Watchmaking’s most daring pursuit of thinness takes on new dimensions as Bvlgari returns to Geneva Watch Days, where the Roman Maison staged its first retrospective of the Octo Finissimo, a collection that has spent the past decade breaking records and reshaping contemporary design. Alongside this look back, Bvlgari introduced two striking novelties: the Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari, created in collaboration with the Korean-born artist, and the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble, a technical challenge achieved with a dial cut from deep blue Italian marble.
The retrospective traces the Octo Finissimo’s path from its 2014 debut to the present, highlighting ten world records achieved in only 11 years. These watches challenged conventional thinking on proportions, volumes, and materials, turning thinness into a bold creative statement.
The journey begins with the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon of 2014, whose BVL 268 calibre measured just 1.95 mm. It continues through the Octo Finissimo Automatic of 2017 at 5.15 mm total thickness, the titanium Perpetual Calendar of 2021 at 5.80 mm, and the Minute Repeater of 2016 that redefined chiming watches. The line has also embraced openwork through the Skeleton 8 Days in 2022 and pushed acoustic innovation with the carbon-and-titanium Minute Repeater of 2024. This year, the story extended with the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon, launched in April at Watches and Wonders, measuring only 1.85 mm in total thickness.
Artistic collaborations have long been part of this evolution. Tadao Ando, Laurent Grasso, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani with the Sketch edition, and Hiroshi Senju have each shaped unique interpretations of the Octo Finissimo. In 2025, Bvlgari partners with Lee Ufan, whose work explores the balance between permanence and reflection. The Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari features a mirrored dial with black hands, amplified by a titanium case and bracelet with a hand-finished surface treatment, limited to 150 pieces. The BVL 138 calibre with micro-rotor keeps the profile to just 5.5 mm. On the caseback, Mr. Ufan’s handwritten signature turns the model into an object of both precision and art.
Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Bvlgari’s Product Creation Executive Director, said, “I know Lee Ufan from his amazing paintings. Then I discovered his sculptures, where a big rock sits on a mirror – I was intrigued, at first you think that these two elements don’t work together, but in the end, it works perfectly.”
The second new release embraces Bvlgari’s Roman heritage through a material rarely seen in watchmaking. The Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble carries a dial cut from deep blue Italian marble, a stone prized for its cultural and aesthetic weight yet notoriously difficult to adapt to horology. At 40 mm and only 5.35 mm thick, the piece is powered by the BVL 268 hand-wound calibre with flying tourbillon and a 52-hour power reserve.
The new Octo Finnissimos are joined by the Bvlgari Bronzo. Taking ahead from the Bvlgari Aluminium models of 1998 and 2020, which forged aluminium with rubber, the 2025 Bvlgari Bronzo comes with bronze and rubber. The alignment of black rubber with the metallic sheen of bronze seems natural. The metal will develop a patina over time, giving it a unique identity that belongs to its wearer only.
Two distinctive takes on the watch emerge from this alliance of materials: Bvlgari Bronzo GMT and Bvlgari Bronzo Chronograph. The 40mm Bvlgari Bronzo GMT offers a distinctive, travel-ready interpretation of the dual-time complication. The deep black rubber bezel contrasts with the warm tone of the bronze case, while the black dial is punctuated by rose gold-plated, sandblasted hands for a sharper silhouette. At its centre, the lacquered 24-hour GMT disc in black offers a clear and intuitive reading of the second time zone. The bracelet continues the dialogue between contrasting materials.
This retrospective and the new timepieces show how Bvlgari continues to test the boundaries of watchmaking. Geneva Watch Days 2025 will give visitors a chance to see the Octo Finissimo’s defining milestones in one place while offering a preview of where the story is headed, a future shaped by both engineering ambition and artistic dialogue.
