Two bold models emerged best in Men’s Watch and Tourbillon & Escapement categories, signifying Bulgari’s expertise in creating special, ultra-thin watches.

Two Bulgari Octo Finissimo watches were celebrated as emblems of contemporary watchmaking at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (Geneva Watch Awards, or GPHG for short) last week, each raking in an award of excellence recognising its elegant marriage of Italian style and Swiss technique.

Octo Finissimo Automatic took the crown in Men’s Watch category, while Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton won the Tourbillon & Escapement Prize. Jury members were impressed by the aesthetic vision Bulgari expressed through the Octo Finissimo line, with pieces that are relevant as they are timeless and technically-sound.

Making its debut at Baselworld 2018, the Octo Finissimo Automatic’s aesthetic vision was previously awarded Best Watch of the Year at Mexico’s SIAR (Salon Internacional Alta Relojeria). It is Bulgari’s third successive record-breaking icon after Octo Finissimo Tourbillon (2014) and Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater (2016). It is the thinnest self-winding watch in the market to date, at 5.15mm thich, 40mm diameter, and 2.23mm self-winding movement.

Also released this year, the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton pushes the limits of watchmaking art in typical super-thin Octo fashion – but this time, its mark of brilliance is the spectacular open-worked tourbillon. A beacon of technical elegance, it comprises 253 parts, 13 jewels, and eight ball bearings contributing to the thinness of the calibre.

GPHG is known as the Oscars of the watch world, so this represents a token of universal recognition for the Octo Finissimo collection. Since 2012, it has steadily developed in architecture to become one of the world’s most distinctive contemporary watches.

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