Bulgari announces limited edition watch collab with Gran Turismo

Bulgari has collaborated with gaming phenomenon Gran Turismo to launch two limited edition timepieces inspired by the Bulgari Aluminium watch. And not only that, the luxury watchmaking brand will also be designing a brand new Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT car for the Gran Turismo Vision video game, making it the first and only non-automotive brand to do this. This collaboration was announced at the Gran Turismo World Series finals in Barcelona on December 3. 

The watches will be a special edition version of the luxury fashion house’s Aluminium chronograph. The limited edition watches will come with a yellow dial and black counters; and with an anthracite dial featuring yellow indices. They will retain all of the original’s sleekness and combine it with a vibrant yellow colour that is inspired by the ’90s Italian GT car dashboards. They will also have numerals in the Gran Turismo font, some special case back engravings, and a tachymeter — a first since the collection’s relaunch in 2020.

The Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT car combines high horology with high-performance auto racing for the very first time. The shape and materials used for the car will be inspired by the limited edition watches. The car will have a similar colour scheme as the watch and will also feature similar shapes and lines for the design.

The makers have also revealed that everyone who purchases the special edition watches will receive a code which will enable them to race with the Bulgari hypercar in the game.

Bulgari’s executive director of product creation, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, collaborated with car designer Fabio Filippini from Pininfarina to create the Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT. Speaking about the collaboration, Fabrizio said that he wanted to find a different way to “play with Bulgari’s DNA” by creating a concept car that spoke the same language as the watch.

“[The car’s] design is based on geometric, pure, and angular forms inspired by the lines of legendary Italian gran turismo cars from the 1970s, featuring sporty three-spoke steering wheels and walnut dashboards,” he said. “These shapes come together to create the unmistakable Bulgari aesthetic, resulting in a concept car with perfectly realistic proportions at full scale.”

Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of Gran Turismo and president of Polyphony Digital, the studio behind the game, added that the personal relationships between the collaborators is what has made this partnership come to life.

“We greatly value personal relationships. That’s the key to many of the collaborations we have forged, and it’s the soul of our community of players. It’s especially true this time,” he said.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of Vision Gran Turismo, and Kazunori believes that there is “no better way to celebrate it than with a product as stunning as the Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo special edition watches and the striking Bulgari Vision Gran Turismo car.”