Octo All Blacks Special Edition watch:

Bulgari's tribute to the All Blacks

New Zealand's All Blacks team won the World Cup Rugby final against Australia on October 31on the pitch of London's famous Twickenham stadium, thereby confirming their status as the best current international team. Bulgari joined in celebrating this victory as official sponsor of the 'Kiwis' and creator of the Octo All Blacks watch in tribute to the prestigious team.

Rugby is said to have been invented by a young pupil at Rugby School, William Webb Ellis, who transgressed the rules of soccer in around 1823 by picking up the ball to score a goal. The Southern hemisphere discovered rugby through a strong English presence in that part of the world. From 1872 onwards, teams known as Pakehas (meaning Europeans) were formed in New Zealand, mainly composed of colonists, military men and Maoris.

Their black kit, purported to stand for mourning wear in anticipation of their adversaries' defeat, has earned them the 'All Blacks' nickname. This outstanding team has earned its rank as the world's best rugby players thanks to an extremely physical and team-based style, backed by a mental strength that they invoke by their now famous pre-match 'Haka' ritual.

Bulgari enjoys several longstanding ties with the All Blacks. On a historical level, the New Zealand Rugby team was officially selected in 1884, the same year, the unique descendant of a Greek family of goldsmiths, Sotirio Boulgaris, decided to continue perpetuating the expertise of his ancestors from the tiny village of Epirus by opening his first boutique in Rome on the Via Sistina, between the Piazza di Spagna and the Trevi Fountain. Giving an Italian twist in tribute to the age-old creations in which he dealt, he decided to introduce the historical Roman 'V' into the spelling of the 'Bvlgari' brand name.

The All Blacks team has achieved global celebrity which it owes - just like the artisans of the Maison Bulgari - to universally recognized excellence that is constantly cultivated and renewed.

Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari, points out, the two names are synonymous with perfection, each in its own domain, and this new watch making collaboration conveys a number of mutual values. "I'm particularly thrilled by the All Blacks' victory. The prestigious New Zealand team testifies to an exalted vision of performance and the universal values of sport. Our Octo All Blacks sports watch is a creation that consolidates the fruitful partnership with the legendary team. It embodies the values shared by the two excellent brands, both universally acknowledged as standing for intense passion, commitment, teamwork, success and victory, each in its own field."