The Quest For Extreme Thinness – Deciphering The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra

Imagine an object that is 1.8mm thick. As a reference, 1.8mm is thinner than your average bracelet spring bar. This figure represents the entire height of the watch we’re going to explore today, not the thickness of its movement. No, 1.8mm refers to the thickness of the whole watch, including the case and crystals. This watch is the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra, a watch that broke the record for the thinnest mechanical watch ever created. And even though it’s been surpassed recently by another watch (with a rather imperceptible 0.05mm difference), the Octo Finissimo Ultra is still one of the most impressive technical achievements of the brand, the latest chapter in a saga entirely devoted to ultra-thin watchmaking.

In the world of watches, there are numerous complications. The chronograph, a second time zone, a moon phase or even the date are considered to be complications. Every additional feature, in addition to the classic indication of the hours, minutes and seconds, is a complication. At MONOCHROME, we believe that thinness should also be considered a complication. Why? A complication adds difficulty to the design of a movement, with extra gears, springs or bridges. Creating an ultra-thin movement is exceptionally challenging. It might not provide the wearer with additional functions, such as a chronograph or a GMT indication, but it adds comfort. And indeed, it is not a simple complication. It goes much further than the addition of some springs and gears to a movement. It requires the watchmakers to rethink the entire watch – the movement, the case, the way to assemble the parts… Everything has to be reinvented. 

Over the past eight years, Bulgari has crushed one record after another in the field of thinness with the mind-boggling Octo Finissimo collection. There was, however, one record missing: the thinnest mechanical watch. In the hands of Piaget for some years with the Altiplano Ultimate Concept and its 2mm thin case, and now in the hands of Richard Mille with a 1.75mm watch, Bulgari remains one of the most impressive players in this field with the 1.80mm thin Octo Finissimo Ultra. And this is a mind-blowing technical feat. And today, with our latest in-depth movie, we visit Bulgari’s manufacture and its technical partner Concepto, to understand how it was possible to create the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra.

Don’t miss the video at the top of this article! You can read our in-depth article here for more details about the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra. More information at bulgari.com.