Watches and Wonders 2025: Bulgari shatters thinnest record while breathing new life into the Serpenti
Apr 04, 2025
Bulgari breaks its own record with the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch while the Serpenti sheds its Tubogas bracelet for a diamond bangle
Always in the pursuit of the thinness, Bulgari achieves its 10th world record with an all new tourbillon timepiece that takes home the title for the thinnest in the world.
The Octo Finissimo collection has long been Bulgari’s vessel for its ultra-thin timepieces. Through meticulous engineering that sees the case and movement of the designs integrated, the house has created a range of the world’s thinnest timepieces featuring a range of complications.
This year, the Italian brand achieves what is seemingly impossible by creating a tourbillon that measures just 1.85 mm in thickness. The Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon exemplifies Bulgari’s radical approach to watchmaking and design, earning the house yet another world record in thinness.
At the heart of this skinny timepiece is the caliber BVF 900, a manual movement that has a 42-hour power reserve, no small feat for a tourbillon timepiece that is just 0.15mm thicker than the watchmaker’s thinnest time-only timepiece, the 1.7mm Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC.
The waif timepiece is fully skeletonised, leaving just the bare essentials in the titanium case. An equally impressive slim bracelet also in titanium is paired with the piece, completing the 40 mm watch.
For those who prefer something a little less monochromatic, Bulgari unveils a new iteration of the Serpenti watch with the Serpenti Aeterna. In place of the iconic Tubogas bracelet, the new Aeterna gets a bejewelled bangle that is paved entirely in diamonds. What remains is the Serpenti’s snake-like silhouette– the dial resets at the tip of the ‘sneak’ while the end tapers and wraps once around the wrist.
This wholly new interpretation of the Serpenti brings about a glamorous touch that yet retains an element of the DNA, albeit hidden from sight– the Serpenti’s octagonal motif is built into the inner structure of the bangle.
In two iterations, the rose gold version sees the piece, including the dial, covered almost entirely in solitaire diamonds in snow setting while the white gold number is accented with larger solitaires throughout and anchored with an emerald on the crown. Green hands add an additional pop of colour to the white gold version.
