Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Sets A New World Record: Gets COSC Certification And Shines In Platinum

From an outside perspective, the trials met with by a record holder are often overlooked. Sure, new records necessarily need not better the past ones by factors of, well many, but each new triumph sets a wondrous benchmark. More than just outdoing the old, records are about pushing the boundaries of what is possible further, further than anyone has even dared before. So, while the margin of furtherance might be a scanty five hundredth of an millimeter (0.05mm), its significance is anything but. That’s why Bulgari’s latest record-shattering Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, the ‘World's Thinnest Watch’ serves as a not-so-hefty reminder of the fact that progress is a journey of very small steps. So, while news of this endeavor might seem sudden to us, for Bulgari, it has been a continual passage of learning.

The Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC
In the decade of its being, the Octo Finissimo collection has been a consummation of Bulgari’s quest to break and set ultra-thin watchmaking records. The Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC is the ninth world record appended to the line-up in 10 years, and this one has been a long due for the same. At just 1.70 mm thick, the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC doesn’t just hold the distinction of being the thinnest mechanical watch ever made, it is also the world's thinnest COSC chronometer. In this haute horlogerie inception of epic caliber, extreme slimness melds with the highest gauge of precision timekeeping.
 

“The Octo Finissimo is a vast playground of innovation and design - and a source of unprecedented challenges - for Bulgari’s R&D department. This marks the ninth occasion our engineers, watchmakers and designers have defied the laws of physics to offer complex timepieces of unparalleled slimness. These accomplishments go deeper than the watchmaking prowess they represent: they define our DNA. Bulgari stands to innovate, to keep pushing the boundaries, and to master the art of the extraordinary - and to always surprise,” explains Antoine Pin, director of Bulgari’s watchmaking division.
 

A Mastery in Slenderness and Design
Ideally, when you seek absolute mastery in a technical frontier, you bargain with form. So, when Bulgari makes the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC retain chief aesthetic codes of the collection while making the watch almost vanish from view when turned to the side, you realize it is more than just an aggressive exercise in nuanced engineering solutions. For the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, Bulgari chose to rework the case by optimizing its sapphire crystal, hence shaving a critical tenth of a millimeter from the 1.80 mm profile of the 2022 Octo Finissimo Ultra.

The basic strategy to achieve this unreal thinness is a coplanar architecture of its many elements. All the 170 components of the manually wound COSC-certified BVL180 manufacture caliber are assembled directly on the tungsten carbide case back which doubles as the movement mainplate. The QR code etched on the ratchet of the foregoing Octo Finissimo Ultra which sure raised a few eyebrows, is metamorphosised into a much more bearable and miniaturized Datamatrix on the back. The ratchet wheel this time gets an artistic pattern and etched lettering denoting that the watch is available in a limited series of 20 pieces.

Crafted for the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, its case redefines the setting and winding experience of the timepiece. By programming the desired time on its digital display, the dedicated case initiates the time adjustment cycle with a single touch. While doing so, it also winds the watch with superlative precision.

In its very lean capacity, the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC reinvents ultra-thin watchmaking without trimming down the basic timepiece aesthetic attributes. Unlike its peer parallels, the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC feels like a fully realized timekeeper and to its credit, a beautiful one as well!

The Octo Finissimo Ultra Platinum
The consistency in use of titanium as a material for the case, bracelet as well as redundant dial features has been an aesthetic hallmark of the Finissimo collection. Now, Bulgari ups the ante with the release of the Octo Finissimo Ultra Platinum. This precious metal marvel of record-setting slimness demands added challenges posed by the material’s density and the requisites of higher precision to engineer such slenderness.

The new Octo Finissimo Ultra Platinum fashioned from 950 platinum opts a blend of satin, polished and sand-blasted finishes for the case middle and bezel. The case back which serves as the movement mainplate boasts tungsten carbide construction. The platinum integrated bracelet with an integrated clasp made of titanium gets a consistent satin-polish. Notably, this model, housing the BVL 180 manufacture caliber, is measured at 1.80 mm thin, a new standard for a platinum timepiece. The Octo Finissimo Ultra Platinum will be limited to just 20 pieces.

Octo Finissimo Ultra
Technical Characteristics

Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC 104081 - Limited Edition

Movement
BVL 180 manufacture manual winding mechanical ultrathin movement with regulator display.
COSC-certified movement; thickness: 1.50 mm; power reserve: 50-hour; frequency: 28’800 VpH (4Hz).
Case, Dial and Bracelet
A 40 mm case (1.70 mm thick) with sandblasted titanium lugs, bezel and middle case; tungsten carbide main plate; winding and time-setting wheels in satin-finish steel; ratchet in sandblasted steel engraved with writing and a geometric decoration.
Hour and minute regulator display counters in sandblasted brass with grey PVD coating, polished brass hands with rhodium coating and white indexes, satin-finish steel second wheel with black index indicator.
Sandblasted titanium bracelet with fully integrated folding buckle, 1.50 mm thin.

Octo Finissimo Ultra Platinium 103832 - Limited Edition

Movement
BVL 180 manufacture manual winding mechanical ultrathin movement with regulator display; thickness: 1.50 mm; power reserve: 50-hour; frequency: 28’800 VpH (4Hz).
Case, Dial and Bracelet
A 40 mm case (1.80 mm thick) with platinum sandblasted and polished lugs, satin-finish bezel and polished middle case; tungsten carbide main plate; winding and time-setting wheels in satin-finish steel; ratchet in satin-finish steel engraved with a geometric decoration.
Hour and minute regulator display counters in satin-finish brass with blue PVD coating, polished brass hands with rhodium coating and white indexes, satin-finish steel second wheel with black index indicator.
Satin-polished platinum bracelet with fully integrated folding buckle in satin-finish titanium, 1.50 mm thin.