Bulgari Launch Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days with New Ultra-Thin Movement and 192-Hour Power Reserve

Earlier this year Bulgari won the crown for the thinnest mechanical watch in the world with the Octo Finissimo Ultra. Unfortunately said crown was only theirs for a few months before Richard Mille swooped in with the RM UP-01, no doubt spurring on Bulgari to create an even thinner in the future. For now, Bulgari are focussing on different parameters of ultra-thin watchmaking with the launch of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days.

The Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days is designed to be as thin as possible with the longest power reserve possible. In order to achieve this, Bulgari have developed a new Calibre BVL 199 SK. The skeleton movement is just 2.5mm thick and provides an 8-day power reserve, which is equivalent to 192-hours. That’s seriously impressive for a movement this thin and even more so considering it only has a single barrel. Many timepieces only achieve weeklong power reserves through double barrel systems and even then, they’re many times the thickness of the BVL 199 SK.

On top of that, the movement is skeletonised with everything on display for your viewing pleasure. Although, the structure of the anthracite PVD bridges feels more architectural than many skeleton movements. It’s the perfect design to match the sports-luxe aesthetic of the satin-polished rose gold Octo Finissimo case, which measures 40mm in diameter with a thickness of 5.95mm.

Rose gold has also been used for the hands, hour markers, small seconds subdial and power reserve indicator. The gold contrasts nicely with the darker colours of the movement, making the watch decently legible, which is something skeleton watches typically struggle with, such as the Piaget Polo Skeleton.

Once again Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo proves why it’s one of the most exciting haute horology collections of the last ten years. In fact, 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the Octo Finissimo and the Skeleton 8 Days is a fitting tribute to its success, as is the new Octo Finissimo Gold collection. Regarding price, it’s a cool £31,700, not unexpected for a watch of this calibre (if you’ll pardon the pun).