L’Officiel Malaysia – July 2019

L’Ofciel Bijoux 75

OCTO BY BULGARI

Year of birth: 2010

Design brief: In 2000, Bulgari acquired Gerald Genta’s

eponymous watchmaking brand established in 1969 after

the designer sold it to The Hour Glass group in 1998. Though

not directly descended from Genta’s design oeuvre, the Octo

launched by Bulgari in 2010 bears imprints of Genta’s legacy

such as the juxtaposition of modernity with classicism;

his trademark octagon (referencing the octagonal-cased

creation he designed from 1991); and the innovative spirit

of a true revolutionary. The upward trajectory of the Octo in

becoming a contemporary horology icon has been exciting

to watch.

New in 2019: Bulgari’s headlining act at Baselworld 2019

was the unveiling of the record-breaking Octo Finissimo

Chronograph GMT Automatic—the thinnest mechanical

chronograph in watchmaking annals, measuring 3.3 mm

and Bulgari’s fifth world record. It is the quintessence of

the Octo—an impeccable fusion of design and technology

while boasting ultra-thinness, embodied by a round dial

within an octagonal case. A bumper year for the Octo, it is

bolstered by the additions of the Octo Finissimo Ceramic

and the exceptional Octo Roma Tourbillon Sapphire. The

entire collection makes a fine statement rebooting the Octo’s

design codes with innovation excellence in technicity, micro-

mechanical complexity and the use of high-tech materials.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Gerald Genta’s first

Grande Sonnerie from 1994—an avant-garde piece and the

most complicated wristwatch at the time—Bulgari capped its

Octo 2019 repertoire with the remarkable masterpiece of Octo

Roma Grande Sonnerie with Perpetual Calendar.

Octo Roma Tourbillon Sapphire Octo Roma Octo Finissimo Skeleton Ceramic Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT

Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Carbon