It’s been so long that I can’t even remember when I first started asking for a smaller version of Bvlgari’s award-winning, record-breaking ultra-thin watch, the Octo Finissimo. I do remember that it became something of a tradition to badger Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Bvlgari’s product creation executive director and design director. His reaction was always the same. He would flash his signature heavily bearded, friendly smile from behind a desk in the presidential suite of Geneva’s Hotel President and say, “Everybody asks me for this watch!”
This spring, Bvlgari finally made good on my long-standing wish. The brand unveiled a new 37-mm version of the Octo Finissimo, a much more wearable size for most wrists. The new diameter is especially important for this particular model’s shape. “The demand wasn’t driven only by the trend toward smaller watches,” Buonamassa Stigliani told me during an interview in April. “The Octo Finissimo is a square watch, so it wears larger than its dimensions suggest.”
The Octo Finissimo is an icon of modern watchmaking, which made the lack of a Goldilocks-size version even more glaring. Since Bvlgari debuted the OF in 2014, the collection has accumulated 10 world records for ultra-thin watchmaking, including two for the thinnest mechanical watch. The original Automatic, sized at 40 mm, followed a few years later and has since been made available in numerous iterations: sandblasted titanium, stainless steel, 18k gold, ceramic, and more.
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The OF37 on the author's wrist
Bvlgari rewarded my patience handsomely. The brand debuted three versions of the new OF37: in matte sandblasted titanium; brushed and polished titanium, and yellow gold. Excited beyond what should reasonably stir the emotions of a 36-year-old man, I requested to spend a week with the sandblasted titanium version—which, to my mind, struck a fine balance between graceful futurism and the utilitarian look of a classic tool watch.
Having the OF37 on my wrist really drove home that it looks and feels like nothing else on the market. For almost my entire adult life, I’ve worn a Rolex Submariner, which is in many ways the standard-bearer for modern watch design, and I was immediately struck by how much wearing the OF37 felt like a daring adventure. While I’ve come to love the weight and heft of the Sub, the legendary lightness of the OF was both lovely and slightly alarming. Looking down and seeing this thing—whose matte titanium body completely changes color from steel grey to black to light graphite depending upon the ambient light—is fascinating. On the other hand, I’m a fairly active guy: I’ve taken my Sub swimming and diving without thinking about it, I’ve owned it for 24 years and worn it for 15 without ever servicing it, I’ve donned it during patrols in the military, I’ve banged it into every conceivable surface and (almost) never worried about it. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable wearing the OF37 the same way.
The OF37 is the product of many years of refinement. “We’ve been collecting feedback for years—about the buckle, the case size, the movement finishing, and the needs of both clients and collectors,” says Buonamassa Stigliani. “This watch reflects all of that feedback. We explored several sizes—36, 37, 38, and 39 millimeters. Ultimately, 37 mm was the smallest size that allowed us to preserve the watch’s technical features.”
The change is what made a slightly imperfect watch perfect to me—looking at the older version was like seeing a painting hanging just slightly crooked. I’m of the mind that a well-designed watch should be framed by one’s wrist—not sit right up against the edge of it. This was precisely the quality that the condensed size offered: smaller, incredibly thin, and so comfortable I forgot it was there.
The OF’s similarities to other modern watches begin and end with the fact that it uses three hands to tell the time. You can certainly perceive some of the Gerald Genta-inflected heritage of Bvlgari’s watchmaking division, particularly in the obsession with eight-sided bezels. But compare it to even the luxury sports watch stalwarts out there—timepieces such as the Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe’s Nautilus—let alone to something like a Submariner, and you’re left scratching your head going, this is different.
What distinguishes the design is the clever octagon-within-a-circle-within-a-square architecture. The design starts with one of Buonamassa Stigliani’s famous hand sketches. The angular look is inspired by ancient Roman architecture (and its ample use of the octagon); Italian design; automotive motifs (Buonamassa Stigliani loves cars); and Bvlgari’s own jewelry. In fact, the OF37 wears much more like a piece of modernist sculpture on the wrist than a conventional wristwatch.
The OF37, regardless of material, boasts the brand-new Bvlgari BVF 100 movement. Measuring just 2.35 mm thick, it uses a platinum micro-rotor activated by the movement of your wrist to automatically wind the watch. The case itself at 6.45 mm is actually thicker than the 40mm version’s case at 5.15 mm, though you likely wouldn’t notice this given its smaller diameter and the fact that it’s only as thick as a few credit cards stacked together. The power reserve on the 40-mm version is 60 hours; impressively, that of the 37mm—a watch 20% smaller in volume—is 20% higher, at 72 hours.
The OF is almost a victim of its own success in differentiating itself from the rest of the market. I’m almost certain that the watch couldn’t be my personal daily driver. But could it be a part of my rotation? Hell yes. I can’t wait till the first celeb pairs one of these with black tie, frankly. Josh O’Connor, can you help me out there? The list price warrants discussion here: $16,600 for the sandblasted titanium version ($17,300 for the satin/polished titanium version and $48,300 for the gold version) is no joke. This probably won’t be someone’s first watch but rather the province of somebody for whom watch collecting is already a practiced sport.
Once or twice while wearing the OF37, I caught a glimpse of its sleek angles and strange profile in the window reflection of a parked car, or even the mirror in my bathroom. That it looks quite unlike anything that came before it means that it doesn’t have simple answers to simple questions: Is this an everyday watch? A dress watch? Something for serious collectors or splashy newcomers? What makes the OF37 special is that it refuses to be any one of those things.