Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Guglielmo Miani spotted wearing Bulgari

Guglielmo Miani, chief executive of the storied Milanese luxury clothier Larusmiani, was photographed wearing a titanium Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatique Ref. 103011 — a pairing that reads less like coincidence and more like a considered statement on Italian craft meeting Swiss-Italian horological ambition.

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatique Ref. 103011 arrived in 2017 carrying a world record: at 5.15mm in total case thickness, it was — at the time of release — the thinnest self-winding mechanical watch ever made. The grade 5 titanium case measures 40mm in diameter and contributes to an overall weight that feels almost implausibly light on the wrist. The movement, Bulgari's in-house calibre BVL 138, is itself only 2.23mm tall and delivers a 60-hour power reserve with a 21,600 vph beat rate. The dial replicates the octagonal geometry of the case with concentric Solotempo chapter rings, and the open caseback allows a direct view of the skeletonised rotor — an engineering exhibit in its own right.

For collectors, the Octo Finissimo line represents a rare instance of a mainstream luxury brand consistently delivering record-breaking technical achievements rather than merely trading on heritage. The Ref. 103011 sits at the accessible entry point of that lineage, yet retains the movement and proportions that define the series. Its titanium construction gives it a sportier, more contemporary personality than the steel or gold variants, and it wears exceptionally well under a shirt cuff — a detail not lost on a man who runs one of Italy's finest bespoke tailoring houses.

Miani's choice is contextually coherent. Larusmiani has dressed Italian industrialists, politicians, and artists since 1922, and its aesthetic philosophy — refined materials, restrained execution, unshowy confidence — maps directly onto what the Octo Finissimo Automatique represents in watchmaking. A flashier choice would have felt wrong on this particular wrist.

On the grey market, the titanium Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatique Ref. 103011 trades at or slightly below its list price, reflecting solid but unspeculatively stable demand. It remains one of the more intellectually honest value propositions in contemporary Swiss watchmaking.