What Makes A Watch Tick

In Switzerland, watchmaking isn't just an industry — it's a culture. Developing a high-end timepiece is an artful process that calls for creativity, precision and a lot of patience

It's been 20 years since Bulgari introduced its first Diagono, the Italian fine-jewelry brand's classic sports watch, and to mark the anniversary, the line is getting an updated look. The freshly made-over Diagonos feature redesigned dials, bezels, hands and lugs. Bulgari is also introducing several new models that take Diagono to the top tiers of watchmaking. One of the most complicated timepieces, the Diagono Tourbillon—limited to 30 platinum pieces—is an exemplar of the company's increasingly vertically integrated production. Its movement (i.e., the watch's inner workings) is made up of 200 minuscule pieces—52 in the tourbillon mechanism alone. (The tourbillon is a...

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