BVLGARI Octo Finissimo 40mm Review

Stunning model by BVLGARI, the Octo Finissimo men’s watch features a 40mm platinum case and is extremely thin at only 5mm. With a gorgeous 26-jewel, 2.23mm self-winding movement. With a platinum case thickness of only 5mm, this is an incredible achievement, and an extra-thin timepiece. You won’t find this sitting next to fashion brands like Gucci, Armani or Lacoste watches in a traditional watch retailer – as a particularly specialist piece from a niche brand it will be hard to get hold of, but the exclusivity will be almost unmatched.

Power Source

The Finissimo calibre BVL 128 is a manual winding movement that features 26 jewels, a power reserve of 65 hours, and powers the hour hand, minute hand, and the small seconds sub dial on this timepiece.

This movement is 36.60mm in diameter and is a part of BVLGARI’s line of thinnest movements in the world, with this watch’s BVL 128 movement coming in at only 2.23mm. Vibration is 28,800 v.p.h. (4 Hz), which is exceptional quality and offers amazing precision.

The Good

The black polished, lacquered dial features raised indexes and Arabic numerals at 12 and 6 that perfectly match the platinum of the 40mm case. The dial is simple at first glance but soon reveals the classic minimalism that makes this watch so great. The black dial features hour and minute skeleton hands made of platinum, as well as a small seconds sub dial located at the 5 o’clock position. This sub dial keeps the seconds with plain matching platinum stick indexes and a small sub dial hand.

The BVL 128 Finissimo calibre is decorated with côte de Genève, chamfering, and perlage finishing. The nearly 70 hour power reserve is incredibly impressive, especially on such a thin movement. You can view both the main dial and the interior movement through the genuine Sapphire crystal that is fitted on both the front and the back of this Octo Finissimo.

The water resistance is quite respectable as well at 30 metres / 100 feet / 3 BAR. You should definitely take steps to keep this gorgeous BVLGARI timepiece from harm, but you won’t have to worry about flooding or ruining it if you drop it in water or accidently forget to take it off in the shower. With a crown set with ceramic, this manual wind movement is high class and is ultra thin, allowing the overall design to be extremely sleek, sophisticated, and luxurious. Finishing this timepiece off is an integrated black alligator strap featuring a platinum ardillon buckle.

The Bad

There are no real negatives aspects to this timepiece beyond perhaps wishing that the water resistance were around 100 meters. For the price, some extra protection would really put wearers at ease.

Functionality

The functionality of this watch is simple but impressive. The super-thin movement powers the hour, minute, and small seconds sub dial with precision you can rely on. It offers up to 70 hours of power reserve, which is excellent, and the transparent case backing even has a power reserve indicator.

The water resistance is 30 meters / 100 feet, which is definitely enough to keep this watch safe. The manual wind movement is superior and one of the best in the world if you are looking for the absolute slimmest model available. This allows the watch itself to be constructed only 5mm thick, which is outstanding.

These aspects, along with the world-class polishing of the case, lacquering of the dial, ceramic crown setting, and use of genuine Sapphire crystal on both sides of the case, make for one fine luxury timepiece.

The Highlights

The sheer quality of this Octo Finissimo is a giant highlight that is worthy of noting. One of my favourite materials used in case construction is platinum, and with this specially polished 40mm platinum case, you would be hard-pressed to find another similar timepiece that looks and functions like this BVLGARI.

The watch is named “Octo” because the case has eight sides. What makes this timepiece even more dimensional is that the fixed platinum bezel is circular and lies around the black circular dial, offering an additional touch of class. One of the interesting aspects of this beautiful timepiece is the transparent Sapphire case backing, which features a power reserve indicator.

Pricing

This timepieces retails for $29,800 but you can find it for a better price at some online retailers.