exactly that. Snap, snap, snap through the gears we go.
The black PVD-coated titanium chronograph pushers deliver instant and precise tactile feedback.
As of this writing, the ETA 2894-2 (unlike its older cousins) is still under copyright, and thus not reproduced by competitors like Sellita. The 2894-2 is a modular chronograph, and its stopwatch module is produced by Switzerland's Dubois Dépraz. Dubois Dépraz chronograph modules have been used in watches by Omega, Patek Philippe, Heuer, and Breitling, among countless others.
Measured on my timegrapher in six positions with the chronograph running, this movement ran at plus-three seconds per day, squarely within COSC tolerances. So, as we bring the reality of the ETA-based movement up against the $5,000 price tag, it would be too easy to dismiss the caliber B130 if we didn't understand what's under the proverbial hood. I submit that the B130 delivers quite a bit of mechanical oomph – literally and figuratively.
I'm not obsessive about in-house manufacturing at any price point and often find the term misleading anyway. My Ducati's engine is full of Volkswagen technology, and thank goodness, because the service intervals and overall reliability are exceptional. For motorcycles, I most certainly prefer reliable workhorse engines, and I can extend that logic to this watch, which I found to work excellently while on my bike.
The impressive lightness of this limited edition is aided by the solid titanium caseback.
As a Café Racer, I always wear a watch while riding; I've done so for over 30 years. I even designed a watch for motorcycling last year, the Alsta Motoscaphe 120, and I rode 9,000 miles across America with it on my left wrist – the ultimate field test. So I know what makes a good motorcycling watch.
First of all, any watch worn on a bike needs to be waterproof. You're inevitably going to ride in downpours and, on better days, you might find yourself cooling off in a lake. The Bulgari Ducati watch provides 100 meters of water resistance, and that's without a screw-down crown or pushers.
Second, a motorcycling watch has to be reasonably compact. I can't say enough good things about how this watch wears. It's comfortable, it's light as a feather, and it's not at all bulky.
Lastly, a good motorcycling watch must not create skin abrasions on your wrist, a lesson I learned the hard way while wearing the relatively heavy steel Alsta Motoscaphe 120 with a cheap rubber strap for 9,000 miles.
The watch is quite compact at 40mm × 11.1mm. It's also ultra-lightweight and exceptionally comfortable on the wrist.
Somewhat counterintuitively, this chafing problem has a lot to do with the weight of the watch. I stumbled onto this realization earlier this year while riding with my titanium Seiko Shogun SPB191 on a supple Tropic rubber strap, a lightweight combo that caused me zero abrasions. Any watch worn on a motorcycle will be under slight but constant vibration, and it's this endless jiggling that can cause a stiff rubber strap to irritate the skin. Physics tells us that heavier watch heads will jiggle with more force, so making the watch light and the rubber extra pliable solves the problem.
I suppose only a Café Racer who loves watches could come to this geeky realization; there's no way Bulgari or Ducati was thinking about this – a point evidenced by the fact that the Bulgari Aluminium series of watches have existed since 1998. For me, this is the most uncanny of the many synergies I've discovered in this collaboration.
The link-style rubber bracelet removes stress at key pressure points as it wraps along the wrist.
The linked rubber bracelet is pure genius. It's not only soft but the aluminum hinges relieve pressure from the critical points where a motorcyclist might develop skin irritations. I wore the watch for many days of spirited riding in New York's Hudson Valley, and I'm happily abrasion-free.
I imagine some readers will balk at this watch for two reasons: the date window at 4:30 on the dial and the use of dramatic speedometer-like Arabic numerals. I will not defend the date window – I kind of wish it wasn't there – but I think those italicized numerals require a Café Racer's explanation.
If you sit behind the dash of a Ducati, the use of these stylized numerals make perfect sense. They're exactly the right font as what you'd find on the tachymeter of a Ducati – not the speedometer. And it's particularly significant that we only see them at the 10, 11, and 12 o'clock positions on the dial.
The 10-, 11-, and 12-hour numerals on the Bulgari Aluminium Ducati Special Edition make perfect sense if you ride a Ducati Panigale V2.
My Ducati Panigale redlines at 12,000rpm, which appears on the tachymeter as "12." The ascent up from 10, 11, to 12 on the watch's dial is not only exactly how it appears on my tachymeter, but it's also the high-rev range where we Ducatisti experience motorcycling bliss. The bike's thrust from 10 to 12 feels like a flash of unadulterated power, rage, speed, and beauty that snaps you into the here and now.
For a Café Racer like me, that's as close to religion as it gets.
So to look down at a watch that recites those last few sacred numbers against a bright Ducati-red backdrop and that's enveloped by sandblasted aluminum and embossed black rubber – Dio mio, si! – I'll happily pay the fine.
HODINKEE is an authorized retailer for BVLGARI.
Find out more about BVLGARI watchmaking online.
BVLGARI is part of the LVMH group. Although LVMH Luxury Ventures is a minority investor in HODINKEE, we maintain complete editorial independence.
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