“Only Watch 2023” - Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble, World’s Thinnest Tourbillon, Marble

July 06, 2023

Bulgari has unveiled a unique edition of its Octo Finissimo Tourbillon watch made entirely of marble to celebrate the Only Watch 2023 charity auction. The Octo Finissimo Tourbillon holds the record for being the thinnest tourbillon watch in the world and marks the culmination of Bulgari's eight-year run of setting thinness records. The use of marble, a material associated with art and architecture, transforms the watchmaking feat into an artistic masterpiece.

The Octo Finissimo's case, with its 110 facets, has been meticulously clad with a thin layer of marble, ensuring the delicate components are preserved while achieving visual harmony. The dial also features a thin marble wafer, measuring just 0.6 mm in thickness. The most intricate part of the watch, the bracelet, required extensive craftsmanship, with each link being set with a sliver of marble on the front and sides, leaving the interior surface in black DLC titanium.

The unique edition of the watch features Verde Alpi, a green marble sourced from the Aosta Valley, known for its dominant green color, symbolizing abundance, growth, and energy. The white veins in the marble evoke the serpentines of alpine forests and snowy peaks.

Marble holds a special place in the history of art, from ancient Greece to Italian architecture and Mughal structures in India. Bulgari, deeply rooted in the Roman tradition, has a long history of using marble. The brand's connection to marble dates back to 1934 when it was incorporated into the flagship boutique in Rome. Over the years, marble has been utilized in various Bulgari creations, including jewelry pieces and the refurbishment of the flagship boutique in 2014.

Creating a watch with a thin layer of marble posed a formidable challenge, requiring Bulgari's expertise in miniaturization. The Octo Finissimo's case, with its intricate facets, needed to be delicately covered with a veneer of marble, measuring 0.4-0.5 mm in thickness. The process involved machining, smoothing, and hand polishing each sliver of marble. The bracelet required meticulous work, taking approximately 190 hours to complete. The dial features a 0.6-mm marble wafer with indices and showcases the flying tourbillon at 6 o'clock. The back of the watch reveals the BVL 268 calibre, an ultra-thin hand-wound movement with a flying tourbillon, through a sapphire crystal engraved with the Only Watch logo. The watch is presented in a custom-made box adorned with a layer of marble.