Bulgari, Laura Burdese will be the new CEO

Babin has always shown a strong and passionate commitment to the protection and development of Italian craftsmanship, with the inauguration of a new extension of the factory in Valenza, which is now the largest in the world, and the launch of the Bulgari School. Work is also underway on the new headquarters of the Bulgari high jewellery factory in Rome, which is scheduled to open in the second half of 2027.

He is known for his passion, also personal, for watchmaking, which he has also developed at Bulgari through the launch of highly successful and highly innovative products such as the Octo Finissimo, which in the 11 years since its launch has broken 10 world records - such as the thinnest automatic watch and the thinnest tourbillon - and won 75 international awards, including the prestigious Gran Prix de la Haute Horlogerie Golden Hand, making it the most awarded watch ever.

L’Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon presentato quest’anno ha uno spessore da record, di 1,85 mm

And that's not all: in 2020, in the midst of the Covid era and realising the need to change the format of trade fairs, Babin initiated the Geneva Watch Days event, which from the eight exhibitors of the first edition hosted no fewer than 66 this year and established itself as one of the most important events for high-end watchmaking.

Bulgari Resort Ranfushi, alle Maldive, aprirà nel 2026

Babin has also passionately developed Bulgari's hotel division, building on the intuition of his predecessor, Francesco Trapani (who recently passed away), who opened the first Bulgari Hotel in Milan in 2004, when the brand was still owned by the founding family: in twelve years, Bulgari has signed hotels in nine cities and destinations, and has already announced the forthcoming opening of its resort in the Maldives in 2026, while five other projects are under construction (Bodrum, Miami, Bahamas and Abu Dhabi) and will be opened between 2027 and 2031. Another product strand developed by Babin was accessories, in particular leather goods, a further channel for telling and enhancing the Bulgari icons: the creative direction of the accessories collection was entrusted in spring 2024 to the designer Mary Katrantzou.

Jean-Christophe Babin (primo da destra) insieme a Claudio Presicce e Ignazio Marino all’inaugurazione della restaurata Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti nel 2015

Beyond the product, however, Babin has also always strongly emphasised Bulgari's commitment to patronage, supporting the restoration of several monuments in the capital: Sotirio Bulgari decided to open his first shop in Rome in 1884 and the city has been a source of inspiration for the maison ever since. In 2013, one of Babin's first public outings took place alongside the then mayor Ignazio Marino for the presentation of the restoration project - financed by Bulgari - of the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps), just a few steps away from the historic boutique in Via Condotti; over the years this has been followed by the financing of the restoration of the mosaics of the Baths of Caracalla, which moreover inspired the motif of the Divas' Dream collection, passing through the lighting of the'Ara Pacis and the museum of Palazzo Braschi, but also the restoration and reopening of the sacred area of Largo Argentina and the recent conservation work on some sculptural elements of the Vittoriano, for a total of several million euro.

Not only ancient and modern history, however: in 2017, the Maxxi Bulgari Prize was launched, in collaboration with the Museum of 21st Century Arts, to highlight new talents in contemporary art. And to better organise these numerous activities, in 2024 Bulgari launched its Foundation, which is also closely following the intervention on the Mausoleum of Augustus, just a few steps away from the Bulgari Hotel opened in 2024.