Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic: Malaysia Price And Review

Leong Wong 19 August 2019

Bulgari’s new chronograph is a slip of a watch.

Bulgari has rewritten the record books yet again with its Octo Finissimo collection of timepieces that meld design and technology in a slimline body. The Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic represents the Italian brand’s fifth world record in the ultra-thin watch category.

With a profile of only 3.30mm, it is the thinnest mechanical chronograph in watchmaking history that is also automatic and features a GMT complication. Needless to say, we’re in awe of Bulgari’s superlative haute horlogerie skills—but how was it done?

The answer can be found in the specially developed automatic calibre BVL 318, which is visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. First, the movement is wound by a platinum peripheral rotor—borrowed from last year’s record-breaking thinnest automatic tourbillon—rather than a centrally mounted oscillating weight or micro-rotor. Second, its components are arranged flat across a relatively large diameter of 37.2mm.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL

The BVL 318 also offers a GMT function. All you need to do to quickly set the time is to push the button located at nine o'clock on the case. The corresponding home time is indicated on the sub-dial at three o’clock.

The Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic’s sandblasted titanium dial also has a 30-minute counter at six o’clock and small seconds at nine o’clock, along with black transferred indexes and numerals, and black anodised central hands.

Meanwhile, an angular case of sandblasted titanium measuring 42mm wide and 6.90mm high and an integrated bracelet, also in sandblasted titanium, complete the watch’s cool, industrial aesthetic.

The Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic might be a record holder, but it has a quiet, unassuming personality—and this is the quality that has won us over. Where other brands might have chosen a bolder, brasher approach to let the world know of its world-class accomplishment, the watch’s sleek lines and monochromatic palette have resulted in a versatile piece that you wear, rather than have it wear you.