Bulgari adds a trio of aluminium cased lightweight collection of modern sports watches

Bulgari has established itself as a serious leader over the last few years when it comes to making sleek, lightweight sports watches. The Octo Finissimo is one of the most iconic new watches of the last decade but not light at all. A trio of thin, lightweight sports watches that look to some late-90s pieces for inspiration, but with a bunch of important updates.

The Bulgari Aluminium and Aluminium Chronograph are reinterpretations of a watch that Bulgari first launched back in 1998 that combined aluminium cases, rubber straps, and quartz movements to create a different kind of luxury watch. It might seem commonplace today, but presenting a non-precious-metal watch on a rubber strap as a luxury watch was still pretty revolutionary in the late '90s.

The new models come in two variations on the time-and-date and a panda dial chronograph build on that foundation, but with a new, more durable aluminium alloy for the cases, the proprietary Bulgari-style rubber bracelet, and mechanical movements. Aesthetically, they're very much in line with their forebearers, but the technical updates are the big news.

For the time-and-date Aluminium, it got a 40mm case with a sandblasted finish and a matte black rubber bezel. Bulgari has not provided details on this new aluminium alloy but says that it's more resistant to wear – aluminium is light but soft, so it can be vulnerable to scratches and dents.