
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Bulgari wristwatch, ref. SD, self-winding diver’s, circa 2000-2010
- Maker / attribution
- Bulgari (brand / maker)
- Date
- c. 2000-2010
- Historical period
- Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Dimensions
- diameter 38.1 mm
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 348-26
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 26, Hong Kong, March 9th, 2022
- Catalogue title (original)
- Bulgari Ref. SD 38 S, self-winding, diver’s, date; “Scuba”; stainless steel (English)
View the source record (auction lot) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 348-26), this is a wristwatch by Bulgari, made in Switzerland, dated c. 2000-2010. The Atlas places it in the Mechanical Renaissance period (1990 – 2010) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel. Recorded dimensions: diameter 38.1 mm. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Antiquorum catalogue description
Stainless steel, self-winding, round-shaped, gentleman’s wristwatch, water-resistant with screwed case-back, winding crown protected by the crown guards, 60-minute graduated unidirectional revolving bezel for the decompression times, black colour dial with centre-seconds and one horological complication:· Half-instantaneous date of the month (aperture at 3 o’clock)
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Model: “Scuba” “Automatic” “Chronometer Officially Certified”; Reference: SD 38 S; Case No.: L 8055; Material: stainless steel; Bracelet: black rubber Bulgari strap with double folding stainless steel Bulgari deployant clasp; Diameter: 38.1 mm.; Signature: and case; Accessories: contemporary fitted box
Inscriptions & marks
and case
Historical context
Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)
Mechanical watches return as cultural objects; independent watchmaking flourishes.
Mechanical watches returned as cultural and luxury objects. Complications, tourbillons and new materials proliferated; independent watchmakers such as George Daniels, F.P. Journe and Philippe Dufour revived artisanal watchmaking; collecting vintage watches became a major field.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Quartz Revolution
Atlas type guide
Dive and water-resistant watches
Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.
Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.
What to look for
- Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
- Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
- Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
- Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.
Dating clues
- Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
- Professional dive watches: from 1953.
- Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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