The world of horology never ceases to amaze us. In the ever progressing thick of things a marque that has been breaking barriers year on year is Bulgari. The Italian luxury watchmaker has been at the helm of producing slimmest movements that have left the industry in awe and the watchmaker with series of awards to reckon with.
Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo watches have amassed a series of six world records in the last seven years – from the first Octo Finissimo introduced in 2014, every rendition in years thereafter (no model in 2015) until the latest one released at the Geneva Watch Days 2020, has achieved a record for groundbreaking thinness of their movements.
Bulgari timepieces in the Octo Finissimo series are not just stocked in with innovatively thin movements, they also have a captivating design – a combo that makes a watch worth its weight in gold. An undisputed leader in the race of ultra-thin watches, Bulgari has the thinnest automatic movement, minute repeater, chronograph, and tourbillon in its repertoire.
Initial years of tweaking thinness
Bulgari’s record-making journey started with the introduction of the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Manual. The watch was powered by the pioneering BVL 268 movement that measured just 1.95mm thick. The watch with 40mm sandblasted titanium case came to be reckoned as the thinnest hand-wound flying tourbillon every produced.
A year lapsed in between and the Italian watchmaker was back in 2016 with the next revelation in what would be a long and successive saga in the years henceforth. This year the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater was released with the in-house BVL 362 movement powering its guts. This minute repeater movement was the thinnest ever designed measuring 3.12mm thick. The Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater with 40mm extra thin titanium case featuring within a skeletonized titanium dial came with a 42 hour power reserve and a transparent caseback.
In 2017 the third world record setting Bulgari Octa Finissimo was launched in form of the Octa Finissimo Automatic watch. The exceptional timepiece was powered by a self-winding movement just 2.23mm thick, while the watch clocked a total thickness of just 5.15mm, making it the slimmest self-winding watch on debut. It came in a 40mm extra thin titanium case, small seconds and titanium dial.
The ultra-thin wave continues
The last three years have seen some exciting new models in the Octa Finissimo range, which have struck gold in their slimness. For instance the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic launched in 2018 with an astonishingly thin in-house BVL 288 automatic tourbillon movement measuring 1.95 mm thick. Measuring only 3.95mm thick, the automatic winding watch features a 43mm carbon case, skeletonized dial, and ultra-thin flying tourbillon movement visible through the dial.
With the introduction of the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic last year (2019), Bulgari increased its world record spree to five. Featuring a BVL 318 automatic chronograph movement that measures only 3.3mm thick, Bulgari had the thinnest chronograph ever made in its list. Featuring a sandblasted titanium dial within a 42mm extra-thin titanium case, the watch also has a second time zone complication, a column wheel, and automatic winding with peripheral rotor.
Released recently at Geneva Watch Days 2020, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic is the watchmaker’s latest entrant in the collection, and the sixth straight record setting timepiece. Powered by in-house BVL 388 automatic tourbillon chronograph movement that measures only 3.5mm thick, the watch features a 6 o’clock tourbillon escapement. The watch comes in a 42mm sandblasted Grade 5 titanium case and its innards are visible through the transparent caseback. Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic is a limited edition watch and only 50 pieces will be made.