This year at Watches & Wonders, Bulgari makes its long-awaited debut – and as expected, the Maison doesn’t just arrive. It asserts. In a temple-like pavilion carved from creamy marble and Italian imagination, the jeweller-turned-horologist presents two exceptional timepieces that speak not just of heritage, but of forward momentum: the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon and the Serpenti Aeterna.
Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon: A new benchmark in thinness
At just 1.85mm thick, the new Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon now holds the title of the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch. But what makes it remarkable isn't only its record-setting profile – it's how that finesse is achieved without compromising performance or aesthetics.
The movement inside – the BVF 900 calibre – is a manually wound mechanical tourbillon beating at 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour), with a 42-hour power reserve. Uniquely, the tungsten carbide main plate doubles as the case back, merging architecture and mechanics into a seamless plane. There is no separation between body and soul here – it’s all one.
Skeletonised to enhance light flow and visibility, the tourbillon seems to float. Rhodium finishes on the bridge and balance wheel catch light like jewellery. The dial, sandblasted brass with an anthracite DLC coating, plays with texture. Titanium lugs and case components offer both strength and featherlight comfort. Even the bracelet – fully integrated and just 1.5mm thick including clasp – mirrors the watch’s ultra-thin aesthetic in microbead-frosted titanium.
This is design as reduction: every detail honed to its purest form, every finish chosen to elevate the sense of restraint. A decade of innovation – 10 world records and counting – distilled into one impossibly elegant complication.
Serpenti Aeterna: A sculptural rebirth
Enter the serpent – not as we’ve known her, but as something distilled. In Serpenti Aeterna, Bulgari strips back the signature motif to its most elemental form. Gone are the scales, the hypnotic eyes – replaced by clean curves, a seamless rose or white gold bangle, and a barely-there quartz movement tucked into a sculptural design.
The bracelet closes via a hidden clasp, wrapping the wrist like a second skin. Inside, archival hexagonal scales are subtly etched along the interior – a tactile nod to legacy. The snow-set diamond dial is a jewellery technique in itself, composed of stones of varying size for a seamless shimmer.
Available in two iterations – rose gold with diamonds, or a fully pavé-set white gold high jewellery piece – the Aeterna bridges past and future. It's wearable sculpture with precision engineering beneath.
With these debuts, Bvlgari sharpens its stance as a dual force – Italian in spirit, Swiss in execution. Octo Finissimo rewrites the codes of minimalism through mechanical mastery. Serpenti Aeterna reimagines femininity with bold restraint. Together, they form a vision of time where craftsmanship meets creativity.
