Felix Scholz
Some of the most important, exciting watches are those made by watchmakers who push the barriers of what’s possible. The deepest, the most complicated, or in the case of this Bulgari, the thinnest.Bulgari has a proven record when it comes to high-end, ultra thin horology. They hold the record for the thinnest tourbillon and the thinnest minute repeater. Now they can add the thinnest automatic movement to the list.The movement in the new Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic is a mere 2.23mm thick, 0.7mm thinner than Piaget's legendary 12P. On top of that the whole watch comes in at a mere 5.15mm thick. This extremely slight movement, paired with the lightweight titanium case means that the Octo really is a feather on the wrist. The real trick to making a thin movement is to make one that is robust enough to stand up to regular daily wear, and on that front the Octo certainly delivers. Beating at 3hz, and with a platinum micro-rotor that's able to generate an impressive 60 hours of power reserve, the Finissimo is no delicate dress-only piece. On top of that the Caliber BVL 138 has been designed to very tight tolerances, with many elements designed from scratch to specifically meet the tight tolerances such extreme slenderness requires.Clever engineering alone does not an excellent watch make. Thankfully for all involved the Octo Finissimo is both visually and technically appealing. The sandblasted matt grey titanium is a perfect neutral, monochrome surface that just seems to go with everything. Sure, there's no depth, but that just allows the incredible Octo geometry to shine. While the nubuck strap is nice, the titanium bracelet is incredible. Bravo, Bulgari, bravo.
26.03.17