A particular pedigree of timepieces dominates the pantheon of horological icons. These creations represent excellence in timeless design and chronometry and are flag bearers of the heritage of the grand houses that birthed them. However, lest it should be taken as a formula for greatness, there are within the roster a few that have broken the mold. To that end, there may be no better example than Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo watches.
Photo: Bulgari
With the Octo, the Italian watchmaker has presented the world with a paradox: a design that includes a circle and a square within a square. Add to this an octagon, and suddenly you have a watch face that beckons the curious. Perhaps most visually fascinating about the Octo Finisimmo is how its sharp and angular 110-facet case looks imposing from the top but svelte from the side. The Octo conveys a sense of strength and muscularity that is simultaneously sophisticated and elegant.
Photo: Bulgari
The Octo collection was first introduced in 2012 as the Octo L’Originale. Two years later, in 2014, Bulgari launched Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Manual, breaking the record for the world’s thinnest hand-wound tourbillon timepiece. At this point, Bulgari knew that it had set in motion an appetite to chase down every possible corner of ultra-thin watchmaking. Some corners that the world didn’t even know existed.
In the same year, Bulgari also launched the Octo Finissimo Petite Seconde, an unassuming time-only watch that is much more than meets the eye. For instance, did you know that the clearances between the dial and the sapphire crystal are so delicate that for the hands to move appropriately, the hour markers of the timepiece have to be grown galvanically and then placed onto the dial like stickers? Multiple other solutions related to the case and movement construction were devised in-house to squeeze and cleave every possible nanometer in the pursuit of ultra-thin.
Lessons learnt from the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Manual and Octo Finissimo Petite Seconde gave Bulgari so much confidence that they could apply this to produce one of horology’s most challenging complications in an ultra-thin form just two years later. In 2016, Bulgari gave the world the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater, with a movement that is just 3.12mm thick. Case, dial and movement construction fundamentals established earlier were the reason why Bulgari was able to achieve this feat. The watch also features cut-out dial markers, which on top of allowing the hands enough space to sweep over the dial, enable the chime of the repeater to pass through with an amplifying effect. From here on, the rate at which Bulgari went on to produce record breakers is staggering.
In 2017, Bulgari announced record number three with the Octo Finissimo Automatic powered by the ultra-thin calibre BVL 138 of just 2.23mm thick. With the case included, the watch is a mere 5.15mm thick, thanks to a micro-rotor that reduces the movement’s height. This was also the year in which Bulgari pushed the limits of its watchmaking know-how by pairing the sandblasted titanium case of the Octo Finisimmo with a seamlessly integrated sandblasted titanium bracelet of matching thickness.
Record number four came in 2018 with the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic. Let’s pause at this juncture and remind ourselves that in 2014, the record-setting 40mm platinum case of the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Manual watch was all 5mm thick. However, the 42mm sandblasted titanium case of the Octo Finissimo Automatic manages to beat the seemingly impossible to measure 3.95mm thick all in. This feat was primarily made possible due to the milling tolerances of titanium and the calibre BVL 288 within, which is equipped with a peripheral winding rotor.
In 2019, Bulgari ushered in the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic. The timepiece boasts a contemporary styled horizontally coupled, column wheel controlled chronograph with peripheral winding and a second timezone indication, all possible thanks to a 3.3mm thin calibre BVL 318.
In 2020, while the world reeled in new realities, the Italian house announced ultra-thin record breaker number six, the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic. At this point, it was no longer about how thin the Octo Finissimo could be made. Instead, it became a matter of how much substance an ultra-thin timepiece could hold. In this regard, the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic boasts a 3Hz tourbillon with a horizontally coupled monopusher chronograph. It is driven by a peripheral rotor wound calibre BVL 388 that’s just 3.5mm thick.
In 2021, Bulgari shocked the world with the Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar. It features a perpetual calendar complication with a retrograde date indication, day and month displayed using subdials and a retrograde leap year indicator. All that information is housed within another ultra-thin record breaker: the 40mm case is just 5.8mm, while its calibre BVL 305 is a mere 2.75mm.
This year marks a decade since the launch of the Octo L’Originale and the Octo collection that we know today. Seven record breakers in, Bulgari knew it had to pull out all the stops for the occasion and deliver. Record number eight, therefore, is the Octo Finissimo Ultra. It is aptly named, as this watch measures 1.8mm, 0.2mm thinner than the previous record holder.
Photo: Bulgari
Achieving this required a complete rethinking of how the Octo Finissimo case, movement and bracelet are constructed. Maximising ultra-miniaturisation, Bulgari separated the hour and minute indication into dedicated subdials. The running seconds are incorporated directly onto the gear responsible for its measurement. The timepiece had to forgo a traditional winding crown in favour of two horizontally placed knobs — one for winding and the other for setting. The watch’s caseback also serves as the base onto which the entire watch movement is assembled and incorporates the watch’s lugs.
For the rigidity necessary for all of the caseback’s responsibilities, Bulgari created this whole structure out of tungsten carbide, which is said to be harder to machine than even titanium. The most striking feature of the Octo Finissimo Ultra is its barrel ratchet wheel that is laser engraved with a QR code unique to each of the ten pieces Bulgari will be producing. The code, in turn, is linked to a unique NFT artwork for the watch owners’ enjoyment.
Photo: Bulgari.
Breaking records and pursuing ultra-thin aside, what must be said is that the Octo Finissimo isn’t just a record-breaking technical feat. It is also a damn good-looking watch, regardless of how (thinly) you slice it. Devoid of all complexity and in its basic form, as a time-only watch like the all-steel Octo Finissimo S, it still makes for an incredibly desirable watch. Here’s further proof of how strong the Octo Finissimo’s elemental design is: the Octo Finissimo Sejima Limited Edition. Here’s a watch that does not even bear its house’s name on the dial; yet, you’d be able to identify its maker on any wrist from a mile away.
