Up Close: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Black Sandblast-Polished Ceramic
Smart and original in design, the Octo Finissimo is extremely slim, well priced, and a strong seller for Bulgari, which has rolled out many iterations, including one in matte-black ceramic last year. Now Bulgari has added the shiny version to the line up with the Octo Finissimo Black Sandblast-Polished Ceramic. Initial thoughts The new Octo in all its glossy glory is ideal for anyone who found the original ceramic Octo flat and dull. But I prefer the matte version – the muted look very much suits the style of the watch. At the same time, polished ceramic, especially for a thin and lightweight watch, is too reminiscent of plastic. That aside, the technical appeal of the ceramic case and bracelet is the same as with the matte model. Both are constructed identically – simple and complex at the same time – differing only in the finish and colour. Though visually identical to the metal-alloy models, the ceramic Octo has an entirely different construction, which was a necessity due to the material. That’s an appealing factor in itself, because the watch was designed from the ground up as an all-ceramic watch; even the dial is ceramic. The new Octo Finissimo is light and smooth on the wrist. In fact, it is difficult to distinguish the tangible feel of the two ceramic versions from each other, and even from the titanium version. And like all other versions of the Octo, the new version wears well, with one caveat: wrists below a certain circumference don’t really sui...