Bulgari Sets Another Record with Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic (Updated with Live Photos)
As followers of the watch industry are well aware by now, “Roman Jeweller of Time” Bulgari has made pushing the boundaries of mechanical-watch thinness its stock-in-trade, with each year bringing at least one new record-setting watch that combines horological complexity with waif-like profiles. This year is no exception: as one of the founding maisons of this week’s Geneva Watch Days exhibition, Bulgari has used that platform to launch its sixth world-record timepiece in six years: the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Automatic Watch.
The new model’s claim to fame is that it debuts as the thinnest timepiece combining all the following features: a skeletonized, self-winding movement, a single-push chronograph function, and a tourbillon. Its 42-mm sandblasted titanium case, in the now-famous eight-sided Octo configuration, measures only 7.4 mm in total thickness. The crown and chronograph push-buttons are also in sandblasted titanium, as is the tapered bracelet. The openworked dial is dominated by matte gray details, particularly the two subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock.
Inside the wafer-thin case (water-resistant to 30 meters) is an accordingly slender movement, Caliber BVL 388, which rises just 3.5 mm in height despite its array of functions. Visible from the back (through a clear sapphire window) as well as the front of the watch, it uses a peripheral rotor for automatic winding, amassing a power reserve of 52 hours. Its balance beats at a frequency of 21,600 vph (3 Hz) and its uses both a column wheel and a horizontal clutch to drive its integrated chronograph function.
The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic is a limited edition of 50 pieces, priced at $142,000. Click here for more new Bulgari Octo models for 2020.