Baselworld 2018: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Tourbillon watch sets new record
Yesterday on my Perfect Timing column on Forbes.com, I broke the news about the record-setting Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Tourbillon watch that again established records for ultra-thin watches. However, Bulgari has also set a record for the world’s thinnest ultra-thin minute repeater for women with the bejeweled Octo Finissima Minute Repeater.
Bulgari Octo Finnisimo Automatic Tourbillon
Opening Baselworld 2018 with a bang, Bulgari unveiled the incredibly thin, highly technical Octo Finissimo Automatic Tourbillon – which measures just 3.95mm thin when cased. Representing the brand’s fourth world-record for Octo Finissimo ultra-thin watch, the new timepiece demonstrates the technical prowess of the brand’s watchmakers, engineers and designers.
Cased in titanium, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Tourbillon measures 3.95mm thick
The new Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic movement is based on the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon movement that Bulgari unveiled in 2014 and that was also a world-record setter. That watch movement included a one-minute a flying tourbillon but was manual wind. It measured 1.95mm in thickness and the entire watch measured 5 mm in height. It also takes inspiration from the Octo Finissimo Automatic timepiece that was unveiled last year as the slimmest automatic watch on the market. The 41mm timepiece beat out the previous record holder by tiny fractions with a movement consisting of 130 parts. Additionally, last year, Bulgari unveiled a skeletonized Octo Finiissimo Tourbillon. It seems that all three of these watches may have helped inspire the newest Bulgari Octo Finiissimo Tourbillon Automatic.
The watch is powered by a new in-house developed caliber, BVL 288, with automatic winding thanks to a peripheral rotor made of gold and aluminium and placed on the back of the movement to make more room inside for additional parts such as the one-minute flying tourbillon with ball bearing system. All said, this caliber measures 1.95mm thick. As mentioned, when cased in the 42mm brushed titanium case,it still only measures 3.95mm in thickness — the equivalent of a few sheets of paper. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic watch will retail for CHF 120,000. Just 50 pieces will be made.
The skeletonized movement of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Tourbillon measures 1.95mm thick — as seen at Baselworld 2018.
Bulgari Octo Finissima Minute Repeater
The other watch setting records this year from Bulgar is the Octo Finissima Minute Repeater, which was inspired by two important things. The first is the technical aspect of the watch: its movement was inspired by the 2016 unveiling by Bulgari of the ultra-thin Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater watch that set the world record as the thinnest hand-wound minute repeater on the market. The other influencing factor is that this year Bulgari celebrates 100 years since it unveiled its first women’s jeweled platinum watch collection.
Bulgari Diva Finissima Minute Repeater as seen at Baselworld 2018.
Bring these two important developments together and the brand couldn’t resist unveiling a jeweled ultra-thin minute repeater for women. The movement inside this new watch, Caliber BVL 362, is an evolution of the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater and represents the brand’s first ultra-thin ladies Diva Finissima . On demand, it chimes the the hours, quarter hours and minutes — activated by a twist of the gems charm that adorns the 18-kara pink gold 37mm watch.
The dial, with diamond markers, is created using the ancient Japanese Urushi lacquer technique that is hand painted in layers with gold flecks being applied via a single bamboo shoot for each layer. The Bulgari Diva Finissima Minute Repeater is set with 4.83 carats of diamonds. Just 10 pieces will be made.
The minute repeater on the Bulgari Diva Finissima Minute Repeater watch unveiled at Baselworld 2018 is activated via the charm on the side of the watch.
