World's thinnest watch makes timely appearance at Geneva Watch Days 2023

Watch collectors visit Swiss city in search of the latest groundbreaking timepieces

Bulgari's Octo Finissimo CarbonGold Perpetual Calendar 103778, the world's thinnest timepiece, was unveiled at Geneva Watch Days 2023. Photo Bulgari

Switzerland has welcomed watch aficionados all week as it plays host to the annual Geneva Watch Days event.

A total of 40 brands will unveil their timepieces until September 2, up from the eight that helped to launch the event three years ago. Conceived to be more accessible than other watch fairs, GWD is open to the public and unfolds in boutiques and hotels across the city.

This year revealed some remarkable innovations, many of which have an avant-garde aesthetic and a sense of playfulness.

Bulgari

The Italian maison unveiled its latest iteration of the world's thinnest watch with the Octo Finissimo CarbonGold Perpetual Calendar 103778, crafted from carbon and rose gold.

The 40mm carbon case is 7.60mm thick (or should that be thin?) and has a polished rose gold crown with a black ceramic insert. The Calibre BVL 305 movement – that is 2.75mm thick – has a 60-hour power reserve, a retrograde date, month and year, and a retrograde leap year.

H Moser & Cie

Swiss watchmaker H Moser & Cie presents two additions to its Endeavour line, using the darkest substance in the world, Vantablack. Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Vantablack and Endeavour Centre Seconds Vantablack each have a case and bezel in red rose gold, framing a dial coated in the material developed for the military.

Able to absorb 99.965 per cent of light, Vantablack is perceived as a void by the human eye, so that the indexes and tourbillon of these models seem to float in space. The absence of a brand logo makes the design seem even more otherworldly.

Roger Dubuis

A salute to Squadra Corse, Lamborghini's motorsport arm, the Excalibur Spider Huracan Sterrato MB has striking blue detailing and nods to the Huracan supercar. The watch's movement echoes the car's hexagonal air intakes and signature twin barrels between five and seven o'clock, which evoke several fuel tanks.

Powered by the RD630 Calibre with a 60-hour power reserve, the balance wheel at 12 o’clock is tilted to a 12° angle to maintain the optimum position even when it is not being worn. The 45mm case is made from sheet moulding compound carbon, which is nine times lighter than gold.

The bezel is crafted from black DLC titanium, with blue strips to echo the car's spoiler. The lugged crown is bolt-shaped, in another nod to the Huracan.

Jacob & Co

The latest arrival from Jacob & Co is inspired by family history. The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone watch pays tribute to the timepiece given to company founder Jacob Arabov on his 13th birthday by his father.

Arabov – who found fame in the New York hip-hop scene as Jacob the Jeweller – has created the company's first complication, a self-winding dual time zone watch, with a 43mm rose gold case. Inside, the lacquered blue dial is laser-engraved with a world map, and sits under a domed sapphire crystal glass.

Urwerk

Based on the constellations of stars, Swiss watchmaker Urwerk's new UR-100V Stardust has 400 diamonds embedded into its steel case with a snow-setting, to better reflect the ordered chaos of space.

The minutes scale is studded with a further 36 diamonds, while another 24 top the crown. Like others in the 100 collection, this timepiece tracks the journey of the Earth around the Sun using two arcs on the dial. One marks the distance travelled by the Earth on its own axis in 20 minutes – 555km- as the other clocks the distance travelled by the Earth around the Sun in the same period – 35,740km.

Scroll through the gallery to see other watches unveiled at the exhibition