For its first-ever displaying as a part of Watches and Wonders Geneva, Bvlgari delivered a biting two-pronged offensive with the Octo Finissimo Extremely Tourbillon and the Serpenti Aeterna. The brand new Extremely is undisputedly the world’s slimmest tourbillon wristwatch (at simply 1.85mm skinny, it’s 0.5mm thinner than final yr’s high canine, the Piaget Altiplano Idea Tourbillon) whereas the Serpenti Aeterna is now, in our opinion, the world’s most elegant bangle watch. It was a becoming debut, which we coated briefly in our report on the not too long ago concluded honest, although we solely famous that Bvlgari delivered good cheer within the Palexpo. That’s an understatement that we’ll rectify.
Learn Extra: Bvlgari Mysterious snakes: Tiny Mechanical Surprise
Class is solely subjective, so we are going to start with the Extremely, which, although extra sophisticated, earns its stripes by dint of prowess and ambition. The high-complication division of Bvlgari’s watchmaking division has been chasing down data for greater than 10 years now, and the skinny stylish battle has raised watchmaking to new heights. To talk as plainly as doable, a mechanical motion is constructed up in layers of springs and gears. To make the thinnest watch, the aim is at all times to strive bringing all the things onto a single airplane, so far as doable. That’s the lengthy and in need of it, and it results in spectacular structure in motion design. It isn’t for everybody, however this can be a restricted version of 20, so that may be a given.
Within the Octo Finissimo Extremely Tourbillon, calibre BVF 900 adopts the acute technique of meting out with a base plate altogether. As a substitute, it integrates the caseback as one in all its elements – this can be a main technique on this model of watchmaking. Dial-side (though this nomenclature is kind of unsuitable for one thing just like the Extremely), what would usually be dominated by the motionworks can be now a showcase for the gear practice and the mainspring (clearly, the tourbillon too). As with earlier Extremely fashions, there isn’t any customary crown right here. As a substitute, two successfully uncovered gears (one at 8 o’clock and one at 3 o’clock) wind the watch and set the time, respectively. Once more, these features at the moment are on the identical airplane, which isn’t the case in a regular motion.
Now, we are going to dispense with the numerous different particulars that go into making the Extremely an impressive machine, though we could but resolve to dive deep (ahem) into the world of ultra-thin watchmaking quickly(ish). We should shut right here with a minimum of a number of phrases on that Serpenti Aeterna, which is only a pleasure to put on.
Essentially the most streamlined Serpenti but, this one leans exhausting into graphics – it doesn’t even look very similar to a watch. More often than not, we take a dim view of that, however not right here. To match our simplified tackle the Extremely, think about the Serpenti Aeterna because the form of watch you would possibly put on purely for ornamental causes. Observe that the specs listed here are for the Extremely solely.
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW #79 Summer season 2025 Difficulty
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