Futuristic high-tech materials dedicated to Haute Horlogerie, acoustics and aesthetics.

Much like a stealth plane, it is so light and slim that one could easily forget it is even on the wrist, elegantly offering a new journey through time leading straight to the future.

This year, the world’s thinnest Minute Repeater appears attired in black. Octo Finissimo Minute RepeaterCarbonfollows on from the model that in 2016 set a new standard in the striking watch category. Clad in its high-performance black livery, this new execution picks up the fundamentals of its predecessor in an interpretation oozing strength, technology and a touch of mystery.

The Maison had opted for a titanium case two years ago. This ultra-light and highly resistant technical material is endowed with impressive acoustic properties. This year, Bvlgari is unveiling a superlative model. Its daring and original case features a high-tech contemporary material. The case, the bezel and the caseback are made from an epoxy thermosetting resin called Carbon Thin Ply (CTP). It includes extremely thin carbon fibres that guarantee robustness despite their ultra-thin structure. The 40 mm-diameter case measures 6.85 mm thick.

This unprecedented high-tech material has been chosen as much for its powerful and distinctive aesthetic as for its physical properties, since these polymers feature rare and surprising acoustic properties that endow the Minute Repeater with powerful sound output. The small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock and the hour-markers, also made of CTP, are strategically incised. These openings serve to amplify resonance inside the case housing Calibre BVL 362 and compensate for the absence of substantial internal volume, the latter being the customary precondition for effective sound propagation. Cutting-edge technology meets horological tradition, since this in-house manual-winding Minute Repeater movement is the thinnest in the world to date, at just 3.12mm thick. Once cased up, it serves to keep the total thickness of the watch down to just 6.85mm.

Bvlgari has chosen to affix the circular cross-section gong-rings directly to the case. The extreme miniaturisation of the 362 components inside this extremely thin case is exemplified by the centrifugal governor featuring a diameter of just 3.3mm including its two poising weights. The striking mechanism pusher, equipped with a safety feature, is positioned at 9 o’clock on the case middle. The case is teamed with an extremely supple carbon bracelet.

Weighing in at just 47 grams, the supremely futuristic Octo Finissimo Minute RepeaterCarbonoffers a refreshing new take on tradition.