Bvlgari Octo Finissimo 37 mm Moves the Collection Beyond the Record Chase

Bvlgari has spent more than a decade making the Octo Finissimo a shorthand for ultra-thin watchmaking records.

With the Octo Finissimo 37 mm, the maison is shifting the emphasis from headline numbers to proportion, wearability and long-term identity.

At Watches and Wonders 2026, the smaller model signalled a more mature direction for the collection, one that treats compactness as a design and engineering question rather than a simple matter of reduction.

At a glance

• Bvlgari introduced the Octo Finissimo 37 mm as a new chapter for its ultra-thin watch collection.
• The watch uses the new BVF 100 micro-rotor calibre, a more compact movement with a 72-hour power reserve.
• Jonathan Brinbaum positions the 37 mm model as a rethink of proportion, size and modern mechanical watchmaking rather than another record attempt.

A smaller Octo with a different brief

The Octo Finissimo 37 mm matters because it doesn’t simply shrink the established watch.

Jonathan Brinbaum, Managing Director of Bvlgari’s Watches Division, has framed the model as a reconsideration of the Octo Finissimo from the ground up, with the 37 mm diameter chosen as part of a broader study of proportion.

That distinction is important for a watch whose appeal has always depended on geometry as much as thinness.

The Octo Finissimo’s architecture is defined by sharp planes, stepped surfaces and a distinctly Roman sense of line, so reducing the case without recalibrating the rest of the watch would risk flattening its character.

The 37 mm format also arrives at a moment when attitudes around case size and gender are becoming less rigid.

Rather than treating smaller watches as niche or secondary, Bvlgari is placing compact mechanical watchmaking at the centre of the Octo Finissimo conversation.

The BVF 100 calibre changes the conversation

The technical centre of the Octo Finissimo 37 mm is the new BVF 100 micro-rotor calibre.

Bvlgari has made the movement significantly more compact while increasing the power reserve to 72 hours, which gives the watch a practical advantage beyond its smaller footprint.

For Brinbaum, the next measure of ultra-thin watchmaking is increasingly about energy efficiency rather than thinness alone.

That’s a meaningful shift for a collection so closely associated with record-setting dimensions.

Ultra-thin watchmaking has often been discussed in terms of millimetres, but a smaller calibre with a longer reserve speaks to a different kind of progress.

It suggests the Octo Finissimo’s future may be defined less by the pursuit of another superlative and more by how efficiently Bvlgari can balance compactness, autonomy and architectural clarity.

Titanium and the Octo Finissimo identity

Titanium remains central to the Octo Finissimo story, both as a material and as a visual language.

The metal’s technical character suits the collection’s lean, architectural mood, reinforcing the idea that the Octo Finissimo is not a conventional dress watch that has been made thinner.

It’s also part of what separates the collection from more traditional expressions of Swiss watchmaking.

Bvlgari’s strength with the Octo Finissimo has been the ability to connect Roman design with Swiss mechanical expertise, and the 37 mm model sharpens that relationship rather than softening it.

The arrival of a 37 mm Minute Repeater further underlines the seriousness of the project.

Miniaturisation is difficult in any mechanical watch, but bringing it into a smaller ultra-thin framework adds a level of complexity that makes the new size more than a cosmetic exercise.

Details & Specifications

The Octo Finissimo 37 mm is aimed at collectors who understand that size is not a step down from complexity.

It points to a more nuanced phase for Bvlgari’s most important modern watch line, where the achievement is not only being thin, but being considered, efficient and unmistakably Octo.