Bulgari & Lee Ufan scratch out a new look for the Octo Finissimo (live pics)
Jason Lee- Bulgari collaborates with Korean-born, Japan-based artist Lee Ufan on an eye-catching Octo Finissimo.
- The watch translates his rock-and-mirror dialectic into a mirrored dial.
- The hand-filled titanium Octo case and bracelet each feature unique hand-applied surfaces.
For more than a decade, the Octo Finissimo has doubled as both watch and exhibition space, a platform Bulgari periodically hands to outside creators. Previously, the Roman‑Swiss maison worked with architect Tadao Ando on a zen black ceramic incarnation and with Laurent Grasso on a colour-shifting treatment exploring the perception of time. The brand’s own literature describes the Octo as a “canvas,” and those collaborations showed how readily its octagonal geometry absorbs other disciplines. The latest chapter is the Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan, a piece that keeps the hardware familiar but pares the dial back further than any prior art‑led edition.
Lee Ufan—painter, sculptor, poet, and philosopher—joins this program with a concept anchored in his long‑running dialogue of rock and mirror. Bulgari’s notes summarise his practice as centring “perception and presence,” prioritising the resonance of things over their representation. That framing sets up the watch neatly: rather than treat the dial as an illustrative surface, it becomes a site of encounter. The brand puts it plainly: the Octo case does not merely contain the mirrored dial; it amplifies it.
The dial is the statement. It’s a polished, mirror‑finish plane with black hands and no extraneous markings, designed to reflect the world around it and the person wearing it. The bezel is stainless steel with a sunray‑polished finish, a deliberate material contrast against the rest of the watch. The case and integrated bracelet are hand‑filled titanium; each link and surface is worked to produce a visibly striated texture, and Bulgari says each example receives a unique titanium surface treatment carried out by hand.
Proportions remain faithful to the Finissimo brief. The case measures 40 mm across and a wafer‑like 5.5 mm thick, a figure made possible by the ultra-thin automatic movement inside. Water-resistant to 30 metres, the case features a sandblasted titanium crown that carries a black ceramic insert to maintain the subdued palette. The integrated, hand‑filed titanium bracelet closes with a folding clasp. Together, these surfaces encourage the reading that the mirror “floats” inside the Octo’s architectural geometry.
Mechanically, the watch features the BVL 138 manufacture calibre, an ultra-thin automatic movement with a micro-rotor. It beats at 3 Hz with a 60‑hour power reserve. Finishing is traditional—Côtes de Genève, chamfered edges, and perlage—visible through the sapphire back. The caseback is personalised with Lee Ufan’s handwritten signature, reinforcing the collaborative authorship.
Although the watch is a new object, Bulgari positions it inside a broader Octo narrative. The brand has just mounted its first retrospective of the Finissimo line, emphasising how the model’s Roman‑inspired architecture—its octagon traces to the Basilica of Maxentius—has housed a run of ultra‑thin achievements over the last decade. Within that context, the Lee Ufan edition underscores a different kind of extremity: not a new complication or a new record, but extreme restraint at the dial, using reflection itself as content. In the brand’s words, the case becomes a frame that intensifies the mirrored field, a continuation of the Octo’s role as a design laboratory for materials and perception.
A few tactile details matter for day‑to‑day wear. The titanium used for the case and bracelet keeps mass low; the hand‑filed finish is matte enough to downplay fingerprints, while the polished steel bezel introduces a measured highlight without tipping the watch into pure ornament. The 30m water-resistance rating makes this a daily in the office or gallery rather than a sports watch. The Octo’s well‑known ergonomics—flat case, integrated lugs, and a bracelet that drapes cleanly—help offset the visual austerity with comfort on the wrist.
Taken together, the Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan reads as a measured collaboration. The mirrored dial borrows from the artist’s rock‑and‑mirror dialectic without becoming literal, and the hand‑worked titanium adds a quiet human cadence to an otherwise industrial geometry. In a year when Bulgari is revisiting the Finissimo story in exhibition form, this edition offers a timely reminder that the line’s legacy is as much about how things are presented—the stagecraft of space, light, and thickness—as it is about thinness itself.
Bulgari x Lee Ufan Octo Finissimo pricing and availability
The Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bulgari is available now. Price: CHF 18,900
| Brand | Bulgari |
| Model | Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan |
| Reference | 104132 |
| Case Dimensions | 40mm (D) x 5.5mm (T) |
| Case Material | Hand-filled titanium |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Mirroring effect dial |
| Strap | Integrated hand-filled titanium bracelet with folding buckle |
| Movement | Calibre BVL138, in-house, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 60 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | CHF 18,900 |