The Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic Breaks a Fourth Record!

The proof is in the bag! Once again, Bvlgari pushes back the boundaries by bringing us the sveltest automatic tourbillon watch in the world and thus scooping its 4th world record for thinness. With its latest version of the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic, the most Italian of Swiss watch brands strikes the perfect balance between technical accomplishment and aesthetic inspiration. At a total thickness of just 3.95 mm, measured underneath the lower clip of the calliper, this piece demonstrates the brand's mastery in the realms of ultra-slimness.
 

In order to achieve such a feat, without having to make any architectural changes to a reference that has become, within just a few years, the last word in style and refinement, the master watchmakers at Bvlgari had to surpass themselves. And surpass themselves they did. Using as a base the Bvl 268 Finissimo Tourbillon calibre launched in 2014, they revised the movement in order to integrate a peripheral automatic winding mechanism crafted in white gold and aluminium. Renamed the Bvl 288, this slender movement offering 52 hours of power reserve, measures the even more daring record thickness of just 1.95 mm. In a construction where every technical element, such as the winding and time-setting functions, has been carefully redesigned to minimalize the movement, the ultimate magic of this piece lies in the observer's unique ability to witness each component of this mechanical marvel first-hand.
 

We are treated to a unique balletic display of cogs and wheels in place of the dial. The eyes are assaulted by the mesmerising minute waltz of a flying tourbillon secured to the bottom plate by ball bearings so fine that they require highly specialised machining. Boasting a sublime balance and grace peculiar to unique, one-of-a-kind timepieces, the instrument produced here in a sandblasted titanium version to achieve a clever combination of slenderness and weightlessness, sports an open case back referencing in its design the entrance to the historical store in the Via Condotti, in Rome. Thus, this exquisitely accomplished masculine gem carries within it and down to the very last detail, the soul and spirit of the maison and of Ancient Rome.