Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Secrets Behind the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT, the World’s Thinnest Mechanical Chronograph
Breaking one record after another, Bvlgari's fifth element in the quest for ultra-thin fully explained.
It all started with the thinnest tourbillon in 2014. Later followed the thinnest minute repeater and the thinnest automatic watch. In 2018, Bvlgari unveiled the thinnest automatic watch ever (also the thinnest tourbillon). This year, the brand breaks its fifth record in ultra-thin watches, with the thinnest mechanical chronograph ever made – and it is automatic and features a GMT function… Just that! We’re going to talk about this “fifth element” with Guido Terreni, Managing Director at Bvlgari Watches, who will reveal all the secrets behind the impressive Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT.
Bvlgari’s decision to enter the race for the thinnest watches was perfectly planned. When creating the Octo Finissimo collection, the brand had a plan for the future: breaking one record after another and covering the entire spectrum of classical complications. Yet, the quest for thinness isn’t just about numbers. It was conceived as a whole, in order to offer a bold, unique and modern watch to collectors. Something urban, contemporary, with great elegance but without looking at the past, echoing today’s “slim fit” trend in fashion.
After unveiling four different watches in the Octo Finissimo collection, Bvlgari pushed the boundaries of watchmaking again by focussing on one of the most complex types of movement to develop; the chronograph. Few might know that apart from the minute repeater, the chronograph is certainly the most demanding complication. Because of the multiple levers, gears and parts involved, and the impact that this complication can have on chronometry, creating an in-house chronograph isn’t an easy journey. So if you add the requirement of ultra-thinness and an automatic movement, you end up with what probably was Bvlgari’s greatest watchmaking challenge ever: the superb, slender, modern Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT.
In order to understand how this brand achieved this record-thin movement and watch – an automatic movement with peripheral rotor, column-wheel chronograph and GMT function of just 3.3mm, encased in a titanium container of just 6.90mm – take a good look at the video at the top of this article and you’ll understand why Bvlgari’s watchmaking department should be taken very, very seriously indeed.
More details at www.bulgari.com.
