Patrick_y's firsthand encounter with the Bulgari Octo Finissimo in salmon dial and steel offers a vital perspective on a watch that defies its photographic representation. His insights underscore the importance of experiencing luxury timepieces in person, especially when dealing with limited editions and nuanced dial colors. This article explores why this particular Octo Finissimo reference has captivated collectors and its unique position within the integrated bracelet sports watch segment.
Over the weekend, I happened to meet up with a friend at Bulgari San Francisco and he showed me one of his latest acquisitions! I was surprised how much I liked it! I had seen photos of the watch back in March, but I wasn't moved. But when I saw it in person, boy was I moved!
I didn't take any photos of my friend's personal watch, but here's a stock photo of the watch. I know... It's not the most moving photo. It looks much more impressive in person, I promise!
The General Manager at Bulgari San Francisco noticed I liked the salmon dial and informed me that they have delivered a small number of these exquisite pieces to clients and that clients are always impressed as it looks so much better in person than it does in the photos. Most of the clients had not seen an actual example before expressing interest.
The case comes from Gerald Genta design. And is an integrated bracelet watch. The blue dial has been consistently sold out for the past two years, requiring a small wait of a few months at most stores.
I really liked it quite a bit! I've always liked all the watches in the stainless steel Octo Finissimo line, especially the latest line with the blue dial, black dial, and silver dial. So many great color choices...
This salmon dial is a special one! Reference 103856. Like the Tadao Ando and Sejima pieces, those were intended primarily for the Japanese market. This model you will primarily find it in the USA and Canada market. And not many of these dials were made, only 50 watches were made. According to the team at Bulgari San Francisco there are only a single digit number of pieces left. At $13,300 USD, not only is this a great watch, but it is a great value as well. With finishing that is well above its price grade, a truly high horology ultra thin movement (this was the thinnest automatic movement in the world), and it's also been a GPHG award winner.
The watch had a very nice color that was slightly pale but just rich enough to be very interesting and classic. It should make for a great color to wear in both summer and winter times. And my very handsome friend wore it very well. The dial color is more pink salmon than orange salmon.
It's also important to note that this watch is extremely practical. It has 100 meters water resistance so you can truly swim with it (or if you happen to get knocked into a swimming pool, my nightmare scenario). An extra thin deployment folding clasp, and solid metal bracelet with polished and brushed surfaces. It's a great watch - and in all of the color variants; blue, silver, black, and salmon! Countless collectors who used to daily wear a Nautilus or Royal Oak have replaced their Nautilus or Royal Oak dailies with the Octo Finissimo and virtually all of them are very satisfied.
The example I saw had the new BVL 138 movement with the technical updates. If you want to know more about the new BVL movement, please read the summary of the differences in Part 2 of the Factory Tour posting where we go in-depth in the movement changes. The newer movement has a larger platinum rotor and should have even better winding performance! My personal Octo Finissimo (a titanium model from a couple years ago) still uses the old BVL 138 movement which keeps excellent time, but does have difficulty winding and achieving its full power reserve potential - even after an active day walking 20,000 steps.
I've toured three Bulgari watch production factories and I've seen how this watch is made. The case takes dozens of operations to finish! Here's the first part of the 2 part factory visit report:
www.watchprosite.com
And Part 2
Special thanks to the team at Bulgari San Francisco and to my friend who very generously showed me his watch! It looks great on you! Enjoy! I also found out that another local San Francisco friend has also recently acquired this watch... Hmm... Do we need a THIRD Musketeer? Hmm... Can I justify it? I do have less Octo Finissimo timepieces than our member NafetS! Hmm...
