When Bulgari announced the new releases this year (we remember the Octo Finissimo Ultra and the news of Watches & Wonders 2022 at the link by clicking here) we never expected to see ten more at the Geneva Watch Days 2022. However, we underestimated the innovative character of the maison and the creative genius of Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani and his team.
To further celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Finissimo, we were delighted by four unexplored iterations of the now iconic watch and in this article we will focus on the new gold configurations of the Octo Finissimo Automatic and the Octo Finissimo Cronograph GMT.
Two New Octo Finissimo Automatic
Imagine being under the Christmas tree and unwrapping one of those boxes of chocolates with a golden coating. Even before tasting them, you already know that they will be excellent, not necessarily for the taste but for the idea of celebration and happiness of which they are messengers.
Unfortunately I have not yet had the opportunity to have these splendid watches in my hand, but the photographs of the chocolate-colored dial combined with the case and bracelet in rose gold and yellow gold depending on the version, show how the contrast between the two colors is winning.
The watch itself is nothing new, in the past it was presented in rose gold with a brushed dial of the same material as the case and was an instant success, but I believe the introduction of an extra layer of complexity with the dark dial. made it more eye-catching.
Other improvements are found inside the watch in the self-winding movement, the BVL 138 caliber. With 208 components and 31 jewels, the record of subtlety that characterized it (2.23 mm) is maintained, but a different winding system is introduced. automatic, a closed barrel, a new structure for the escapement and a different balance wheel, all innovations aimed at solving the (rare) problems that were sometimes encountered in this movement.
The new Octo Finissimo Cronograph GMT Automatic
Rather than trying to further reduce the thickness, (we explain here the genesis of the fifth thinness record of the brand) the extraordinary movement of the Finissimo Chronograph GMT has been inserted in a watch with a totally different color combination from the original.
This is the first time that this timepiece is in fact presented in a precious material and, for the 10th anniversary of the Finissimo, it has been dressed in rose gold on a par with its automatic only time brother.
Unlike the latter, however, instead of the integrated bracelet, we find a brown alligator strap that combines well with the brown lacquered dial with soleil finishes, also present in the time-only model.
Despite the leather strap, all the technical features that have made this watch famous are retained. In contrast to the elegant appearance, in fact, we find water resistance up to 100 meters deep, guaranteed by the screw-down crown, and the indexes and hands filled with SuperLuminova®. The same thickness of 8.75 mm is also maintained, thanks to the BVL 318 in-house movement which measures only 3.30 mm and which we remember being visible in all its harmony thanks to the sapphire crystal caseback.
The rose gold certainly makes it a particularly eye-catching model, but at the same time the leather strap reduces the overall sparkle, resulting in a balanced combination of natural elegance and a pinch of ostentation, best representing the Italian stylistic language combined with precise engineering. Swiss.
Our opinion
When you have one of the icons of contemporary watchmaking in your hands, it is really difficult not to make it a masterpiece. If we add to this the use of pink gold for the case and chocolate brown for the case and bracelet, which has always been a winning combination, we reach a harmonious result that skilfully combines modernity and tradition in the spirit that has always animated the Italian brand. -Swiss.
It was certainly a worthy celebration of the tenth anniversary and we are curious to see what is in store for the future for these models. We are genuinely amazed by the number of new releases presented this year by Bulgari and we hope that the brand will continue to amaze us as it has done up to now, an undertaking that is not trivial but certainly not to be excluded.
Price and availability
As for the Octo Finissimo Automatic in pink gold, the price is EUR 45,000.00 (inc. VAT), for the one in yellow gold EUR 45,500.00 (excluding taxes) and, while the pink gold version will become part of the collection in plan stable, the yellow gold version is a limited edition of 50 pieces dedicated to the American market, introduced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first Bulgari store in the United States.
The price for the very fine Octo Cronograph Automatic is instead € 36,000.00 (including VAT) and it is also a watch that belongs to the Maison’s ordinary collection.
For more information and insights about these watches and the world of Bvlgari, I invite you to visit their official website.
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