Despite its highly defined architecture, Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo has proven to be an incredibly flexible platform, taking on a variety of materials and designs with aplomb. The latest in a long series of collaborations with artists, designers, and architects has arrived in the form of the Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari (RM90,200).
Born in South Korea and based in Japan, Lee is an artist known for his minimalist paintings and sculptures that are underscored by a critical, philosophical approach. One particular series of works, Relatum, juxtaposes bare, natural rock with smooth, polished surfaces such as mirrors—and later became a key point of inspiration for Bvlgari’s product creation executive director, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani. More familiar with Lee’s paintings at first, the ideas came quickly after Buonamassa Stigliani met Lee at his atelier. “We talked about sculptures. It’s a lot about contrast, because you see these big stones—very raw, very rough—put sometimes on glass, or on a mirror. You see there something that is completely opposite,” Buonamassa Stigliani recalls.
This led to the idea of creating something brand new on the Octo Finissimo, a rough finishing that made a statement about raw materials. Buonamassa Stigliani began experimenting, right at his desk, on the Octo Finissimo’s titanium bracelet. “I was in love with the idea of creating a hand-made finishing on the bracelet and case. That’s why I made the first prototype by myself—my desk was full of titanium powder everywhere! But I found the idea amazing, and I immediately started sharing with Lee,” he says. The result is the Octo Finissimo’s structural signatures—titanium bracelet and 40mm case—hand-marked, and roughened and made raw by artisans following Buonamassa Stigliani’s process. The contrast comes in the form of the mirror-effect dial—a placid sleekness, a counterpoint, topped by black hands.
“The idea was to create a brand-new aesthetic, something totally unexpected. We love these kinds of things on the Octo,” Buonamassa Stigliani adds. “When we play with these very important guests, the Octo is not a watch anymore—it’s a canvas. We love to play with common materials in unconventional ways. And I think this is the most interesting part of an Octo watch.” Limited to 150 pieces, the Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari hosts an in-house two-hand automatic movement and, in the signature style of the series, is ultra-thin at only 5.5mm in depth.
Roman Power
Expanding on this play of materials is the brand’s other Geneva Watch Days highlight—the Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon. A concept that began with a one-off for the Only Watch auction in 2023, the marble dial was revisited with a yellow gold and green dial tourbillon execution earlier this year, as well as a quartet of references for the Bvlgari Bvlgari’s 50th anniversary. We now see the tourbillon again, combining a platinum case with a blue marble dial.
As a material, marble carries a grandeur and fascinating persistence throughout antiquity—the perfect choice for a brand as Roman as Bvlgari. But it’s also notoriously difficult to manufacture at a scale required for watchmaking. “The dial is made in Italy, because there they have this kind of technology to cut those slices—0.2mm, if I remember,” Buonamassa Stigliani explains, noting that each slice is aesthetically unique as well as extremely fragile—around twice the number of dials have to be made than are required, mainly due to breakage.
“It’s a beautiful material because it represents Italian heritage very well. It’s part of the Rinascimento, part of the Roman emperors, the Roman Power—an eternal material for an eternal city,” he adds. Rome is dotted with architectural landmarks in marble—from the Colosseum, to the Pantheon and St Peter’s Basilica. “It’s a part of Roman heritage. We grow up surrounded by this kind of beauty,” Buonamassa Stigliani says.
“And each time it changes face, each time it changes design, it’s a totally different attitude,” he adds of the Octo Finissimo. “It’s very chameleonic, and this is the biggest surprise, honestly.”
Limited to 30 pieces, the Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon holds a manually wound flying tourbillon movement that was the world’s thinnest of the type when it was launched in 2014. The watch is less than 6mm in depth, and it is delivered on a blue alligator leather strap.
READ MORE: Our favourite watches from Geneva Watch Days 2025
