Thinner than your excuses
By Priya Nair, Singapore ยท
If I had to pick one integrated sports watch to wear with a silk blouse, it wouldn't be from the brands people expect. It would be this one, in titanium, grey sandblasted everything.
The Octo Finissimo is what made Bulgari a serious watchmaker in the eyes of people who only knew the name from jewellery counters. When the automatic arrived in 2017 it was the thinnest self-winding watch you could buy, and the BVL 138 manages that with a platinum micro-rotor while still giving you 60 hours. 40 mm across, a faceted octagonal case, and 100 m of water resistance, which nobody expects from something this slim.
On the wrist, titanium makes it feel like nothing at all. The 23 mm lug width and integrated bracelet keep it from looking dainty, and the monochrome grey goes with everything I own, which is mostly navy and black at work and gold at night.
Complaints. The grey-on-grey dial is hard to read in low light; in a dim restaurant you'll be guessing within five minutes. The small seconds is tiny. Titanium scratches if you look at it sternly. And at 15,000 to 16,500 dollars it's priced like a serious watch, which it is, but secondary prices have been less steady than for the big Swiss names.
I'd still buy it before a Jumbo if I wanted to wear something every day rather than worry about it every day.