Hands-On: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon

Shot on Leica by David Bredan

Another year, another Bulgari Breaking Barriers newsflash to report. For its debut at Watches and Wonders 2025, Bulgari presented yet another new thinness achievement, bringing its total to 10 world records in the ultra-thin watchmaking category. We went hands-on with the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon watch, which is now the thinnest tourbillon watch ever made. And yes, it’s as ultra-cool in the metal as its name sets it up to be.

For those of you keeping track, here are the previous records Bulgari set (some have since been beaten by Bulgari and other brands) since the debut of the Octo Finissimo concept in 2014.

This brings us to 2025, where the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon snatches the title for the world’s thinnest tourbillon to date — clocking in at just 1.85mm thick. That’s not just for the movement, mind you, but for the entire watch: case, bezel, dial, movement, and sapphire crystal. It’s thinner than a nickel. And yet, it’s a fully functioning mechanical tourbillon — loud, legible, and surprisingly robust in the metal. It’s a full circle moment, given that Bulgari began its pursuit for insanely thin watches with a tourbillon in 2014.

Despite its paper-thin proportions, the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon doesn’t feel fragile. The bracelet and case (both made from microbead-blasted titanium) are solid and secure on the wrist, with a planar, architectural presence that feels more like a cuff than a traditional round watch. As you can see from it on David’s wrist, it wears flat and very wide (like a dinner plate, but a very fancy one) and the experience is all about the surfaces — matte, light-absorbing, and clean. The bracelet itself measures only 1.5mm thick, including the integrated folding clasp. While it’s feather-light, it still feels perfectly engineered and stable.

Inside the 40mm case is the ultra-thin manual-winding BVF 900 movement, which beats at 28,800bph (4Hz) and supplies 42 hours of power reserve. It’s not hidden away either (there’s nowhere to hide in something this slim!); the mechanical “guts” are all there to admire. Skeletonization takes center stage, and Bulgari’s design team has treated every surface like a canvas for finishing. There’s the bezel flange’s polished slope, the finely rhodium-plated tourbillon balance and inertia blocks, and the sunburst-finished, rhodium-plated tourbillon bridge. Plus, there’s just enough contrast between the anthracite DLC-coated hour/minute display and rhodium-plated hands to keep legibility in check. What’s more, unlike earlier Ultra models that used de-coupled hour and minute displays, this one returns to a conventional two-hand format, making reading the time more intuitive.

The entire case and movement are built off a tungsten carbide mainplate, which serves as both structural backbone and canvas for the mechanical design. This allows the case to ditch traditional three-piece construction and instead function as a single cohesive unit, with sandblasted titanium used for the lugs, bezel, and mid-case. The time-setting and winding “crowns” — really just wheels embedded in the case edge — are made from radial-brushed stainless steel and located at 3 o’clock and 8 o’clock, respectively. It’s all been so cleanly executed that you almost forget how mechanically radical it is.

Sound-wise, the Ultra Tourbillon is no quiet companion. The tourbillon beat is distinctly audible. It’s not jarring or unpleasant, but definitely present. Think Swatch ticking loud, only (of course) more complex and elevated in that high-horology kind of way. As cliché as it sounds, the whirling tourbillon really does beat like a mechanical heart, adding an organic pulse to the otherwise ultra-modern design. Some might find it distracting, but others will appreciate the reminder that something so impossibly thin can still be alive with motion and sound.

Only 20 examples of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon will be produced, each priced at $678,000 USD as of press time. That kind of price isn’t for the faint of heart — or the thick of wrist — but really you’re paying for an idea as much as an object. Developing the world’s thinnest tourbillon doesn’t come cheap. As Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari puts it, “Each record has been a stepping stone. Setting a record isn’t just about crossing barriers – it’s about redefining what’s possible in mechanical watchmaking. With each challenge, we’ve had to rethink not only traditional techniques but also how watches are designed and developed.” For more information, please visit the Bulgari website. 

The photos in this article were shot on a Leica Q3 provided by Leica for Watches and Wonders 2025.