Singer Ultimo spotted wearing a Bulgari

Italian singer Ultimo — born Niccolò Morriconi — was photographed on his birthday wearing the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ref. 103368, the skeletonized titanium automatic that briefly rewrote the record books and permanently raised the bar for ultra-thin watchmaking. The sighting underlines the artist's well-documented taste for serious horology, a thread visible across multiple appearances on his social profile.

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ref. 103368 debuted at Baselworld 2017 and immediately claimed the title of world's thinnest automatic watch, with an overall case thickness of just 5.15mm and a case diameter of 40mm in grade-5 titanium. The movement responsible for that record is the manufacture BVL 138 calibre, measuring a staggering 2.23mm thin — thinner than most quartz movements — with a power reserve of approximately 60 hours and a micro-rotor integrated flush with the skeletonized mainplate. The dial is essentially non-existent: the movement architecture itself serves as the visual statement, with bridges and gears visible through the open-worked surface.

From a collector standpoint, the Octo Finissimo occupies a rare position. It is a legitimate world-record holder produced by a mainstream luxury maison — not a limited curiosity — which means availability was reasonable but desirability remained consistently high. The octagonal case, designed by Fabrizio Buonamassa Picco, draws on the Gérald Genta legacy while establishing an unmistakably Bulgari vocabulary. Enthusiasts appreciate that the record was earned through genuine engineering ingenuity rather than marketing spectacle.

The world's-thinnest crown passed to the Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari in mid-2022, but that transition has done little to diminish the Octo Finissimo Ref. 103368's standing. If anything, losing the record to a watch retailing north of $1.8 million has reinforced the Bulgari's extraordinary value proposition. Ultimo choosing this reference on his birthday speaks to a collector mindset: this is a watch you wear because you understand what it took to build it, not simply because it carries a famous name.

On the secondary market the Ref. 103368 trades with healthy stability. Grey-market premiums have moderated since the early hype, making this one of the more accessible entry points into record-setting ultra-thin watchmaking — a fact that serious buyers continue to act on.