The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC wristwatch is so thin that it doesn’t look real

Wristwatches are one of those topics you don’t expect folks to get really nerdy about, even though they do. The newest horology sensation is the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, a wristwatch with a very specific claim to fame: It’s officially the thinnest watch of its type ever made.

You’d think that title would belong to someone like Swiss watchmaker Swatch. But you’d be wrong. Bulgari is a previous record holder but had to go thinner when it was dethroned by a 1.75mm-thick Ferrari-branded wristwatch. The Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC measures just 1.7mm thick.

Talking total Bulgari

That’s not to say that the Octo Finissimo Ultra is a half-baked effort at high-end wristwear. There are 170 different components tucked away inside that 1.7mm thick 40mm case. Some of these are visible through the dial and most of them are made from titanium. The back panel, which acts as a mainplate for all the other bits, is constructed from tungsten carbide. You know, the heat-resistant material used for high-speed drill bits and some men’s rings?

Bulgari’s wristwatch is so skinny that the case it comes in is used to set and wind the watch. There’s no space for you to do it manually. Its thickness is ascribed to the brand’s engineers managing to shave some width off the sapphire crystal screen covering the working mechanism. Despite this, and unlike Bulgari’s previous record holder, the Octo Finissimo Ultra is a certified chronometer. That’s where the ‘COSC’ suffix, which stands for Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, comes from. The acronym signifies that this wristwatch is verified to be capable of accurate timekeeping.

If you want one of these on your wrist, you’ll need about R11 million ($590,000) and a time machine, because the Italian luxury goods brand only made twenty of these mechanical wonders. Still, it’s quite something to peer at these pictures and marvel over the engineering feat that makes them look so otherworldly.