Actor Omar Sharif Jr spotted wearing a Bulgari

At the 92nd Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 9, 2020, actor and LGBTQ+ activist Omar Sharif Jr. made a quietly confident red carpet statement. While his chocolate brown double-breasted tuxedo drew attention for its tonal boldness, a sharp eye catches something equally compelling peeking from his left cuff: what presents as a Bulgari Octo Roma Chronograph in rose gold.

The Bulgari Octo Roma Chronograph is built around one of modern horology's most rigorously geometric case architectures. The signature octagonal bezel integrated into a round middle case creates a 41mm form that manages to feel simultaneously neo-Baroque and Bauhaus. The variant visible here — with its warm reddish-gold case flash and what appears to be a dark, anthracite or black dial — points toward the reference BGO41BGLDCH or a closely related rose gold chronograph reference from the Octo Roma collection. The bezel's faceted lugs and the pushers' positioning are consistent with Bulgari's in-house calibre BVL 318, a column-wheel flyback chronograph movement with silicon hairspring, 70-hour power reserve, and a 4Hz frequency — a movement that punched well above its price tier when introduced.

The Octo Roma won the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève 'Watch of the Year' award in 2017, a legitimizing moment that repositioned Bulgari as a credible manufacture rather than merely a fashion-adjacent Italian luxury house. The case design, conceived by Gerald Genta's former collaborator and Bulgari design chief Fabrizio Buonamassa Picorini, has since become one of the most recognized silhouettes in contemporary watchmaking.

Omar Sharif Jr., grandson of Hollywood legend Omar Sharif and a Montreal-born actor who has spoken publicly about his Egyptian-Jewish heritage and his identity as a gay man, brings an international cosmopolitanism to his watch choices. Bulgari's Italian-Roman aesthetic — maximalist yet precise — suits a figure who navigates multiple cultural identities with deliberate style.

On the secondary market, rose gold Octo Roma Chronograph references have held value well, typically trading between $18,000 and $24,000 depending on configuration and condition. New retail pricing for rose gold variants sits north of $23,000, making this a serious horological choice rather than a red carpet prop.