Bulgari Celebrates tenth Anniversary of the Octo Octo Finissimo Watch

Watchmakers current their credentials in a number of methods, and accolades are only one. Some show observatory awards denoting a legacy of accuracy. Nonetheless others summon up an array of patents reflecting the spirit of innovation and creativity marking their manufactures. A fortunate few get to exhibit each with tons of of years of historical past. Bulgari determined to create its personal legacy, and to do it in a method that no different model had achieved. The end result at this time is the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Extremely, the world’s thinnest mechanical watch at 1.80 mm thick, caseback to sapphire crystal high. Such a watch doesn’t seem in a single day although…

In 2012, Bulgari constructed the inspiration for this monumental achievement with the Octo L’Originale, and delivered the bottom ground in 2014 with the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Guide. This tourbillon wristwatch boasted the thinnest manual-winding flying tourbillon motion on the planet at simply 1.95 mm thick. What set the model aside was that it got down to break its personal report — and set up new requirements that surpassed all that had gone earlier than. After all, Bulgari was in that healthiest and most inspirational journey — to do one thing solely it might do, after which high itself.

Bulgari’s horological journey since 2012 might be summed with a number of numbers: ten years, eight world information, greater than 60 worldwide awards, and eight patents. And the Octo Finissimo story is way from over, having now entered a brand new dimension, as Bulgari places it. Coincidentally, the Octo clearly shares key traits with these numbers, being eight-sided and having loads of distinguishing aesthetic options alongside the identical traces, together with the interior flange of the watch.

Whereas the numbers are spectacular, symbolically and in any other case, they serve solely as shorthand. The story of the Octo Finissimmo is stuffed with character and fervour — it takes braveness to decide to a single course in watchmaking. Having created the world’s thinnest mechanical automated watch motion in 2017 with the Octo Finissimo Automated, Bulgari wished to push it even additional. Consider it as a sprinter attempting to shave fractions of a second from his or her personal report.

“Can we do it? No sooner was the query requested three years in the past than our groups answered: how are we going to do it?” stated Antoine Pin, Managing Director of the Bulgari Watch Division, as he recollects the event strategy of the Octo Finissimo Extremely. “This capability to fulfill challenges is embedded within the model’s DNA. As for the phrase ‘extremely’, it expresses this want to transcend the boundaries, to play with extremes, an concept that we love in-house!”

Making a watch that’s 1.80 mm thick — a measure near the thickness of paper, and positively thinner than all current mechanical calibres — requires greater than mastering the methods of miniaturisation in response to Bulgari Product Creation Government Director Fabrizio Bounamassa Stigliani. For a bit context right here, the Extremely watch is slimmer than all of the record-breaking Bulgari ultra-thin actions.

“To realize this diploma of thinness, you not solely need to problem your mind-set, however on the identical time draw upon a variety of abilities, play with a number of supplies and adapt to a large number of latest constraints. On this sense, the Octo Finissimo Extremely is definitely the last word complication on this huge discipline of potentialities represented by ultra-miniaturization,” stated Stigliani.

Understandably, the arrival of the Extremely this yr was greeted with nice fanfare, with a world debut on the Pantheon on the Piazza della Rotonda, Rome. As soon as once more, numbers performed a key function, the quantity “8” specifically. This makes the Pantheon the proper setting for a celebration of the Bulgari Octo, because of the configuration of the Roman landmark’s Corinthian columns (eight within the first place, adopted by two teams of 4 behind). As a fast apart, an exhibition on the octagon form, which is deeply essential to Bulgari, is ongoing on the model’s historic boutique on By way of Dei Condotti. Returning to the latest festivities, the facade of the Pantheon served as a pure display for an formidable and unprecedented artwork mission, put collectively on the behest of Bulgari for the event of the tenth anniversary.

The screening of Temple of Light_Ultra at Pantheon bookended the festivities, and consisted of the complete historical past of Italian structure and artwork, rendered in digital type, and given substance by mild. The art work itself was an actual time execution by Istanbul-based Ouchhh, a artistic multidisciplinary hub, curated by Reasoned Artwork. This thematic hyperlink between the previous and the longer term, between custom and innovation, is di rigore for watchmaking, with Bulgari within the vanguard of pushing boundaries.

No celebration can do with out music, and this was equipped by a stay efficiency of the orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, which added the required human factor. After all, the connections with the quantity eight continued. On stage, the 8 + 8 Percussion Ensemble of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia — Alta Formazione led by Edoardo Giachino gave a panoramic live performance notably demonstrating distinctive percussion mastery.

As soon as once more, there was a visible part enabled by machine studying and synthetic intelligence, linked straight with the efficiency; viscerally linked, in truth. The mind waves of the conductor served to create the visuals, because of knowledge collected stay from an EEG headset worn by the conductor. The Pantheon as soon as extra functioned because the display (as seen above).

“This fabulous landmark that we’re setting at this time with the Octo Finissimo Extremely is in truth — for me and all of the groups – the fulfilment of a dream. One which now ensures that Bulgari will without end be acknowledged as having written among the best chapters in Swiss watchmaking. And the truth that the Maison is Italian makes us notably proud”, stated Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO Bulgari.

Here’s a timeline of the Octo Finissimo sequence:

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