The Basel Jewelry and Watch Fair, hitherto the largest event in the industry, is rapidly losing its position. Of the 1,300 participants in the two-year-old show, less than half are left. And yet, on the main alley, guests are still greeted by a parade of watch giants. Among them, a special place is occupied by the house of Bvlgari, a historically jewelry brand, which in the last 10 years has been actively and successfully developing new territories, including watchmaking.
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo models with thin faceted cases, on the one hand, set an example of new elegance, stylish and modern, and on the other - they make incredible technical breakthroughs year after year. This year's record holder is the Octo Finissimo Chronograph, the thinnest self-winding chronograph caliber (plus GMT).
Octo Finissimo Chronograph © press service
The BVL 318 movement with its peripheral rotor made of platinum is only 3.3 mm thick, and the titanium case is 6.9 mm high. (The previous record was held by Piaget: the Altiplano chronograph was 8.24 mm thick, while the caliber was 4.65 mm thick.)
Mechanism BVL 318 © press service
The sandblasted titanium dial has a small second at 9 o'clock, the chronograph half-hour counter is at 6 o'clock, next to 3 o'clock there is a 24-hour home time display (set the local time by near 9 o'clock). The Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT is priced at $ 17,600.
In previous years, Bvlgari presented the record-breaking Finissimo tourbillon (2014), minute repeater (2016) and self-winding (2017) in Basel. 2018 saw the premiere of the thinnest automatic tourbillon with a caliber of 1.95 mm and a case height of 3.95 mm. The latest record was the fifth achievement of the watch division.>