A Week on the Wrist: Bulgari Octo Finissimo ref. 103286 Review

LVMH had big plans for Bulgari watches when they purchased the famous jewelry brand in 2011. It didn’t take long for Bulgari to start making big horological news, and they released the world’s thinnest automatic watch in 2014–the Octo Finissimo. It only held that record for three years, but it has remained an important hit for the luxury watch brand ever since. In this Bulgari Octo Finissimo review, I’ll give you my impressions of ref. 103286, a rose gold variant on a leather strap that I was fortunate enough to wear for a week.

Visual Appearance of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo 103286

The black dial of the rose gold Bulgari Octo Finissimo is more matte than photographs convey. This was a good design choice, because it offers a visible contrast to the pleasantly shiny applied gold hour markers and hands. Because of this, the watch’s legibility is quite good–and far better than I expected in low light. The nicely proportioned no-nonsense dauphine hands help as well.

The star of the show, visually, is the Octo case. Bulgari has applied a mix of brushed and polished finishes to its endless facets and angles. It’s the kind of watch that gets you to keep looking at it. Very sharp. My only design nitpick is the choice of rather large “12” and “6” markers on the dial. They don’t look bad, but the case is already so distinctive and eye-catching that the dial doesn’t really need a design element like that. I think some regular stick markers would look great, but I certainly wouldn’t let the numerals stop me from buying one.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo 103286 Specs

On the Wrist

“Thin” is the defining characteristic of the Octo Finissimo collection, and the rose gold Octo Finissimo Automatic is only 6.4mm thick. Notably, the titanium version is even more extreme–an astounding 5.15mm–but I doubt anyone who wears the rose gold (or steel) versions will be wishing it were thinner. You can almost forget the watch is even there, but the gold case gives the watch just enough heft that it doesn’t feel “dainty” on the wrist.

This Octo Finissimo easily slides under a cuff, and the leather strap tapers perfectly from the case, making it a very comfortable watch. Even without having the strap particularly tight, the watch tends to sit in place securely and not flop around. The 40mm diameter is absolutely perfect for my 7.5-inch wrist, although because of its flat square profile, some people with smaller wrists find it less comfortable than I do.

Price

The 103286 model is now gone from the Bulgari US website, although it does appear for other countries. Its final US MSRP was $25,900, but Bulgari watch prices are usually pretty favorable on the secondhand market. You should be able to find a pre-owned one for $15,000.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Review: Pros and Cons

Performance

The first thing I noticed about this watch, when I went to set the time, was that it had a screwdown crown. Given the watch’s incredible thinness, for some reason I wasn’t expecting that. But the crown, although small, feels like a high-end watch should. The winding feel is excellent: clean, crisp, satisfying clicks.

After a week of wear, the Octo Finissimo had gained about 40 seconds, or about 6 seconds per day–just within chronometer specs. Given the exceptional case thinness, I’m happy with that timekeeping.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo 103286 2-Year Timegrapher Results

BVL138 “Movement Downgrade” Controversy

Sometime in 2022, Bulgari updated the BVL138 movement, quietly reducing the number of jewels from 36 to 31. This raised the suspicion of some watch enthusiasts, many of whom assumed it was a sly cost-cutting downgrade. If Bulgari is genuinely proud of the updates/improvements, why not give the newer 31-jewel movement its own number? After all, when Omega needed to make slight engineering improvements to their 2500 caliber, they made updated versions called 2500B, 2500C, etc.

The Octo Finissimo that I tested, from early 2022, has the original 36-jewel BVL138 movement. And interestingly, as of 2024, the photos on Bulgari’s website still show the discontinued 36-jewel version. If the new 31-jewel version isn’t a downgrade, why not photograph it properly? Well, in addition to the 5 fewer jewels (which admittedly are no longer necessary thanks to some engineering tweaks), the newer version of the BVL138 has no more yellow gold accents! Frankly I prefer the look of the 36-jewel version, which also has more visible bevels.

In fairness, the newer version is also well-finished, and theoretically should perform even better, thanks to a larger balance wheel. Its platinum micro-rotor also increased in size and got additional ball bearings (22 instead of 7). Although some aspects of the newer movement do reduce costs, a Bulgari engineer told WatchProZine that “the optimization was about improving performance – some areas have actual increased costs and complexity too.”

Still, watch enthusiasts appreciate transparency. At the very least, in my opinion, Bulgari should update all photos of the BVL138 on their website with the new 31-jewel one. And they probably should have called it the “BVL138-B.”

Rose Gold Bulgari Octo Finissimo Review: In Conclusion

In any case, it was a joy to have this Bulgari on my wrist for a week and I was sad to see it go. It’s easy to see why the Octo Finissimo Automatic has remained popular for over a decade, even though it’s not the thinnest automatic watch in the world anymore. Piaget’s Altiplano 910P lineup surpassed it in 2017, but in 2023 Bulgari incredibly recaptured the record with a tourbillon automatic version of the Octo Finissimo under 4mm in height.

For my money, I’ll admit I’d be hard-pressed not to consider the titanium bracelet version of this watch. But if you’re looking for a gold dress watch in the $15,000 range, the Octo Finissimo ref. 103286 is definitely worth a look.