ReviewBulgari’s Octo Finissimo Sejima Limited Edition—A ‘Mirage’ On Your Wrist

For more than a decade, the Octo stood as a testimony of Bulgari’s obsession with squishing their mechanical mastery and intricate complexities into bare millimetres of stainless steel. Year after year, they upped the ante, attempting to fit the most labyrinthian of horlogerie complications within their world-renowned, ultra-thin Octo silhouette. But while being a herald of micro-engineering, its dial became a creative canvas for art and illusions. Last year, it became a canbvas for Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima. The Japanese architect is cherished for her pristine modernist work around the world. Sejima won the 2010 Pritzker Prize—the highest distinction in the field of architecture and the 2004 Golden Lion, at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Her work could be described as a play of contrasts, light, transparency, and shiny surfaces, dabbling between the visible and invisible.

As she partners with Bulgari to reinvent the Octo Finissimo silhouette, the dial takes a departure from the Octo’s staple matt and mechanical dial faces to a silvery transparent mirage—signature workings of Sejima.

Bulgari, Collaboration, And The New Sejima

In what we’d like to call, the ‘watch-verse’, Bulgari’s collaborative pieces have always strived to tell us a different story. These creative collaborations date back to the dawn of the century, with Gerald Genta. Right since then, they’ve believed that turning watches into art is a process led by the right hands and minds at work. Last year, we spoke with Jean-Christophe Babin, Group CEO, Bulgari, on the process of choosing these gifted, creative individuals who artistically transform Bulgari watch silhouettes into statements of art. “The key is to identify the right artisans for the job. Internally, we have our creative director, Fabrizio Buonomassa Stigliani at the helm of this artistic voyage, but finding external talent has always been a critical process for Bulgari’s creative craftsmanship. They could be designers, artists, architects, and even modern interpreters of classic designs. All, using the Octo Finissimo’s shape as a canvas,” Babin elucidated. In the case of Sejima, her sense of minimalism, purity of shapes, and design philosophy are painted all over the dial, almost creating the impression of a polished mineral.

Commenting on Sejima’s work on the Octo, Babin stated, “Upon close inspection, you’ll realise that the dial constitutes of hundreds of tiny holes made on a polished, silvery plate—creating the illusion of a mirage as well as transparency. This highly futuristic design is a play of subtle details that aren’t immediately recognizable, but we know they exist. That is luxury.”

The mesmerising display of the Octo Finissimo Sejima creates a transparency which almost makes the small seconds hand appear as though it is floating above the dial

The case is polished entirely, measuring 40mm wide and 6.4mm thick

The Sejima Reinterpretation Of The Signature Octo Finissimo

Sejima’s interpretation of the Octo is a perfect example of Bulgari pushing creative boundaries by collaborating with distinct individuals who apply their globally recognised aesthetic to Bulgari’s horlogerie silhouettes. Babin added, “Combining the strengths of our internal and external talent, we shake the Bulgari tree to discover new ideas and definitions of existing icons. This is precisely what we developed with Sejima. More so, we also believed that this novelty was probably worth entering the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), in New York, despite being more of a horological achievement than artistic expression.”

What’s interesting is that the sapphire crystal over the dial also boasts a metallic dotted pattern, adding an additional layer of depth

Bonus: The caseback features Sejima’s signature. Inside this mineral-looking novelty, rests the calibre BVL 138. Made in-house, this ultra-thin automatic movement winds with the use of a platinum micro-rotor

Signature Style Of The Octo And Sejima

Draped in Sejima’s trademark monochrome tone, it creates a striking, yet never-seen-before iteration of the beloved Octo silhouette. The dial and the second’s sub-dial receive a mirror polish reflecting or well, blending into the light and colour of the environment it’s in. With a dotted mesh pattern, it creates a mind-bending illusion and embraces a new character from every new angle of view. Highly intriguing indeed! The case is polished entirely, measuring 40mm wide and 6.4mm thick. The screwed-down crown comes with a black ceramic insert creating a contrast against its shiny metallic body. What’s interesting is that the sapphire crystal over the dial also boasts a metallic dotted pattern, adding an additional layer of depth. Bonus: The caseback features Sejima’s signature.

The bracelet is crafted in the same fashion as the case—polished stainless steel, creating a wrist-wrapping, silvery mirage

Inside this mineral-looking novelty, rests the calibre BVL 138. Made in-house, this ultra-thin automatic movement winds with the use of a platinum micro-rotor that measures 36.60mm by 2.23mm, delivering 21,600vph. It promises a 60-hour power reserve and water resistance of up to 100m. The bracelet is crafted in the same fashion as the case—polished stainless steel, creating a wrist-wrapping, silvery mirage.