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Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani
Creativity without limits
Fabrizio Buonamassa is the Product Creation Executive Director at Bvlgari and is celebrating 25 years with the Italian luxury brand that’s known for its beautiful watches. He sat down with helvet during the flurry of activity at this year’s Watches & Wonders.
He is one of those individuals who can relay a world of emotions, perspectives or opinions without even saying a word. Everything about him — his discreet charisma, warm accent and natural elegance — embodies Italy’s best and most refined. Always punctual, Fabrizio Buonamassa
Stigliani discreetly smiles as he glances at his wrist, where an Octo Finissimo sparkles. This timepiece, which is both distinctive and manifest, represents the essence of his work at Bvlgari: a masterful fusion of Italian style and technical achievement.
Born in Naples, Buonamassa’s passion for drawing developed at a young age and led him directly to Rome’s Higher Institute for Artistic Industries. After obtaining his degree, he spent his early career at the Fiat Style Centre in Turin, a bastion of transalpine industrial design, where he refined his approach and precision. But in 2001, he found himself irresistibly drawn to watchmaking. Driven by his bold vision, he spontaneously sent Bvlgari a few sketches including some designs inspired by the iconic Bvlgari Bvlgari and the Bvlgari Aluminium watch models, which already broke with established codes. Paolo Bulgari was impressed and made Buonamassa part of his creative team. The designer found himself in an ideal environment for expressing his unique sense of style and technical rigour. In 2007, he became the brand’s Product Creation Executive Director, and, two years later, carried out a strategic relocation to Neuchâtel, where he could focus on reinforcing the connections between design and watchmaking expertise.
A marriage of ideas
Fabrizio Buonamassa sees his relationship with Bvlgari like a marriage — one that evolves over time, in which both party’s respective opinions and needs are heard and respected. Each idea and concept are analysed in relation to the market and the current customer demand, while always incorporating essential respect for the brand’s DNA and the need for innovation. It’s a recipe that has worked beautifully for 25 years, with the brand consistently supporting his projects and encouraging him to push boundaries. One of his hallmark creations is the Octo Finissimo. Launched in 2014, this constantly evolving and ultrathin watch (which holds several thinness world records!) transformed Bvlgari’s reputation in the watchmaking industry. “It opened up a new pathway for masculine expression”, he added.
MB&F & Fabrizio: a winning combo
However, there was another key turning point in the Italian designer’s career, which came when he met Maximilian Büsser, the founder of MB&F. The two men, driven by the same quest for uniqueness, met for the first time in Dubai. Max Büsser was the first to approach Fabrizio, much to his surprise. Even more unexpected, the watchmaker expressed his great admiration for the Octo Finissimo and proposed the two men collaborate.
This synergy gave birth to the LM FlyingT Allegra in 2021, a timepiece that embodies the collision of their two worlds. In 2025, the duo did it again with the Serpenti MB&F, a watch that was both bold and refined, revisiting the iconic Bvlgari Serpenti with MB&F’s avant-garde approach. This collaboration between friends will surely give rise to other models in the future but, even so, Fabrizio Buonamassa remains loyal to his one true love: Bvlgari.
