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actorSpotted May 2023

Actor Alain Delon spotted wearing a Bulgari

actor Alain Delon spotted wearing a Bulgari
Who & what: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Sandblasted Titanium Bracelet Reference 102713 – Alain Delon

Alain Delon — the French actor who defined cinematic cool across five decades — was photographed wearing a Bulgari Octo Finissimo in sandblasted titanium, reference 102713, at what appears to be an outdoor public appearance. The watch sits precisely on his wrist above a white formal shirt, its ultra-flat profile barely registering beneath the cuff, which is precisely the point.

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ref. 102713 is arguably the most consequential watch Bulgari has produced in the modern era. Launched in 2017, it shattered the record for the world's thinnest automatic wristwatch with a total case height of just 5.15mm. The movement, the in-house BVL 138, measures a barely credible 2.23mm in height — an achievement requiring micro-engineering of lubrication systems, mainspring geometry, and rotor mass that borders on industrial art. The sandblasted Grade 5 titanium case and matching integrated bracelet reduce weight to a remarkable 65 grams total, while the octagonal bezel references the Octo lineage designed by Gerald Genta in the 1970s.

The dial itself is clean to the point of severity: applied indices at 12 and 6, sword-shaped hands, a subsidiary seconds register at roughly 5 o'clock, and the BVLGARI wordmark in restrained lowercase. There is no date window, no complication to distract. The sandblasted finish eliminates reflectivity, creating a matte, almost architectural surface that photographs beautifully in natural light — as evidenced here.

For collectors, the Octo Finissimo Titanium occupies a singular position. It was the watch that repositioned Bulgari as a serious manufacture rather than a jewellery house dabbling in complications. It has since inspired an entire family of record-breaking ultra-thins from the brand. On the secondary market, demand for the titanium bracelet variant remains steady, trading at or slightly above retail depending on condition and completeness of set.

Alain Delon, 88 at the time of recent public appearances, has long been associated with understated European elegance. His choice of the Octo Finissimo — minimal, technically extraordinary, distinctly non-flashy — reads as entirely consistent with a man who spent his career letting presence speak louder than spectacle.

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