Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT in Steel Case Review

In the 2021 GPHG Award Ceremony just took place on Nov 4th, 2021, Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpectual Calendar won the top prize the “Aiguille d’Or” Award. The news made history as it was the first time, not just for an Italian brand, but for any non-Swiss brands, to receive the “best of show” honor. With non-stop recording settings in the ultra-thin watch making, the incredible achievements by Octo Finissimo have been fully recognized by the watch industry.

I was filled with joy when watching the GPHG final award live, as a happy owner of the new Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT. This fantastic watch in steel case with blue dial (Ref 103407) was first announced in January 2021. I fell in love with this watch as soon as I saw the release back then. I was further intrigued by the in-depth coverage of this watch on the cover of the WatchTime magazine (April 2021 issue). The long wait started, as with many new releases nowadays by all brands. In October this year, the watch arrived at my AD and I finally got to see it and put it on my wrist.

The “Octo” model name and the iconic design were born during 80s at the eponymous watch brand founded by Gérald Genta in 1969. The Octo was the last major watch design by Genta following the strokes of genius leading to Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus. The octagon design DNA shared in Octo and Royal Oak is so vivid and obvious.

In 1996, Singapore based watch retailer Hour Glass acquired a controlling interest in Gérald Genta the company, but later discovered that the brand would lose the right to use “Swiss Made” logo. In 2000, the brand and company Gérald Genta were acquired by Bulgari’s watchmaking division in Switzerland. Bulgari continued the development based on the Octo basic design and refine them with Italian sensitivity and creativity. There are various model lines, including Octo Roma, Octo L’Originale and Octo Finissimo.

The Octo Finissimo, the Italian word for super fine or thin, has been pushing the envelop for ultra-thin movement design. Seven records have been set in seven years, including the world record for the thinnest chronograph, automatic or manual wind. The first Octo Finissimo Chrono and GMT combo was first released in titanium case in 2019. In the same year, it has won the Best Chronograph in the 2019 GPHG competition. Joining the red-hot stainless steel luxury sports watch trend, a new family member of steel model in blue sun burst was introduced during the LVMH Watch Week held in January 2021. The prayers of many watch collectors were answered and this watch was quickly named by watch enthusiasts as the “Reverse Panda”.

The Octo Finissimo Chrono GMT is an exceptional stunner in the metal.  The bezel is a circular disc accompanied by octagonal shapes both outside and inside.  The layered, multi-faceted surfaces present a beauty one simply cannot get tired of looking.  The polished surfaces reflect lights beautifully with the movement of the wrist.  

The watch looks big at 43mm diameter but sits nicely on my 17mm wrist.  It is an imposing watch for sure with its size and shining surface.  It is almost a statement piece that wants to shout out “look at me”.  However, the flat and thin case profile combined with flexible bracelet makes it easy to hide under the shirt too.  It is quite comfortable to wear thanks to its lightweight design. 

The functions of this watch include hours, minutes, running seconds, GMT and chronograph with 30-minute totalizer.  The operation of chronograph is firm and very reliable. The chrono minute counter only jumps after the passing of each minute. The combination of a GMT second timezone feature with chronograph is not so common, despite their obvious practical benefits.

The adjustment of the second timezone is usually carried out by the crown in many popular GMT watches including brands like Rolex and Grand Seiko. The drawback of this standard approach is that the watch is stopped while timezone change is performed. One may need to sync up the time, if the pause is too long. Not for this Octo GMT. With a dedicated GMT button, the local time may be easily changed while the watch is still ticking. Here is how it works. The 24 hour sub-dial is for the home time, which doesn’t need to be changed normally. The main dial is for the local time. While at home, the local time is the same as the home time in the 24-hour sub-dial. While traveling to a different time-zone, the push of the GMT button may adjust the main dial to the correct time quickly. What a very useful chrono/GMT combo!

The backside of the automatic, in-house movement BVL318 is completely visible thanks to the peripheral rotor. I cannot help wondering how come this smart design has not been more widely adopted.  It was the result of a multi-year development effort by the Bulgari watchmakers to produce the thinnest chronograph ever built.  The column wheel can be clearly seen. The peripheral rotor includes a segment that is made of platinum (denoted as “Pt 950” on the rotor), so it rotates in response to the gravity. We may see the teeth along internal side of the rotor to wind the gears connecting to the main spring. This peripheral oscillating weight offers 55 hours of power reserve, which is quite impressive for an ultra-thin movement. The whole movement including chronograph and GMT is merely 3.3mm thick.

Last but not least, this model is the only one in the Octo Finissimo family coming with the luminous hands. The amazing thing is that the colors of the hands and indexes are different, as we may see from the photo here.

Are there any drawbacks for this outstanding timepiece? First, the watch may be too big for some folks with smaller wrists. The 43mm dial size is measured by the circular bezel. Therefore, the actual dial area is bigger than 43mm due to the parts that are outside of the bezel. The need to have a bigger dial is quite understandable, as the ultra-thin of the movement must be compensated by expanding outward a bit. Another issue is that the GMT button may be pushed accidentally, due to the ease of operation. This has happened to me a few times, which was annoying. One possible fix is to make this button a bit harder to operate in order to reduce unintended operation.

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT in steel case with blue dial is a striking, statement piece with a lot of wrist presence. The Gérald Genta design, the record-setting ultra-thin movement, the reverse panda steel look, the useful chrono and GMT combo and the Italian heritage all make this a long term keeper in my collection.