All roads lead to Octo

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All roads lead to Octo - Bulgari
2 minutes read
Bulgari kicks off 2017 with a whole new line in its Octo collection, plus a new skeleton tourbillon and new Lvcea models.

When you hold the record for the world’s thinnest tourbillon (not to mention the world’s thinnest minute-repeater tourbillon), you have set the bar high not just for the competition but for yourself, too. The record-breaking ultra-thin watches are now so thin that they seem to be reaching a point where they cannot get any thinner, since the mere act of tightening the watch strap on the wrist would actually bend the watch case and the movement inside. To bring something new, you therefore have to approach the challenge differently. Bulgari has done this with its latest ultra-thin offering by skeletonizing the BVL 268 Finissimo calibre in the new Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton.

All roads lead to Octo
The technical accomplishment of this movement inside the platinum case can now be admired from both sides of the watch. There is no longer a dial, so each individual component, from the mainspring barrel at 12 o’clock (which even at this ultra-thin level has a thicker spring that gives the watch a respectable 62-hour power reserve) to the ball-bearing mounted tourbillon at 6 o’clock, with all the intermediary wheels between, can be seen in motion.

Technical achievements aside, however, Bulgari’s biggest launch at the start of 2017 is an entirely new line within the Octo collection. The new model is unmistakably an Octo but, on closer inspection, has one major difference from the regular models. Whereas the case of the latter has no fewer than 110 facets on its angular case, the new Octo Roma has much smoother lines and only 58 facets.

All roads lead to Octo

The trick is that the distinctive Octo shape, which relies on the integration of the circle within an octagon, is maintained on the bezel, while a level of the case beneath it has been removed, so that there is a direct transition to the lugs, with a modified strap attachment. In all other respects, the watch remains exactly the same: 41mm case, in-house calibre BVL 191 Solotempo movement with hours, minutes and seconds and the same dial with oversized 6, 12 and baton hour markers.

The new Octo Roma models will initially be available in five different versions that are clearly designed for universal appeal: a full-gold model with chocolate-brown dial and brown alligator leather strap, a two-tone steel and gold model with white dial and brown alligator leather strap and three stainless-steel versions (black dial and stainless-steel bracelet or white and chocolate dials with matching leather straps).

A similar approach has been taken with the new Lvcea Moonphase models for ladies, which also offer a choice of pink or white gold and two-tone models in the 36mm case diameter (Bulgari is also introducing new steel and two-tone models in the smaller 28 and 33mm Lvcea models). These models are powered by the same BVL 210 Caliber found in the Octo Roma but with the addition of a moonphase indication. The moonphase is a natural choice for a ladies’ complication but what sets these new models apart is the background colour of the moonphase display, which perectly matches the glossy purple and red of the alligator leather strap.

All roads lead to Octo

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