Back in March at the Geneva Watch Fair, Italian luxury brand Bulgari launched the world’s thinnest mechanical watch. The Octo Finissimo Ultra. A super-refined dress watch, only 1.8 mm thick, it came with a QR code engraved on the barrel’s ratchet wheel, offering access to exclusive NFT artwork. Much was said about the finesse with which the BVL Caliber 180 was built directly into the watch’s tungsten carbide caseback. And about the recessed dials and perceived depth of the watch. So when Bulgari organised a private showing earlier this week at ITC Grand Chola’s Tranquebar, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the famed Octo collection, some clients lined up to get a closer look at this impossibly flat beauty. Unfortunately, with only 10 pieces made and all sold out, that wait may continue into 2023. When another version is rumoured to be launched.
That said, this discreet ‘pop-up’ organised by luxury watch retailer Helvetica included the other ultra-thin Octo rockstars, led by the Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar. A record-breaker from last year (the caliber BVL 305 is only 2.75mm thick) with a retrograde date display, the titanium version is reportedly the most popular timepiece in the series in the country. This despite a 12-month waiting period.
