Bulgari has gathered quite an impressive collection of world-records when it comes to ultra-thin watches, and last week in Geneva they added another one. The Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic is with a thickness of 7.4mm by far the thinnest watch of its kind ever made. The movement itself measures only 3.5mm, yet it still sports a superb finish on all levels and is even fitted with a column-wheel and vertical clutch. Because of the advanced skeletonization of the movement, all these parts can be admired in full.

How thin can you go? For Piaget, this has been a question that they have been answering since the late 1950s, and early 1960s when they already set records with their manual wind caliber 9P and automatic caliber 12P. At the time, the goal wasn't purely to create the thinnest watch on the market, but more to give Piaget's designers as much freedom as possible when they create their timepieces. When we fast forward to today, we see a slightly different perspective. While Piaget's ultra-slim movements still give freedom to its designers and find their way in beautiful watches, being thin has gotten an appeal of its own.

They deserve to be a complication in their own right: ultra-slim watches. Although many of these movements only power two or three hands, making them is pretty much like putting together a watch movement while walking the high wire. It is a constant balancing act, in which it is important to maintain the integrity of the movement while you make it as slim as possible.