Synonymous with architecture, design and style, Bulgari of Rome has always remained at the forefront of Italian style, and has always had a keen eye for horology. With the incorporation of Gerald Genta in the early 2000s, Bulgari has had access to great intellectual property in terms of design, movements with great designs and layouts, as well as the savoir-faire that enabled them to design one of the most iconic watches of the 2010s/2020s – the Octo Finissimo. Equating thinness with elegance and sophistication, record after record came tumbling down in this collection, setting records for complications, and pushing the boundaries of ultra-slim watchmaking. In 2022, this collection celebrates its 10th anniversary, and at Geneva Watch Days, four models stand out as a celebration of this emblematic collection.
Geneva Watch Days sees the unveiling of an Octo Finissimo with a new movement, two new twists on classics, and a collaboration with famed architect Kazuyo Sejima.
Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days
Starting off the releases with a bang, the Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days introduces a long power reserve to its famed Octo Finissimo collection. The movement is skeletonised to create a complementary angular style on the plates and bridges of the movement, playing with light and transparency on the dial.
Housed within its distinctive 40mm Octo case in rose gold, the Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days also manages to work a power reserve indicator in a way that is unobtrusive, and in keeping with its principles of design.
Above the small seconds indicator, is a gauge that shows the power reserve through a retrograde disc hidden under the dial.
Even with a massive power reserve, the manually-wound BVL 199 SK enables the watch to remain ultra-slim – at a thickness of only 5.95mm. A sapphire crystal back further enhances the skeletonisation work, and the watch is delivered on a brown alligator leather strap with pin buckle.
Octo Finissimo Gold – Octo Finissimo Automatic and Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT
Two outstanding members of the Octo Finissimo collection receive the golden treatment for the 10 year anniversary of ground-breaking watchmaking. These two models pay tribute to the 8 world records set by the collection that include the two models released for this celebration.
The Octo Finissimo Automatic set its world record in 2017, with its BVL Calibre 138 measuring in at only 2.23mm tall. At the time of its release, the world had not seen anything like it, which was due in part to its design – many other ultra-slim watches were immensely classical in nature, and to have such a 70’s chic about the shape of an ultra-slim watch was highly unusual at the time. The Octo Finissimo Automatic has now become an icon for Bulgari, cementing its place in watchmaking history. In 2022, the Octo Finissimo Automatic comes in Rose Gold, with a brown lacquered dial featuring a sunburst finish that complements the satin brushed angular Octo case, and its bracelet.
The BVL Calibre 138 that ticks away inside is the same as its original record-breaking model that was released in 2017, however, has had some minor upgrades to its automatic winding system and structural updates to the escapement and balance wheel.
The Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT has always been the watch in the collection with the most utility, housing two additional complications in the form of a Chronograph and GMT function. The watch first set its record in 2019, and we can with certainty – at the time of writing – that it remains the record holder to this day. Being the more utilitarian version of the Octo Finissimo, the dial of the watch features applied numerals – along with the hands of the watch, they are both filled with SuperLuminova for legibility at night. Like the Octo Finissimo Automatic, the dial is a brown lacquered dial with a sunburst finish, accentuating the colour of the case and brown alligator leather strap. The watch has its chronograph pushers on the right side of the case, and the protrusion on the left side is the pusher to adjust the second time zone.
Housed within the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT is the BVL Calibre 318, with its distinctive peripheral rotor that enables its slimness in construction, whilst offering automatic winding.
Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition
Much like how Rome’s architecture has inspired millions, Bulgari has also been fascinated with architecture and brought awareness of amazing architects to more people, as seen in their last collaboration pieces with Tadao Ando. At Geneva Watch Days 2022, Bulgari unveils a new collaboration with Kazuyo Sejima, the second woman to win the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 2010.
Her inspiration was the material and transparency, the visible and the invisible, which resulted in a version of the Octo Finissimo that is highly polished to a mirror-like finish, with a reflective effect on the sapphire crystal dial enhanced by a dot pattern designed by Sejima herself.
Turning the watch over, we see a sapphire crystal dial that bears her signature, with the BVL Calibre 138 in the background. Limited to 360 pieces worldwide, the watch is another great collaboration with a legendary architect – a piece that is sure to generate conversation when seen in the wild.
Bulgari’s Octo collection has seen some amazing years of progress and record-breaking endeavours, and there can be no doubt that the collection has cemented itself into watchmaking history as watches that push the boundaries of what is possible. It has also served as a canvas for architects and artists to display their vision of this watch, enabling them to play with design and materials to heighten the design of the Octo collection. We are sure that this collection has a bright future ahead, and we cannot wait to see future iterations of the Octo collection.
Technical Specifications
Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days – 103667
Movement
Mechanical Manufacture ultra-thin movement with manual winding; Caliber BVL 199 SK with small seconds and power reserve indicator, anthracite PVD skeletonized bridges, 2.50mm thick, 36.60 mm in diameter, 21,600 V/H, 8 days (192 hours) power reserve.
Case, dial and strap
40mm satin-polished rose gold case, transparent case-back, 5.95mm thick; rose gold crown with black ceramic insert; water- resistant to 30m; openworked dial with power reserve indicator and small seconds counter, BVLGARI eight days logo, gold-colored hands, and applied indexes. Dark brown alligator strap with pin buckle.
Octo Finissimo Automatic – 103637
Movement
Mechanical Manufacture ultra-thin movement with automatic winding via a platinum micro- rotor; Caliber BVL 138 with small seconds, 2.23mm thick, 36.60 mm in diameter, 21,600 V/H, 60h power reserve.
Case, dial and strap
40mm satin-polished 18kt rose gold case, transparent case-back, 6.40mm thick; 18 kt rose gold crown with black ceramic insert; water-resistant to 100m; brown lacquered dial with sunray finishing, gold-colored hands and indexes. Satin-polished 18 kt rose gold bracelet with 3-blade folding buckle.
Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic – 103468
Movement
Mechanical in-house chronograph and GMT movement with automatic winding (peripheral oscillating weight) and small seconds – BVL 318 caliber (3.30mm thick). 55-hour power reserve; local time zone adjusted via the pushbutton at 9 o’clock.
Case, dial and strap
43 mm satin-polished rose gold case (8.75 mm thick) with transparent case back; rose gold crown set with black ceramic insert; brown lacquered dial with sunray finishing, rose gold applied indexes with Super-LumiNova®; hands filled with Super-LumiNova®, water- resistant to 100 meters. Brown alligator strap with rose gold pin buckle.
Octo Finissimo Automatic Sejima Edition – 103710
Movement
Mechanical Manufacture ultra-thin movement with automatic winding via a platinum micro- rotor; Caliber BVL 138 with small seconds, 2.23mm thick, 36.60 mm in diameter, 21,600 V/H, 60h power reserve.
Case, dial and strap
40mm polished steel case, transparent case- back with Sejima signature, 6.40mm thick; steel crown with black ceramic insert; water- resistant to 100m; polished dial with mirror- effect, rhodium-plated hands, sapphire crystal with metallized dots. Polished steel bracelet with 3-blade folding buckle.
Limited edition of 360 pieces. Special packaging in steel with a mirror effect.