Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon

Nicolas Scatena — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 19:38:35 +0000

Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater has been introduce two years ago at Baselworld, and since then Bulgari have created a newer and improved version. This new version is named Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon and is absolutely stunning. It is a record0-breaker for the thinnest and lightest minute repeater made from a material of satin-finished titanium.

This timepiece is the ultimate slick piece and has reasons behind its perfection. The genius of being an ultra-thin movement where every part has been made to its minimum expression and designed to fit with each other component with extreme precision.

In this new era watch industry, perfection and precision really prides itself, and Bulgari have done a wonderful job. The material used is perfect due to its resilient and acoustic properties close to those of titanium.

On of the greatest features of this watch is the texture of the material on the timepiece. It is an ultra-cool texture, that has made even better thanks to the blackened titanium bracelet. Both sides of the watch have a thin anti-glare treated sapphire crystal because, apart from the advantages to sound quality. To hide the beautiful BVL 362 calibre behind a closed caseback would be a great sin. A whopping 362 individual components are used in the marvelous calibre.

On wrist, this watch feels like a feather. The Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon weighs next to nothing (47g, in total), with a 40mm-diameter case measuring just 6.85mm thick. The sound displayed by the minute repeater is just as amazing as the past version. Limited to just 50 examples, this amazing piece of engineering and design is a true example of 21st-century high-end watchmaking.

Basics:

Price

$160,000 USD

Movement

Hand-wound BVL 362 minute-repeating calibre, 42-hour power reserve

Case

40mm Carbon Thin Ply, water-resistant to 10m

Strap

Black titanium bracelet

What Makes The Sound Of A Minute Repeater So Magical?

Nicolas Scatena — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 14:59:07 +0000

When people wonder the history of the minute repeater, they do not know that it dates way back even before electric light. As oil lamps were being created, watchmakers wanted to create mechanisms that sound the time on demand. Edward Barlow and Daniel Quare claims the invention of the minute repeater but it was Quare who patented it in 1687. At first, minute repeaters used bells to chime the time, and as time went by it was replaced with wire gong. The first glance at minute repeaters were not actually minute repeaters but quarter repeaters that sounded the time closest to the quarter.

When the transition of pocket watches to wristwatches happened, minute repeaters were barely used. In wristwatches it was very hard and expensive to add a minute repeater and it also did not have much space in the wristwatch to be added. It was not until the quartz crisis that a renewed interest emerged for the repeater mechanism. Today’s top brands use minute repeaters in their timepieces and sometimes combined with other complications.

To judge how well a minute repeater is, it has to be heard first. The clarity or loudness of the chime does not rank a minute repeater but speed that it is chiming at does. Many complications take great energy and when it is playing, it can also negatively affect the amplitude of the watch, and therefore its accuracy.

The case of watch plays a big role in the excellence of minute repeaters. The material it is made of has great impact on the sound it plays and also the case shape changes that sound. Many great manufacturers create sound chambers in their timepieces so that gongs can perform their task at an optimum and the sound is also amplified.