by Perry Heim
An introduction by editor-in-chief Elizabeth Doerr: at Quill & Pad we are often contacted by readers. Most are requests for information, but some lead to an interesting exchange of opinions. Back in 2020, collector Perry Heim contacted us with his thoughts on one of today’s blue-chip watches, the Patek Philippe Nautilus. You can read his thoughts on it at Why The Patek Philippe Nautilus Is King: A Collector Weighs In.
Perry recently contacted me again, this time with very organized thoughts on his perfect Bulgari, which I believe also makes for a great conversation starter.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic in satin-polished stainless steel with a blue dial
Perry Heim writes:
I’ve waited. The good lord knows, I’ve waited. And far be it from me to cast doubt on the judgment of the powers that be. But I thought that maybe, just maybe, I’ve waited long enough. Maybe we all have.
To start, credit should be given where credit is most definitely due. With Jean-Christophe Babin at the helm and under the direction of head of watches Antoine Pin and head designer Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, the extraordinary people of Bulgari have done more than break world records these past eight years. By sheer force of will, determination, and, no doubt, a liberal application of funds to the R&D department, the fabled maison of fine jewelry has marvelously repositioned (or co-positioned) itself as a first-tier firm of haute horlogerie.
To be clear, I’m writing as a firm proponent of the notion that watches should be made by watchmakers and I confess I have no shortage of stigmas on the subject as well as a preconceived reluctance to the thought of purchasing a timepiece from pen makers, fashion designers, or jewelers. Bulgari, however, has completely changed my conception of them and, for some reason, the fact that to the general public this firm remains known mostly for its jewelry and perfumes mainly brings a sense of satisfaction to the watch connoisseur in me.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic in stainless steel on the wrist
The line of watches that is nearly solely responsible for this epic transformation is the Octo Finissimo. Other Bulgari collections deserve respect as well, but none have done as much for Bulgari, or for me personally, as the Octo.
The consistent, coherent, and masculine design language – combined with technical prowess that seems to be growing exponentially – makes for formidable timepieces. For me they instill a sense of need to rise to the occasion, to be worthy to own and wear them. This is a rare and powerful sentiment that only very few brands – the likes of Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin (at its best), and select independents – ever evoked within me.
It has been stated before that the definitive factor of what made the Royal Oak Jumbo Ultra Thin such a luxurious watch was its ever-so-slim profile. I have previously argued that what makes a luxury sports watch is the combination of a luxuriously thin and elegant profile coinciding with a sufficient degree of water resistance (thus allowing for some sports). In this sense, Bulgari has already surpassed anything the vaunted folks from AP have ever achieved and has done so with the entry point to the Finissimo range – the 100-meter, satin-polished, time-only watches.
I find the tradeoff of running seconds on the Finissimo as opposed to the date on the Jumbo to be more than fair, even preferable. The fact that a Bulgari Reference 103431 (for instance) undercuts an Audemars Piguet Reference 15202 by roughly a millimeter and a half while adding an additional 50 meters of water resistance and a screw-down-crown would cause me some soul searching were I an executive in Le Brassus, Audemars Piguet’s hometown.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Reference 103297
While every Octo Finissimo model has its strong suit and a different kind of appeal, it is the simple, and simply sublime, black-dial Reference 103297 that speaks to me the most (something I alluded to last time I wrote for Quill & Pad). Yet, for all my love for this timepiece, I cannot bring myself to purchase it due to what at first might seem like a simple and esoteric issue: its lack of lume. I think it is very important that a luxury sports watch – that any sports watch – should be capable of relaying the time legibly, even in the dark.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT
All the other watches in this category – incidentally none of which quite measure up (or down) to the Octo Finissimo – have lume. Why not the Bulgari? At first, I thought it was a matter of design integrity, but then came the 100-meter variant of the Octo Finissimo GMT Chronograph, which – lo and behold – is lumed. Alas, it is also a larger timepiece than the time-only model, too big for my puny wrist. But it gives me hope.
It has occurred to me that perhaps, much in the way Rolex initially released its ceramic bezel on the platinum Daytona, only some years later making it available on the stainless steel models (to great fanfare), perhaps Bulgari is planning the same thing with the lumed 100-meter Finissimo models, starting out with the GMT Chronograph before allowing the goodness to “trickle down” to the time-only model. A bit frustrating as much like the “Platona” doesn’t suit every wallet the GMT Chronograph doesn’t suit every wrist.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic in stainless steel on the wrist
By now you might know where I’m going. Bulgari has already made the perfect watch. Almost. Just. Almost. All it needs is to glow in the dark. And as the brand has already showed us, it can be done. May the great Gérald Genta’s ghost come back to haunt me if I’m not first in line to buy it, sight unseen, if and when it is made available.
I don’t expect you to take the leap of faith with me, but surely I’m not the only one who would like to see a lumed 100-meter Octo Finissimo? Just the other day I saw an article regarding the writer’s love of luminescence. There must be more of us out there.
How about you? Let us know in the comments below.
You may also enjoy:
Why The Patek Philippe Nautilus Is King: A Collector Weighs In
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic: To Live With Is To Love
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic: Enchanting Ultra-Thin In Titanium, Gold, Ceramic, And Now In Steel
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic: Timing Is Getting Pretty Thin
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Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!
Hello.
I have read what the collector have said, and i am surprise to learn that thay DONT make such a watch.
Lume is such a useful feature on a mechanical watch.
Not always i agree with readers ideas,
BUT (there is always one)
-count me down for a ✅, to make such a model.
Keep on the excellent work at q&p.
Sincerely
Gal
Great write up! Would sure love to see a lumed Octo.
I’m looking to buy a watch for my husband’s birthday and was considering the Octo Finissimo by Bulgari. I never though light is necessary but I don’t want to take any chances. Can you please recommend a watch that is of a similar price tag and design to the Finissimo?
Similar price, there are some, similar design, there are none 🙂
That’s what makes the octo finissimo so special.
Honestly, not a single time have I missed the lume on the watch, and I am wearing my octos very often 🙂
I don’t think you should let such a detail make you miss the opportunity to gift your loved one such a beautiful and iconic timepiece
Here is my take as an Octo fan and collector (I own a few of them)
For sure it would be nice, but the problem is that Fabrizio is extremely sensitive to proportions and on the smaller and slimmer finissimo S, lume would make the indexes to big, out of proportion.
This is why in my opinion you are never going to see a lumed finissimo S.
There would nevertheless be 2 workarounds, but none of them would really make the perfect watch :
– full lume dial like on Wei Koh’s Revolution Limited edition of the chronograph. But the downside of this, as much as I LOVE full lume in a sports watch is the color of the dial. It doesn’t give you plenty of options if I am not mistaken. Kind of pointless to have a lumed finissimo S if it looks ugly…
– lumed ceramic baton indexes. This would be another option, since it would allow for the indexes to keep the same dimensions and proportions than on the current finissimo S. Problem is that you would not be able to have the polished metal aspect on the indexes that greatly contributes the the very refined and classy Italian design of the dial and the watch in general (since the polished indexes appeal to the polished hands and the polished facets of the case and bracelet)
Like the author said, the team at bvlgari has been doing an outstanding work for the past 10 years, building an iconic timepiece out of nothing.
I really think we can give them the credit and credibility, if it were possible to make a lumed finissimo S that would still tick all of the other boxes of the very rigorous design of it, they would have done it by now 🙂
Even if Octo looks like sport luxury watch, thanks to its thinnes it wears best as sporty dress watch and I don`t think lumed watches look elegant and discrete in subdued light.
Seems kinda delusional to think a company like Bulgari are going to create a new watch just because you wrote a post on blog… Idk
One additional thought
It actually makes me proud to be an octo afficionado and collector when I see that the team behind it at bvlgari have the strength and conviction to stick to their perfect design and not get out of their way just to follow the trend.
Let’s be really honest/real for a minute. Even though the Nautilus, the Royal Oak, the Octo Finissimo, the overseas, and many others call themselves « sport watches ». Who is actually to go dive with a Nautilus or explore a cave with a royal oak ? No one, absolutely no one, simply because bo one wants to take the risk to put a dent in a five figures price timepiece.
Would it be nice to have lume ? Certainly. Is it a must do ? Certainly not.
Again? For the sake of being real and real life use, the indexes are so nicely polished, that you would have to be in the darkest of darks not to be able to catch a bit of light to reflect on the mirror polished surfaces when you move your wrist around in a darker place
Thanks for your thoughts Remi. Unfortunately, you raise some good points…
Enjoyable read, and I will admit I have lusted after one or more of the Octos over the last couple years – my pain-point is the concern that the day after I plunk down my funds, the ‘perfect’ dial/metal combination will be announced. There are so many attractive versions, both dials and metals, that the perfect one may never truly exist – but one day I do hope to land somewhere!
I hear you! There is a watch I’ve wanted to buy for 30 years, and I never do because every year they release so many new versions! I can’t decide…
It’s because of Mr. Heim that the Finissimo is now my holy grail watch. If the man wants some lume – please Bulgari, give him some lume!
Hilarious letter. Laughed while reading 🙂
I wonder how many of us are needed for Bulgari to take this matter seriously. We should start a movement!
I recently picked up a used XL Cartier Santos 100 but would have definitely considered a lumed Octo instead, though more expensive. What do you think of The Parmigiani Tonda PF Micro Rotor?