Bvlgari 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 a whole bunch of years of historical past. Bvlgari determined to create its personal legacy, and to do it in a approach that no different model had performed. The outcome immediately is the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Extremely, the world’s thinnest mechanical watch at 1.80 mm thick, caseback to sapphire crystal prime. Such a watch doesn’t seem in a single day although…
In 2012, Bvlgari constructed the inspiration for this monumental achievement with the Octo L’Originale, and delivered the bottom flooring in 2014 with the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Handbook. This tourbillon wristwatch boasted the thinnest manual-winding flying tourbillon motion on the earth 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, Bvlgari was in that healthiest and most inspirational journey — to do one thing solely it might do, after which prime itself.
Bvlgari’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 much from over, having now entered a brand new dimension, as Bvlgari 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 strains, together with the inside 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 full of character and keenness — it takes braveness to decide to a single course in watchmaking. Having created the world’s thinnest mechanical computerized watch motion in 2017 with the Octo Finissimo Computerized, Bvlgari needed 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?” mentioned Antoine Pin, Managing Director of the Bvlgari Watch Division, as he remembers the event technique of the Octo Finissimo Extremely. “This skill to satisfy challenges is embedded within the model’s DNA. As for the phrase ‘extremely’, it expresses this need 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 definitely thinner than all present mechanical calibres — requires greater than mastering the strategies of miniaturisation in accordance with Bvlgari Product Creation Govt Director Fabrizio Bounamassa Stigliani. For just a little context right here, the Extremely watch is slimmer than all of the record-breaking Bvlgari ultra-thin actions.
“To realize this diploma of thinness, you not solely should problem your mind-set, however on the similar time draw upon a variety of abilities, play with a number of supplies and adapt to a mess of latest constraints. On this sense, the Octo Finissimo Extremely is definitely the final word complication on this huge area of potentialities represented by ultra-miniaturization,” mentioned Stigliani.
Understandably, the arrival of the Extremely this 12 months was greeted with nice fanfare, with a global 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 right setting for a celebration of the Bvlgari 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 necessary to Bvlgari, is ongoing on the model’s historic boutique on By way of Dei Condotti. Returning to the current festivities, the facade of the Pantheon served as a pure display for an formidable and unprecedented artwork mission, put collectively on the behest of Bvlgari 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 gentle. 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 Bvlgari within the vanguard of pushing boundaries.
No celebration can do with out music, and this was provided by a dwell efficiency of the orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, which added the mandatory 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 element enabled by machine studying and synthetic intelligence, linked straight with the efficiency; viscerally linked, in actual fact. The mind waves of the conductor served to create the visuals, because of knowledge collected dwell 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 immediately with the Octo Finissimo Extremely is in actual fact — for me and all of the groups – the fulfilment of a dream. One which now ensures that Bvlgari will endlessly be acknowledged as having written among the most interesting chapters in Swiss watchmaking. And the truth that the Maison is Italian makes us significantly proud”, mentioned Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO Bvlgari.
Here’s a timeline of the Octo Finissimo collection:
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