The Bulgari Octo Finissimo 37mm Brings a Smaller Case Size to Ultra-Thin Watches

In 2014, Italian luxury maison Bulgari made a big splash at Baselworld with the introduction of the Octo Finissimo. Based on an eight-sided Gérald Genta design, the brand that year focused its attention on achieving ultimate thinness. The result – the Bulgari Finissimo Tourbillon – was, at the time, the thinnest tourbillon on the market.

Baselworld is now a distant memory, but watch fans still wait with bated breath for Bulgari to announce another record-setting, super-skinny novelty. This year at Watches and Wonders, the brand has gone in a different direction with the Octo Finissimo 37mm.

Yes, it’s still super svelte, but this year the focus is on reducing the case diameter rather than the thickness. Let’s take a look.

It seems like an easy assignment: simply scale down the signatures of the now iconic Octo Finissimo. But anyone who has suffered the heartache of throwing their sweater in the dryer knows that shrinkage is not a good thing.
 

The trick to preserving the watch’s design elements was to fine-tune the proportions. For the design team to achieve this balance, the goal was not simply to make a smaller watch, but to make an Octo that could slip easily beneath a shirt cuff while also offering a strong wrist presence.

That means that every element has been reconsidered. Even the integrated bracelet has been optimized with a new screw-fastening system that joins it to the case and a push-button clasp for optimized ergonomics.
 

“The Octo Finissimo 37 is, for us, a reimagined blank canvas,” explained Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Bulgari’s Product Creation Executive Director, in a press release. “By reducing its diameter, we have created a space where creativity expresses itself in its purest forms. It’s the expression of continuous innovation where every detail is an opportunity to reimagine watchmaking.”

By adopting a 37mm diameter, Bulgari is exploring a new universal language, one that is a more lifestyle-driven expression. And one that suits a more diverse audience.

Bulgari has considered all the angles when slimming down the silhouette of the Octo Finissimo 37mm. But the brand has also introduced a new movement just for this collection.
 

This mechanism – the self-winding calibre BVF 100 – is the result of three years of research and development. To deliver the precision and power of its predecessors, the brand has included a micro-rotor, while the movement itself measures just 2.35mm in height and 31mm in diameter.

We know that Bulgari excels in miniaturization, but in the spirit of making the Octo Finissimo 37mm the most versatile timepiece in the Octo family, this calibre also promises a 72-hour power reserve thanks to its compact, high-energy storing barrel. That’s three full days of consistent timekeeping.
 

In a statement announcing the release of this new size, LVMH Watches and Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin said, “The Octo Finissimo 37 marks a significant evolution for Bvlgari. It is the watch of maturity. By reinterpreting the Octo Finissimo codes with this new dimension, we have created a timepiece that goes beyond technical prowess to fully embrace the contemporary art of living.”

The new Octo Finissimo 37mm collection will be unveiled in four editions.

The first two versions are offered in sandblasted (ref. 104089, €17,700) or satin-polished (ref. 104351, €18,500). Titanium has been used across ten Octo Finissimo models, seven of which currently hold world records for thinness in their respective categories.
 

Last but not least, the fourth iteration is aimed at connoisseurs of complication: the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater (ref. 104250, €195,000). For this, at Watches and Wonders, it has been crafted in sandblasted titanium, a material prized for its acoustic properties. This version is powered by the in-house calibre BVL 362.