Two years ago, Bulgari set the world record for the thinnest watch, which came in an ultra-slim case measuring 1.8 mm. Just a few short months after that, Richard Mille came out of nowhere to beat the record with a watch that’s a whopping 0.05 mm thinner. It was nuts. This time around, the outfit’s coming back with the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, which was specifically designed to supplant the existing record holder.
Coming in with a thickness of 1.7 mm, the new watch beats the current record holder by another 0.05 mm, allowing the watchmaker to retake their spot on the throne. Hopefully, it was last longer than a few months this time around. To make sure, it does, they even got the timepiece certified by the COSC, making it not just the thinnest watch in the world, but the slimmest chronometer-certified timepiece, as well.
The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC followed the same construction principles as its predecessor from 2022, trimming down the components and pushing the proportions to its most extreme tolerances. The watch face looks similar, so it reprises a lot of the same design, although the mechanical movement is obviously updated to ensure it qualifies for the COSC certification.
To achieve shaving off a full millimeter from its thickness, the outfit reworked the shapes of the crystal, bezel, dials, and barrel. Basically, they shaved size off the parts that won’t require a heavy retooling of the way the timepiece worked, allowing them to reclaim the record less than two years after RM seized it.
The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC comes with a new way of setting the time, which is done through a dedicated case with built-in electronics for adjusting the time. Basically, you put the watch in the case, put in your desired time, and it sets the watch accordingly. Obviously, this is another way to shave the thickness, since putting an adjustment mechanism on the watch can add a lot of size and heft.
Only 20 examples of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC will be made. Price is set at $529,000.