Bulgari was founded in 1884 as a jewellery and luxury goods company, but only entered the luxury watch business nearly a hundred years later in 1980. Within this short period of time, however, the brand has expanded its watch division through growth and acquisition to include several iconic lines, including Bulgari Bulgari and Octo.

One such other collection, the Diagono, was introduced a quarter-century ago. The Diagono bears some similarities to the Bulgari Bulgari, but has a different lug design and comes with crown protection at the side of its case, among other distinctions. When it was first presented to the world, it sported a classic dial design inspired by Myron’s sculpture Discobolus (“Disc Thrower”), and had an aluminium case that was ground-breaking for its era. The usage of lightweight aluminium paired with a chronograph function quickly established the Diagono as a cornerstone of the brand’s sporty watches.

The Diagono collection has been updated this year with the Ultranero Chronograph, which features four references with carbon and ceramic in their construction. As usual, the eye is immediately drawn to the bezel, made of either pink gold or black ceramic and engraved with the brand’s name. Ceramic aside, the usage of high-tech materials extends to the 42mm wide case, done here in steel with a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coating to impart a deep black colour as well as superlative resistance to scratching. To provide contrast, the predominantly black timepiece comes paired with red, yellow, white or gold accents on the chronograph second hands, outer chapter ring and all markings on the tri-compax subdials.

Within the case, the in-house manufactured Calibre B130 chronograph beats at 4Hz, and houses a 42 hour power reserve. To round things off, the Ultranero Chronograph comes with a monoblock rubber bracelet with stainless steel links and an ardillon buckle. The Ultranero Chronograph will be available in stores come August.