The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Repetition Minute Titane Minute Repeater in Titanium from Bulgari Rome

The limited edition Bulgari Octo Finissimo Repetition Minute Titane Minute Repeater in Titanium from Bulgari (Bvlgari) Watches of Rome is a striking addition to the super thin Bulgari Watches Rome ‘Octo’ collection of watches and the ultra-thin Bvlgari Octo Finissimo watch range, which features models in a choice of ceramic case, carbon (CTP) case, stainless steel case, titanium case, black titanium or rose gold case, many with in-house Swiss design and manufacture automatic caliber movement, some even adorned with diamonds, but always with Swiss Haute Horlogerie savoir-faire. Even amongst this array of breath-taking limited edition in house design movement automatic watches from the Rome, Italy based Maison, the Bvlgari Watches Rome Octo Finissimo Repetition Minute Titane Minute Repeater, first launched at the Bvlgari stand at Baselworld in 2016, with a titanium rather than stainless, ceramic, carbon or rose gold case at just 6.85mm thick, is a true gem, eschewing the sparkle of gold and diamonds for the technical supremacy of the thinnest ever minute repeater and corresponding 3.12mm thick BVL362 in house caliber movement, combined with the level of Italian design excellence that the Bulgari Rome brand is famous for.  

With all the experience gained from the Bvlgari Atelier de Sonnerie in Le Sentier in the manufacture of both Grande Sonnerie and Petite Sonnerie epitomized in current models including the limited edition Bulgari Octo Grande Sonnerie with mechanical movement, BVL5307 caliber Grande and Petite Sonnerie minute repeater, tourbillon, perpetual calendar, moon phase, movement and chime power indicator, and 18kt rose gold case, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Repetition Minute Titane Minute Repeater in Titanium should have come as no surprise. What began with the Bulgari Octo Finissimo range and the Bvlgari Watches Rome Octo Finissimo  Minute Repeater Titans in titanium was to spawn an impressive collection of further Bvlgari Swiss Haute Horlogerie limited edition pieces, some with both grande and petite sonnerie, but always with in house automatic BVL caliber , including the Bulgari Octo tourbillon limited edition, Bulgari Octo finissimo automatic, Bulgari Octo finissimo tourbillon, Bulgari Octo Finissimo extra thin, Bulgari Octo Finissimo petite second,  the Bulgari Roma Finissimo, and the watch closest in design to the Bvlgari Octo Repetition Minute Titane, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon.

It all began though, with the three watches at the heart of the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Trilogy, the Bvlgari Watch Rome Finissimo Tourbillon (at 1.95mm thick), the Bvlgari Watch Rome Octo Finissimo Repetition Minutes in Titanium (at 3.12mm thick) and the Bvlgari Watch Rome Octo Finissimo Automatique  (at 2.23mm thick).  As far as the inspiration for the Bvlgari Watch Rome Octo Finissimo Repetition Minutes in Titanium with Westminster carillon is concerned, in addition to Bvlgari watch Rome’s desire to make the world’s first ultra-thin ‘repetition minutes’ minute repeater that might break world records and dethrone Vacheron Constantin from their record for the world’s thinnest minute repeater, a particular Haute Horlogerie 20th Century movement from Gerald Genta that featured a caliber offering both grande and petite sonnerie with Westminster chimes, a minute repeater also notable for its jump retrograde hours, is sometimes mentioned. Whatever the inspiration for the Bvlgari Watch Rome Octo Finissimo Repetition Minutes in Titanium, there can be no doubt that Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, director the Bvlgari Watches Rome design centre, created a watch with its own unique DNA, drawing upon the ancient architecture of Rome, in the form of the 217A.D. Baths of Caracalla, and the work of Leonardo da Vinci in the process.

The Bvlgari Watches Rome Octo Finissimo Repetition Minutes in Titanium is of course, a very masculine men’s watch, and stands as a natural counterpoint to the femininity expressed in Bulgari models such as the Serpenti Incantati, with rose gold case set with brilliant cut diamonds and rubies, snow-pave diamond dial and satin bracelet, the Bvlgari Giardino Tropicale in with pink gold case set with diamonds, an 18k (karat) pink gold crown set with cabochon cut rubellite and ivory lacquered dial with bird, flowers and leaf motifs set with brilliant cut diamonds, and finally, the stunning limited edition Bvlgari Lariano in Rose gold case and caliber with tourbillon,  a reminiscence of the Lake Como area, with a swan gliding effortlessly across a watch dial in blue-grey Tahitian mother of pearl: miniature painting achieved with fine brushstrokes fade to a dusky pink, highlighting the diamond-encrusted rim of the case.  As beautiful as the Bvlgari Giardino Tropicale, the Bvlgari Lariano and the Bulgari Serpenti Incantati undoubtedly are, and especially the Bulgari Lariano watch with the tourbillon calibre complication, in terms of men’s Swiss Haute Horlogerie watches, there is little to touch the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Repetition Minute Men’s One Minute Repeater with its titanium (rather than gold) case, the lack of diamonds set into its case, dial or crown taking nothing away from its limited edition status as a world beater as the thinnest one minute repeater. Incidentally, the case material chosen for the limited edition Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Repetition Minute Men’s One Minute Repeater, titanium, was used not purely for its strength as an extra thin case material, but for the exceptional ring, it gave to the grande and petite sonnerie functions. Imagine then, the difficulties faced by Bvlgari Watches of Rome when the decision was made to issue a watch almost identical to the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Repetition Minute Men’s One Minute Repeater, but instead of a case in titanium, replacing this with the perhaps even more masculine carbon fiber, in the form of CTP, or Carbon Thin Ply, and marrying this with a BVL caliber and dial face adorned with DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) details everywhere, to produce the Bvlgari Watches Rome Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon. 

Forsaking a tourbillon complication for the simplicity of a small or ‘petite’ seconds hand dial, the Bvlgari Watches Rome Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon is the ultimate extension of the concept first envisioned for the limited edition Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Repetition Minute Men’s One Minute Repeater in titanium by Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani and his team at Bvlgari Watches Rome design centre.