Shrinking an horological icon isn’t as simple as it sounds, but Bulgari makes it look easy with the new Octo Finissimo 37mm, a smaller take on the Octo that rethinks the model from the inside out.
At Watches and Wonders 2026, Bulgari marks its second outing to the Geneva trade fair, arriving with a confident line-up of grail-worthy timepieces – the new Octo Finissimo 37mm among them.
'This has been something the market has long been asking for,' says Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, the Roman maison’s product creation executive director, of the new model. 'I remember we first started talking about it three or four years ago. Today, the Octo Finissimo is very well known among watch collectors, but we quite often receive comments like, “I love the watch, but it’s too big for my wrist.”’
Reducing the case size was anything but straightforward, however. 'If we want to make a smaller one, we are obliged to develop a brand-new movement, because there is no chance to use the existing Octo movement in a smaller size,' Stigliani explains. The result is the new calibre BVF 100, an ultra-thin automatic movement measuring just 2.35mm in height and delivering a hefty 72-hour power reserve. 'Today, we understand that it is more difficult to make a small watch than a big one. It is more difficult to make a smaller movement, and even more difficult to make one with greater power reserve.'
Only two components of the original movement – the platinum rotor and balance wheel – have been carried over, while the rest have been entirely re-engineered. 'If the original Octo Finissimo was the best watch we could imagine 15 years ago, the 37mm is the best watch we can produce today in our facilities,' says Stigliani.
Visually, the design remains largely unchanged. 'The watch must remain immediately recognisable,' says Stigliani. Instead, the focus falls on reworked proportions and wearability, with the new 37mm case featuring a slightly thicker profile and a reworked bracelet, now composed of two components with a new push-button clasp.
The 37mm is not positioned as a women’s-only timepiece. 'It was important to avoid positioning it as a “smaller” or “female” version. That would have been a mistake,' says Stigliani. Instead, it’s intended to run as a parallel line alongside the 40mm range, one that opens the door to new materials and configurations.
'The goal was not simply to make another version of the Octo Finissimo,' adds Stigliani, 'but to create a completely new watch.'