Bulgari-CEO Jean-Christophe Babin talked to Rüdiger Bucher, editor-in-chief of WatchTime?s German sister magazine Chronos and International Editorial Director of Ebner Publishing, about The connection between a new world record and fashion.
Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari
RB: Generally speaking, how does your strategy for men’s watches differ from watches for women"

JCB: We have been creating jewelry watches for women for 101 years. As manufacturers of fine jewelry it was a logical next step for us to offer pieces that also indicate the time. We changed our approach in the mid-1970s when we began noticing bored men alongside the women who visited our boutiques. Nicola Bulgari and his brother Gianni came up with the idea of offering watches to the men, and that resulted in the first Bulgari Roma from 1975. Originally we created them as a gift for men who purchased an expensive piece of jewelry. The watch became so successful, so quickly, that the brothers turned the watch into a commercial model: the famous Bulgari-Bulgari with the double logo engraved in the bezel. In the early 2000s we were even selling more men’s watches than women’s watches. Bulgari ? with the ?V?-shaped “U” in its logo, its many references to ancient Rome, its architectural design features ? is truly one of the few feminine luxury brands that men also find to be very attractive. We can also see this in our fragrances, as men’s cologne makes up about 45...