Bulgari Octo Finissimo Material Experience

damianp · 2023-04-08T17:14:03Z

Explore Bulgari Octo Finissimo materials: titanium, ceramic, steel, and gold. Damianp's long-term review details comfort, aesthetics, and water resistance.

damianp

WPS member · Bulgari forum

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Damianp, a seasoned collector, offers an invaluable long-term perspective on the Bulgari Octo Finissimo, dissecting the nuanced wearing experience across its diverse material offerings. His detailed comparison of titanium, ceramic, steel, and gold models provides crucial insights for both prospective buyers and existing owners. This article helps readers understand how material choices profoundly impact the Octo Finissimo's on-wrist feel and overall character, moving beyond initial impressions to reveal the true 'Finissimo' essence.

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The different materials available on the Octo Finissimo offer a quite diverse wearing experience. As I've owned 4 of those materials for quite some time now, I thought I'd post my experience with them. I do not own carbon or platinum variations, so I can't comment on those. Pls share you experience, if you do. Of course all of this is just my opinion and might differ from yours.

The Octo Finissimo is by design thin and light with a lot of sharp edges and a big, plain dial. The bracelet is also thin and rather light. The clasp offers no fine adjustement, but is on the other hand also thin and becomes almost invisible when it's closed on the wrist. The height of the case varies slightly depending on the materials, some offer a screw down crown and 100m of water resistance, while others only offer 30m of water resistance. If you take into account all of these traits, the user experience with the different materials varies more than expected at first glance.

Titanium:

The Titanium OF offers the most well rounded wearing experience. It's light, matching the watch's thin appearance. The Titanium case is also the thinnest out of these 4. It's showing all of the angles of the watch case, but it doesn't accentuate them. The Titanium bracelet is the most comfortable to wear. It adapts well to the wrists temperature and feels very smooth. The missing fine adjustement of the clasp doesn't matter as much, because the watch is very light and doesn't put pressure on my wrist or hand. The Titanium OF is the quintessential OF. Everyone interested in the OF should at least try a Titanium version and I'd definitely recommend it to people who want the best wearing comfort.

Ceramic:

The ceramic OF is slightly thicker and slightly more heavy, but it's still light enough for me to not miss a clasp with fine adjustement. The edges of the bracelet feel a bit sharper on the skin, slightly lessening the wearing comfort. The black colour of the mat ceramic (not sure about the glossy ceramic) hides the edges of the case the most out of all of these materials, at least at first glance. If you have a closer look, they become visible. It's the most restrained case material, yet still offers enough wirst presence being all black. It could also be a good choice as your first OF, because it doesn't overwhelm you with the case design.

Steel:

The steel OF is shiny and heavy compared to the OF variations mentioned above. It's also thicker, but on the upside it offers a screw down crown and 100m of water resistance. The steel doesn't try to hide the edges of the case, it accentuates them. The dials available on the steel OF pop. The edges of the bracelet are not as sharp on the skin as the ones of the ceramic OF, but also not as smooth as the titanium ones. The heft of the steel case can make it sit uncomfortably on the wrist/hand depending on the situation. With this material, I'm missing a fine adjustement of the clasp. If you want to feel a watch on your wrist and want more wrist presence, this can be your material. It definitely feels more sturdy. But it comes at a price. In steel, it's more Octo and less Finissimo.

Gold:

The (newer) gold case has the same thickness and water resistance as the steel cases (older ones are different). Because it's even more heavy than steel, I opted for a leather bracelet instead of a gold bracelet, as I was already missing a fine adjustement with the heft of the steel version. You can of course go for a gold bracelet, but I recommend thoroughly testing it on your wrist before buying it. At first, I thought the OF is a watch made for a metal bracelet, but I've really come to love wearing this one on leather. The red gold colour fits the case well. It doesn't pronounce the edges as much as steel does, yet more than the other two. The golden OF does have a more luxurious appearance, yet it's fine luxury, not exaggerated luxury.

So, these are my impressions. I hope it helps people to make the right decision which case material to choose.

Key Points from the Discussion

The steel Octo Finissimo can be surprisingly more comfortable than titanium for some wearers, challenging the notion that titanium is universally superior for comfort.
The original design intent for the Octo Finissimo's signature matte finish aimed for an aluminum-like color, but required steel for rigidity and hardness, necessitating complex plating processes to achieve the desired aesthetic.
The Octo Finissimo, despite being a blue-dialed integrated steel sports watch, is distinct from the Nautilus or AP Royal Oak 15202 due to its unique thin, flat, and large case design and finishing, making it an addition rather than a replacement.
Water resistance ratings are critical; 30m is suitable only for light splashes, while 100m is recommended for swimming and surface water activities, but not for diving or high-impact water sports.
The choice of Octo Finissimo material should align with personal preferences for weight, robustness, and water resistance, as neglecting these differences can lead to long-term dissatisfaction.
Some collectors prefer the steel Octo Finissimo for its 'whiter' appearance and increased heft compared to titanium, highlighting aesthetic and tactile preferences.

The Discussion

damianp

Apr 8, 2023

I do like them all and the differences I‘ve described are not huge. I found myself wearing Titanium the most, so it‘s my favorite.

But I like „weightless“, thin watches and I do not care about water resistance as much on these. So there will be others, who prefer different materials based on personal preferences.

patrick_y

Apr 9, 2023

Good to know!

I have the titanium model myself, and I like it a lot. I got the steel "S" version as well, but haven't started wearing it yet. As mine is an all polished version, so it's a bit more of a special occasion piece. I still like the blue version you have the most! It'd be great for daily wear. An even better replacement to my Nautilus than the titanium version in some sense.

damianp

Apr 10, 2023

If you emphazise „in some sense“.

I do not own a Nautilus, but two AP15202 and I don‘t see the Octo as a well fit replacement. I‘d rather see it as an addition. Yes, it‘s also a blue dialed integrated steel sports watch, but the case size (really thin, flat and rather large), design and finishing make it a completely different type of watch to me. The differences to the Nautilus must be even larger. I think other watches like the alpine eagle are much closer to being a nautilus replacement with less robbery risk and if someone b

piccolochimico (aka dsgalaxy1)

Apr 8, 2023

No matter what you choose, you can never get wrong

Finissimo is a state of wrist 🙏 I partially disagree when you say that the steel versions are less Finissimo, because I've found them surprisingly more comfortable than the titanium, which is undoubtedly THE flagship. I can confirm that none of mine have ever suffered from low power reserve, just to refute what few owners have experienced. With my friends we have achieved 5 OF (steel, skeleton ceramic, titanium) and we never had any issue with three power reserve, likely because we don't move ju

damianp

Apr 8, 2023

Thank you for the addition.

I also do only partially agree with you 😉 While they‘re all good choices on their own, you can get it wrong, if you do not choose based on your personal preferences. Some prefer weightless, extra thin watches. Others like more heft, robustness and water resistance. And there will be buyers with completely different preferences. A potential buyer should not neglect these differences to be happy with his choice long term.

damianp

Apr 9, 2023

Yeah, 5.2 mm on Titanium vs. 6.4 mm on steel, or roughly 20% difference.

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