Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Ref. 104313
Watches

Bvlgari Unveils the World’s Thinnest Tourbillon With the 1.85mm Octo Finissimo Ultra

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  • Unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2025, the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon will be produced in only 20 examples worldwide, each priced at USD $678,000.
  • The Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon led to eight patents during its development, highlighting the extreme engineering behind its ultra-thin design.
  • At just 1.85 mm thick, it is the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch.
  • The hand-wound BVF 900 calibre beats at 4 Hz and provides a 42-hour power reserve, driving Bvlgari’s record-breaking ultra-thin tourbillon.

The race to build the world’s thinnest mechanical watch has become one of the most fascinating battles in modern watchmaking, and once again, Bvlgari has found a way to move the goalposts. Unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2025, the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon measures an astonishing 1.85mm thick, taking the title of the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch from Piaget’s 2mm Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon. Limited to just 20 pieces and priced at USD $678,000, it is another reminder of just how far Bvlgari is willing to push the Octo Finissimo collection.

This level of engineering did not happen overnight. Bvlgari has spent more than a decade chasing fractions of a millimetre, setting a string of ultra-thin watchmaking records along the way. The journey has included the world’s thinnest minute repeater in 2016, the Octo Finissimo Automatic in 2017 and the record-setting perpetual calendar in 2021. Each watch has played its part in developing the ideas and techniques that eventually led to the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon.

As Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari, explained, “Each record has been a stepping stone. It’s not just about crossing barriers — it’s about completely redefining mechanical watchmaking.” That thinking is clear here. Adding a tourbillon to a watch measuring less than two millimetres thick sounds almost unreasonable, yet Bvlgari managed to do exactly that.

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Ref. 104313
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon | Image: Bvlgari

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillion

  • Brand: Bvlgari
  • Model: Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillion
  • Reference: 104313
  • Diameter: 40 mm
  • Material: Titanium
  • Dial Colour: Mechanical Skeleton
  • Calibre: BVL 900
  • Power Reserve:  42 Hours
  • Water Resistance:  3 Bar ( 30 metres / 100 feet)
  • Price:  USD $678,000 (Limited Edition – 20 Pieces)

Measuring 40mm in diameter, the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon keeps the familiar geometric shape of the collection while stripping the watch down to its essentials. Rhodium-plated hour and minute hands sit against a sandblasted brass surface finished with a dark anthracite DLC coating, while the exposed architecture puts much of the movement on display. The integrated titanium bracelet has a microbead-frosted finish and measures only 1.5mm thick, helping the entire watch maintain its remarkably slim profile.

Achieving a thickness of just 1.85mm required Bvlgari to rethink almost every part of the watch. Eight patents were filed during its development, covering innovations including the differential display system, the mounting of the sapphire crystal and even elements of the bracelet construction.

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Ref. 104313
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon | Image: Bvlgari
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Ref. 104313
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon | Image: Bvlgari

One of the most important decisions was to combine the case middle directly with the movement’s mainplate. Rather than placing a conventional movement inside a separate case, the structure of the watch itself becomes part of the calibre. This approach saves precious space while providing the watch with the rigidity needed to protect its thin mechanical construction.

At the centre of the watch is a tungsten carbide mainplate, chosen for its strength and resistance to deformation. Two flat stainless steel crowns are integrated into the architecture, with one positioned at 8 o’clock for winding and another at 3 o’clock for time setting. Their unusual placement feels almost like a pair of mechanical controls built directly into the movement’s side.

The closer you look, the more details begin to stand out: the bezel frames, the rhodium-plated tourbillon components that contrast the dark surfaces around them, and the geometric engravings across the ratchet add another layer of detail without detracting from the exposed mechanical layout.

As Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Bvlgari’s Product Creation Executive Director, explained, “The goal wasn’t just thinness — it was about achieving precise execution while honouring the distinctive aesthetic codes of the Octo Finissimo line.” That may be the most important point about this watch. Bvlgari could have created a technical experiment purely to chase another record, but the finished result is still immediately recognizable as an Octo Finissimo.

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Ref. 104313
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Ref. 104313

The collection’s octagonal design continues to draw inspiration from Roman architecture, including the coffered ceilings of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. That architectural influence has long been part of the Octo Finissimo identity, and even with the extreme engineering involved here, Bvlgari has managed to preserve it.

Powering the watch is the hand-wound BVF 900 calibre, which operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz) and offers a 42-hour power reserve. Compared with the BVL 180 movement used in the previous Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, the power reserve is slightly shorter, and it lacks COSC certification. The trade-off, however, is a full tourbillon mechanism in a watch that is only 0.15mm thicker.

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Ref. 104313
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon | Image: Bvlgari

Sure, it might not match the previous Ultra COSC when it comes to power reserve, but let’s be fair — if you have the world’s thinnest tourbillon sitting on your wrist, you’re probably not spending much time complaining about a few missing hours. At that point, you’ve already won.

Thinking about adding one to the collection? You’ll need considerably more than deep pockets. Only 20 examples of the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon will be produced, and given the watch’s significance, getting hold of one may prove just as difficult as building it.

The good news is that Bvlgari also introduced the Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days at Watches and Wonders 2025. It may not carry the same world-record headline, but the titanium skeletonized watch offers another impressive look at what Bvlgari continues to do with the Octo Finissimo collection.

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Ref. 104313
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon | Image: Bvlgari
Watches & WondersBvlgari
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Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection
TechAudio

Hiroshi Fujiwara Brings Fragment Design’s ‘Liquid Black’ Treatment to Four Bang & Olufsen Icons

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  • Bang & Olufsen has partnered with Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design on a four-piece limited-edition audio collection.
  • The collaboration covers the Beoplay H100, Beosound A1, Beosound Shape and Beosystem 9000c.
  • Specialized anodizing and hand polishing create the collection’s liquid-like black aluminium finish.
  • The Beoplay H100, Beosound A1 and Beosound Shape launched internationally on June 3, 2026.
  • The USD $69,650 Beosystem 9000c is made to order and sold exclusively in Japan.

Bang & Olufsen has teamed up with Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design to rework four of its most recognizable audio products. Rather than introduce an entirely new speaker or pair of headphones, the collaboration takes familiar Bang & Olufsen hardware and gives it the monochrome treatment that has become inseparable from the Japanese design studio.

Fujiwara comes to the partnership as a longtime customer rather than a designer who discovered the brand last week. Bang & Olufsen says he has spent around 35 years listening to its products, making the collaboration feel more considered than the usual limited edition built around a new colour and an extra logo.

Everything has gone black—although not just any black.

The collection stretches from personal audio to a full home-listening system, with each product receiving its own interpretation of Fragment’s stripped-back visual style. Some of the changes are subtle, while others turn already distinctive Bang & Olufsen designs into serious collector pieces. Either way, there is considerably more happening here than simply reaching for a can of black paint.

Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen

Four Bang & Olufsen Icons Get the Fragment Treatment

The four products may come from very different corners of Bang & Olufsen’s catalogue, but the thinking behind them is consistent. Fragment Design has not attempted to disguise the original forms or make them look like entirely new devices. Instead, the collaboration builds on the Danish brand’s century-long approach to precision, longevity and recognizable industrial design, then filters it through Hiroshi Fujiwara’s considerably darker visual language.

Fujiwara’s connection with Bang & Olufsen stretches back more than three decades, beginning with the Beocenter 2300 and eventually becoming serious enough for him to design his home around the company’s integrated audio system.

As Hiroshi Fujiwara explains it — “This collaboration has been a long-time dream of mine. Since building my home around Bang & Olufsen’s integrated home sound system in the 1990s, the brand has been my first choice for audio. This collaboration feels like a meaningful continuation for our journey together,” says Hiroshi Fujiwara, founder of Fragment Design.

The finish is where the collection becomes more interesting than four existing products painted black. Bang & Olufsen developed a specialized anodization process for selected aluminum surfaces before polishing them by hand, producing a deep, reflective appearance that looks almost liquid under the light. It remains unmistakably Fragment, but the way it has been applied relies heavily on Bang & Olufsen’s experience working with precision-milled aluminum.

“We applied a highly artisanal anodization and polishing process for the first time on our portable products as part of the Fragment Design collaboration,” says Kresten Bjørn Krab-Bjerre, Bang & Olufsen’s senior director of design. “This meticulous approach brings Fragment’s signature black to life through a finish only achievable by hand.”

Fragment’s double-lightning symbol and wordmark appear throughout the collection, although the branding has been kept restrained enough to let the original designs remain recognizable. The result is one shade of black expressed across four very different objects, ranging from something you can carry in one hand to a home-audio system that may require considerably more space—and an equally substantial bank balance.

The Beoplay H100 Fragment Edition
Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen

The Beoplay H100 Fragment Edition

  • Product type: Premium over-ear wireless headphones
  • Design details: High-gloss black anodized aluminum, black leather headband and cushions, & contrasting white logos
  • Fragment branding: Double-lightning emblem on the left ear cup and a co-branded leather pouch
  • Features:
    • Titanium drivers
    • Dolby Atmos
    • Spatial audio
    • Adaptive noise cancellation
    • 32 hours battery life
  • Availability: Globally, available from June 3, 2026
  • Price: USD $2,400 (Limited Edition)

Starting with the Beoplay H100 Fragment Edition, Bang & Olufsen’s flagship headphones trade their usual mix of colours and exposed metal for high-gloss black anodized surfaces, contrasting white logos and black leather across the headband and ear cushions. They remain unmistakably H100s, only now wrapped almost entirely in Fragment’s signature monochrome aesthetic.

The headphones retain their glass touch surfaces, physical control dials and automatic wear detection, while the magnetically attached ear cushions and inner headband can be removed and replaced when worn. That matters on a limited edition this expensive, because “collectible” sounds considerably better when the parts touching your head are not expected to last forever.

Beosound A1 3rd Gen Fragment Edition
Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen

Beosound A1 3rd Gen Fragment Edition

  • Product type: Portable Bluetooth speaker
  • Design details: High-gloss black anodized aluminum, monochrome body & matching black carrying strap
  • Fragment branding: Double-lightning emblem integrated beneath the speaker grille
  • Features:
    • 360-degree sound
    • Upgraded bass performance
    • IP67 dust & water resistance
    • 24 hours of battery life
  • Availability: globally available from June 3, 2026
  • Price: USD $475 (Limited Edition)

Next is the Beosound A1 3rd Gen Fragment Edition, which brings the same high-gloss black treatment to Bang & Olufsen’s portable speaker. Fragment’s double-lightning emblem sits beneath the aluminum grille, giving the smallest piece in the collection a recognizable stamp without making it look like branded keychain merch. It remains practical enough for everyday use, with IP67 dust and water resistance, 360-degree sound and the ability to pair with another compatible A1 for stereo playback—although the reflective finish may encourage you to handle this limited edition rather more carefully than the average Bluetooth speaker.

Beosound Shape Fragment Configuration
Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen

Beosound Shape Fragment Configuration

  • Beosound Shape Fragment Configuration
  • Product type: Modular wall-mounted speaker system
  • Design details: Seven-tile flower configuration with black & grey fabric covers
  • Fragment branding: Aluminium tag carrying the Bang & Olufsen and Fragment Design logos
  • Features:
    • Modular wall-mounted construction
    • Room-filling sound
    • Integrated acoustic-dampening tiles
    • Wireless music streaming
    • Bang & Olufsen app control
  • Availability: Globally available through selected Bang & Olufsen stores
  • Price: USD $7,100

Moving onto the most spatial piece in the collection, the Beosound Shape Fragment Configuration turns Bang & Olufsen’s modular wall-mounted speaker into something closer to installation art. After seeing Beosound Shape at the company’s headquarters in Struer, Hiroshi Fujiwara reportedly returned to his hotel room and sketched the seven-tile flower arrangement, which was later completed with monochrome black-and-grey fabric covers and a discreet aluminum logo tag. This comes with a combination of room-filling audio and acoustic treatment, with a design intended to become part of the wall, with a price tag of USD $7,100.

Beosystem 9000c Fragment Edition
Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen

Beosystem 9000c Fragment Edition

  • Product type: Made-to-order six-disc CD audio system
  • Included: Beosystem 9000c CD player, pair of Beolab 28 wireless speakers & Beoremote One
  • Design details: Matte-black anodized surfaces contrasted by glossy natural aluminium
  • Fragment branding: Co-branded CD clamper & Beolab 28 speaker stands
  • Features:
    • Vertical six-disc CD mechanism
    • Automatic disc changing & return system
    • High-resolution wireless stereo speakers
    • Adjustable Beolab 28 sound beams
    • Music streaming through the Beolab 28 speakers
  • Availability: Japan exclusive
  • Price: USD $69,650 (Limited Edition)

Finishing the collection is the Beosystem 9000c Fragment Edition, a made-to-order setup pairing Bang & Olufsen’s restored six-disc CD player with two Beolab 28 wireless speakers and a Beoremote One. Fragment applies matte-black anodized surfaces across the system while retaining sections of glossy natural aluminum, with both brands represented on the CD clamper and speaker stands. It is the largest, rarest and comfortably most expensive piece in the collaboration—the sort of audio system that makes displaying six CDs feel like an architectural decision.

The original Beosound 9000 was designed by David Lewis and introduced in 1996, with a mechanism that rapidly moves between six vertically displayed discs before returning each one to its original position after playback. That mechanical theatre particularly appealed to Hiroshi Fujiwara, and it remains at the centre of this modernized version, now supported by the wireless capabilities and high-resolution sound of the Beolab 28 speakers. Limited to made-to-order purchases in Japan only and priced at USD $69,650, this is less an impulsive return to physical media and more a collector’s monument to the compact disc.

Beosystem 9000c Fragment Edition
Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen

price & Availability

The Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design collection made its first appearance at a temporary Isetan Shinjuku installation in Tokyo, held from May 20–26, 2026. The Japanese release followed on May 27, with the Beoplay H100, Beosound A1 and Beosound Shape reaching selected international stores and online markets from June 3.

Prices begin at USD $475 for the portable Beosound A1, rising to USD $2,400 for the Beoplay H100 and USD $7,100 for the Beosound Shape. Sitting in an entirely different financial neighbourhood is the USD $69,650 Beosystem 9000c, a made-to-order setup reserved exclusively for customers in Japan.

Most of us will probably admire these pieces through a screen and leave our bank accounts undisturbed. Still, Bang & Olufsen and Fragment Design clearly understand their audience — collectors who see the material, finish and cultural story surrounding an audio product as part of its value—and who are unlikely to lose much sleep over the extra cost of making everything liquid black.

Beosound Shape Fragment Configuration
Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen
Beosystem 9000c Fragment Edition
Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen
The Beoplay H100 Fragment Edition, and Beosound A1 3rd Gen Fragment Edition
Bang & Olufsen x Fragment Design Collection | Image: Bang & Olufsen
CollaborationsSpeakersHeadphonesBang & Olufsen
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