Trailing Clouds of Glory: The All-Blue Titanium Bvlgari Octo Finissimo x Laurent Grasso Edition Is a Sight to Behold

Since its introduction, the Octo Finissimo line has set numerous world records for thinness in a variety of complications, including automatic movements, tourbillons, minute repeaters, and chronographs. Scaling greater heights, the collection now boasts a new 40 mm reference for which Bvlgari has collaborated with French conceptual artist Laurent Grasso. The dial of the new all-blue PVD titanium Octo Finissimo Automatic (Ref. 104005) variant, limited to 200 pieces, has a dreamlike, iridescent cloud designed by Grasso. 

Grasso, born in France in 1972, has always been fascinated by the visual possibilities of electromagnetic radiation, radio waves, and natural events. He uses video, sculpture, painting, and drawing to recreate events that promise strange and ambiguous juxtapositions of time and space, relying on imagery from film and art history. The artist often purposely manipulates photography, confounding the viewer's desire to take what they see at face value. 

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He has received the Meru Art*Science Award in Bergamo, Italy, the Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et Lettres, and the Marcel Duchamp Prize. His recent creations include numerous permanent pieces in public locations; take, for instance, Solar Wind on the Paris Ring Road and a set of sculptures called Roots of the Future, built for the 2024 Paris Olympic Village. Coming back to the Octo Finissimo series, one can say that Octo Finissimo Automatic is the simplest model in the collection, which till date holds nine world records in different spheres of watchmaking; it all started with the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Manuel in 2014, the Octo Finissimo in 2017, and the COSC-certified Octo Finissimo Ultra in 2024.

The new 40 mm Bvlgari Octo Finissimo x Laurent Grasso Edition has a matte blue PVD finish that extends from the dial to the band. This titanium timepiece gets an octagonal case, a round bezel, and an octagonal inner bezel with a DLC titanium crown sporting a black ceramic insert at 3 o’clock. The lower half of the blue brass PVD-coated dial features Grasso's cloud pattern, screen-printed with metallic colours; it has been created with the help of a serigraphy technique. 

The midnight blue colour of the timepiece — a shade that extends from the case to the bracelet — lends it a monochromatic look. With no hour markers or logo, the dial's main features include the three blue PVD-coated hands that hover above the sunset-tinged cloud. The watch doesn’t have a central second hand, but a small hand can be spotted at 7 o’clock. Powering the watch is Calibre BVL 138, an automatic winding ultra-thin movement, just 2.23 mm thick. Offering a 60-hour power reserve, the movement looks impressive with hand-decorated Côtes de Genève, chamfering, and perlage finishing. Turning the watch over showcases the transparent caseback adorned with a cloud and Laurent Grasso’s signature, and the engraving of ‘Limited Edition of 200’. What’s more, this timepiece is finished on a titanium  bracelet with a blue PVD coating and an integrated folding buckle in DLC titanium.