One of the highlights of this year's BaselWorld show is certainly Bulgari's new Octo Finissimo Minute repeater, an amazingly thin mechanical timepiece. This is the thinnest minute repeater watch ever created, fitted with the thinnest minute repeater movement.
After the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon, which is also the world's thinnest in its category, the Octo continues to explore the theme of slenderness. While the world's thinnest tourbillon was launched in 2014, this year welcomes another champion – the smallest minute repeater.
The new Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater belongs to a highly prized line of ultra-thin watches developed by Bulgari. The watch houses one of the most complex horological complications in an extremely small case diameter. Since the aim was to achieve the perfect sound within the smallest possible space, Bulgari developed a brand new BVL Calibre 362, which measures only 3.12mm in thickness, while the and the overall case thickness amounts to only 6.85mm.
To ensure the perfect acoustic performance of the minute repeater, Bulgari had to work on several different fronts at once. First of all, the brand decided to use titanium for the case, since its low density ensures the best possible sound diffusion. The hour markers, which are visible on the dial, same as the seconds counter at 6 o’clock, feature an incised, cut-out design, which serves to amplify resonance inside the case and optimize the sound effect.
The circular-section gongs of the minute repeater mechanism are directly affixed to the case, and individually finished by hand. All 362 components of the movement have been extremely miniaturized and vividly decorated. The pusher, which activates the striking mechanism, is placed on the case middle at 9 o’clock. The BVL Calibre 362, mechanical hand-wound movement, beats at a frequency of 21,000 vibrations per hour, and offers 24 hours of power reserve. The movement is nested inside the 40mm case, which is water resistant to 30 meters.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater is available in a 50-piece limited edition. The watch is paired with a vulcanized black alligator leather strap with triple-blade titanium folding clasp. The Bulgari watch breaks the previous record in slenderness of a minute repeater, set in 2013 by Piaget with the Emperador Coussin Ultra-thin Minute Repeater.
