Bulgari and Japan have always cultivated a special relationship. Celebrating "bello e ben fatto" (all that is beautiful and well made) while paying tribute to the excellence of which Japan and Bvlgari are both proud ambassadors, their encounters have been as many milestones over the past few years. They have resulted in the creation of Octo Finissimo limited editions crafted in collaboration with Japanese artists such as a musician and a painter.
Bulgari is now partnering with Tadao Ando, one of the greatest contemporary architects, in bringing to life an exclusive Octo Finissimo series dedicated to him.
Tadao Ando has acquired his reputation by using concrete and glass combined with creative lighting to create pure, essential works that are part of the history of contemporary international architecture. His major achievements include the Church of Light in Osaka, the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth in the USA and the 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo.
Shapes, volumes, use of materials and spatial design guide his work. In this respect, Tadao Ando's architectural creations reveal an obviously close kinship with the Octo Finissimo collection by Bulgari.
The Octo Finissimo Titanium is issued in a 200-piece series. Its 40 mm extra-thin titanium case is only 5.15 mm thick. The dial designed by Tadao Ando displays a spiral starting at the source of the seconds hand, thus evoking the infinite passing of time. The mechanical manufacture movement Calibre BVL 138 with automatic winding (and platinum microrotor) is decorated by hand with côtes de Genève, chamfering and perlage finishing. The backcase is personnalized with Tadao Ando's signature and ""Tadao Ando Ando - LimitedEdition"" and the watch is completed with a titanium bracelet with folding clasp.
The 42 mm Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Carbon, is an eight-piece limited series. Here too, Tadao Ando has taken up the theme of the infinite spiral of time, whose concentric circles emerge from the Tourbillon to radiate over the entire dial. The watch houses the manufacture mechanical skeleton movement with automatic winding, world's thinnest tourbillon Caliber BVL 288, with flying tourbillon, a special ball-bearings system, 52 hours of power reserve and Haute de gamme decoration. A carbon bracelet with steel DLC folding clasp complemets the timepiece.
Architecture, the flight of time, eternity, purity... Four concepts powerfully symbolised by the works of Tadao Ando and Octo Finissimo as the archiztect undelrines: ”The existence of a black hole in deep space materialized in my mind when I began to ponder this. On the face of the watch, an endless spiral unravels from minutes to seconds, until it cannot be seen. It is a ripple on a body of water, spreading through the fourth dimension. From expansion to compression, this design expresses the infinite, the eternal, and the timeless”.
