Wednesday 30 November 2022: the Bulgari and Phillips teams in collaboration with Bacs & Russo, unveil the new special edition of the Octo Finissimo model limited to 50 pieces worldwide.

Nonconformism is perhaps the best adjective to describe what came out of the collaboration between BVLGARI and the historic auction house PHILLIPS in Association with Bacs & Russo: a revisitation or rather, a new one point of view of the now iconic Octo Finissimo model this time in titanium.

The eye cannot fail to fall on the sector dial: a reference to true vintage and to those watchmaking canons of the past where simplicity was the cornerstone and fundamental. The monochrome of the sandblasted titanium is pleasantly lacking in different light conditions thanks precisely to these contrasts due to the dial literally laser engraved in the titanium, with a variation from dark gray to an antique bronze. Clock face anonymous where the seconds hand at 7 is also missing, thus making this one limited the only Octo Finissimo series without a seconds hand.

The rigorous and elegant lines of the case that refer to the masterpieces of Italian architecture house the very thin calibre BLV138 entirely developed by the Bulgari manufacture of Le Sentier.
The BLV138 caliber is the natural evolution of the manual winding BLV128 to which the automatic winding system with micro rotor in platinum 950. The choice of this material is due to the fact that since the rotor has a very small diameter, hence the term micro, the higher specific weight of platinum is able to provide more inertia to the small oscillating mass.

Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant, Bacs & Russo and Alexandre Ghotbi, Head of Watches, Continental Europe & Middle East, jointly stated:

“The Octo Finissimo has become a true icon over the course of a few years and to be able to design one piece for Phillips Watches has been a pleasure and an honour. We played ping-pong with Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani proposing different materials and finishes of the dial, but we quickly realized that the thinness of the watch limited our possibilities… and at the same time increased the challenge of creating an eye-catching dial.”

Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Product Creation Executive Director, Bulgari Watches, added:

“This watch was born from the meeting of true watch enthusiasts. If the design of the Octo represents an iconic signature, the creative process initiated with Aurel Bacs and Alexandre Ghotbi has undoubtedly multiplied our passion and inspiration tenfold. This watch symbolizes the link between Phillips, the world of collector's watches, and Bulgari's design codes, resolutely aimed at innovation and the future. We shared an exciting stylistic adventure, which I lived with great enthusiasm and pleasure”.

Below we leave you our interview with Aurel Bacs ai Geneva Watch Days 2022.