The recently developed Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC is the world’s thinnest analog watch, measuring an astonishing 1.7mm thick. For reference, a U.S. quarter is 1.75mm thick, so it’s even thinner than George Washington! Each of the limited edition of 20 watches is a certified chronometer by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (The Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute), a third-party organization that measures the accuracy and precision of luxury watches.
The watch features a tungsten carbide caseback (which also serves as the mainplate to which the movement is attached to minimize thickness). Its other 170 parts are predominantly titanium, and its sapphire crystal cover is only 0.2mm thick. Because Bulgari had to constantly push the envelope to cut every micron from its thickness as possible, eight patents were filed during the watch’s development and creation.
It takes a full week for a single watch to be assembled due to the incredible precision and extremely tight tolerances required to make something so thin. Each watch is priced at $590,000. Could you even imagine wearing over a half million dollars on your wrist? And for something so thin! For that kind of money I’d want my watch to be thicker than a stack of pancakes!
[via Monochrome and TechEBlog]
With over 17 years of writing experience, Jonathan has had a passion for all things tech-related, ever since watching Inspector Gadget as a child. He's disassembled countless appliances and managed to put a few back together, and one still works. When not writing, he can often be found playing video games or accidentally hurting himself in the garage.