Inside Bulgari
With about 400 employees, Bulgari’s production facilities include work-
shops in Le Sentier, Saignelégier, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Neuchâtel. The
company’s horological expansion in the past decade has seemingly culmi-
nated in the most recent years, when Bulgari has debuted spectacular
ultra-thin watches (including four record-holders), new Grande Sonnerie
models, a new Solotempo self-winding base movement and an extensive
collection of jeweled watches that most recently added its first minute
repeater designed for women, the Diva’s Dream (see opposite page)
Bulgari facilities source raw materials and create all watch components,
especially high-end movements, all its cases and all its own dials. As noted,
high-end watchmaking at Bulgari includes four primary facilities. Le Sentier
handles production of mechanical movements, especially at the high end,
in Saignelégier Bulgari makes its cases (gold, platinum, titanium and steel)
while in La Chaux-de-Fonds the company’s dial-making operations create
dials for the entire range of timepieces. The operational hub in Neuchâtel
handles watch assembly and final testing.
While visiting Bulgari’s Le Sentier facility, we asked John Sheridan, Senior
Watchmaker, High Complications, for a quick overview of how Bulgari’s
high-end production proceeds, from assembly through testing to final
casing. Here are highlights of his responses.
WHEELS AND BRIDGES
“Watch production at Bulgari proceeds in multiple stages. All the work is
hand assembled and adjusted. The first assembled is the hand setting and
winding mechanis