For over a decade, Bvlgari has been pushing the envelope in watch design and mechanics, leading the charge with its Octo Finissimo series— bold, modern, and meticulously engineered. Over the years, the line has delivered some of the world’s thinnest mechanical timepieces, firmly establishing the Octo Finissimo as a pillar of contemporary watchmaking.
To celebrate 11 years of this pathbreaking journey, Bvlgari presented an immersive retrospective at Geneva Watch Days in September 2025, charting the evolution of the emblematic timepiece for collectors and industry insiders. The exhibition traced the Octo Finissimo’s story from early sketches of its distinctive octagonal design—drawn from the 4th-century Basilica of Maxentius in Rome—to the mechanical innovation that has underpinned every launch since the debut of the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Manual in 2014.
That original Tourbillon Manual was among the highlights on display. Powered by the BVL 268 movement, measuring just 1.95 mm thick, it remains the world’s thinnest handwound flying tourbillon movement. Also showcased was the GPHG award winning Octo Finissimo Automatic from 2017, which set a world record on launch as the thinnest automatic watch, housed in a sandblasted titanium case measuring 5.15 mm.
Alongside it stood the titanium Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar, winner of the Aiguille d’Or at the 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. To date, it remains the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar watch, with a thickness of just 5.80 mm. The retrospective also included the 2016 Minute Repeater, which redefined standards for chiming watches, and the 2024 Minute Repeater Carbon, currently holding the record as the thinnest chiming watch.
Building on this legacy of ultrathin mastery, 2025 marked an important moment for collectors with the launch of the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble. Limited to just 30 pieces, the watch is Bvlgari’s tribute to Italian marble and a demonstration of its command over challenging materials. Blu Incanto marble is notoriously difficult to work with in horology due to its brittleness, making its execution as a razor-thin dial a notable technical achievement. The natural geological forces that shape the marble—its veining and tonal variations—ensure that no two dials are alike, adding a layer of rarity to an already limited production. Each 40 mm case is crafted in titanium, haute horology’s material du jour.
Launched alongside it was the limited-to-150 Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari automatic winding watch, described by industry experts as Bvlgari’s best Octo Finissimo design to date. Created in collaboration between product creation executive director Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani and South Korean-born artist Lee Ufan—who helped develop Japan’s Mono-ha art movement—the watch explores the relationship between the industrial and the natural. Its handfiled titanium case and bracelet represent rock, contrasted by the reflective dial. The transparent caseback bears the artist’s signature and the limitation marking, reinforcing its appeal as a museumworthy collectible.
The third notable launch of the year followed at Dubai Watch Week in November 2025: the Mattar Bin Lahej x Octo Finissimo. Limited to 70 pieces, the watch was developed in collaboration with Emirati artist Mattar Bin Lahej. The transparent caseback of this watch features the artist’s signature and the quantity limitation marking.
In this edition, Bin Lahej uses the Octo Finissimo as a canvas for a quote by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. The calligraphed Arabic quote has been laser-engraved across the sandblasted titanium watch’s 40 mm dial and strap.
In the words of Sheikh Mohammed: “The future will be for those who can imagine, design, and implement it. The future does not wait, but it can be designed and built today.”