Fabrizio Buonamassa, Bvlgari Product Creation Executive Director, shares more about the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo CarbonGold
Bvlgari’s technical and aesthetical marvel, the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo, takes an unconventional spin this autumn with the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo CarbonGold. Following the successful manipulation of titanium, platinum, rose and yellow gold, ceramic and tantalum in previous iterations, the Roman jeweller pushes the boundaries of the saga with its latest proponent in a fusion of carbon and gold. Who better to speak to than Fabrizio Buonamassa, Bvlgari Product Creation Executive Director, who shares more about the development of the maison’s latest jewel?
Fabrizio Buonamassa, Bvlgari Product Creation Executive Director
I want to jump straight into the latest campaign for Geneva Watch Days. The theme is dual nature, and it explores contrasting elements. Could you share how you approach this theme and how it reflects Bvlgari’s savoir-faire and heritage?
Bvlgari is not a common brand. We have a lot of different projects, such as high jewellery watches, but we are masters of miniaturisation too. We love to be recognised as one of the most important players in creativity and savoir-faire in the watchmaking industry today because we’re a unique brand that can manage both. The high jewellery and ultra-thin watches are two completely different worlds but are completely designed here in Neuchâtel.
We have this duality and these different souls, and we love exploring these aspects. I’ll say that being different and mixing and matching different objects is one of our values.
We presented a new Octo Finissimo at Geneva Watch Days with the new material that is an evolution of our iconic carbon gold watch. On the other hand, we have the Piccolissimo and other high-jewellery watches.
The Octo Finissimo CarbonGold juxtaposes high-tech carbon with gold. What emotions do you want to convey when people see this watch?
People asked if creating a three-hand watch in carbon was possible after we launched the carbon Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater in 2018. We couldn’t manage with that level of complexity back then, but we started working on that idea immediately.
This launch is named the Octo Finissimo CarbonGold because the case, bracelet, and dial are forged carbon, while the crown, plaquette and movement bridges are gold. It’s made of forged carbon instead of being multilayered. After the Octo Finissimo, one of my obsessions was to elevate this concept with unique movements. We decided to investigate a carbon and gold watch with the Finissimo movement, and it took roughly three years to develop because our facilities are small; we have a lot of other Octo Finissimo projects, and the material isn’t easy to work with. We had to be consistent with our schedule and respect the market’s and clients’ needs.
One of my obsessions as an industrial designer is things like these that look very simple. I love the execution, texture, and how unconventionally we played with the material. Everybody knows carbon in the watchmaking industry, but only Bvlgari can make such a watch with this kind of thickness, bracelet, and movement in carbon and gold.
How does this material enhance the aesthetic appeal and the technical performance of the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo?
We completely changed the watch; this is brand new, even if we are already familiar with the case, bracelet, watch’s thickness, et cetera. Whenever we work with new materials, we are obliged to start development from scratch.
We had to develop a brand new titanium case insert with lugs and holes for the screws for the case back, but with a different shape. The carbon case, bezel and bracelet came next. It was a challenge for us even after producing the carbon minute repeater.
Even with knowledge of all the components, the carbon gold concept took around three years to develop. You can only imagine the development that has gone into the watch to change all the thicknesses and tolerances between each component.
I’m curious about someone with a technical design background such as yours. There’s a term, La Bella Figura, when you try to draft your designs, especially for something technical like a watch. How do you find the beauty in the forms?
Our (Italian) culture is multilayered and something that you can’t find in the rest of Europe or the world because, in Italy, we had a lot of different dominations during the different centuries and many important artists like Michelangelo, Tiziano or Raphael.
Our language is full of different words and meanings. We don’t have one word to say design; we say applied art to the industry. There’s a multilayer aspect in our DNA, and beauty for the Italians is not a philosophical concept; it’s something that we want to see, touch, hear, taste and experience.
That’s why beauty is a necessity in Italy and a form of applied art to the industry because engineering is too cold and the arts are too wide for us. As a designer, we love to play with constraints, to find a different point of view, and often, in our way of thinking, these constraints drag the aesthetics and are the turning point of projects. This is in our DNA, an unconscious way to reimagine and reinvent products because of the beauty of our country.
The Octo Finissimo pays homage to Bvlgari’s legacy and still looks like it’s something from the future. Do you believe this model sets itself apart from the world of luxury watches, and do you think it will stand on its own?
It’s difficult to say. Many people, clients, and collectors say the Octo Finissimo is the new icon and even the most important watch of the last 50 years. I don’t know, and if I’m honest with you, I don’t care. For me and Bvlgari, we don’t have a vintage approach. We have an amazing archive, but we use it as a backbone of our creativity because otherwise, we end up with the same watch that becomes boring, even for the clients.
The Octo Finissimo is very contemporary, with an integrated bracelet and offers a very modern way to wear an ultra-thin watch with different materials and colours. Most importantly, it offers a different experience when you wear the watch. Honestly, I’m not a great fan of watches with integrated bracelets and metal bracelets, but I’ve been wearing the Octo Finissimo since the launch of the automatic one in titanium at the Basel Watch Fair. It’s impossible to remove from your wrist because it looks like a second skin, and this amazing experience was the idea from the beginning.
I think the success of the Octo Finissimo is down to its concept because it’s the first time a sports watch features an ultra-thin concept and movement. On one hand, it is a new achievement in terms of technicity. On the other hand, it’s a new achievement in terms of aesthetics with a very unique experience when you wear it. If you combine these three ingredients, you might have something different from the market. A recipe for an iconic product doesn’t exist.
The idea behind the Octo Finissimo was, “Why not?” We’re crazy enough to imagine a development 10 years ago with a sentence like, “Why not?” Today, we have the Octo Finissimo saga with these ultra-thin world records in various materials.
We’re pleased, but we’ll never stop the saga and development. We’re taking time to imagine the evolution of a watch and movement for the next five to 10 years. We’re a very different business unit now that we have the Octo Finissimo compared to before it was released, and it completely changed how we imagine our products, obsess over details and approach a movement’s technicity.
Now, we can play with the same tools of the other watchmaking brands but with different approaches. Using the amazing know-how found in Switzerland with an Italian approach must be our mantra because otherwise, we will become like any other brand.
Once you’re done with this story, click here to catch up with our October 2023 issue!
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