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Bulgari Revives Gerald Genta Mickey Mouse and Adds a Worldtimer

Bulgari this week pays tribute to Gerald Genta with a renewed version of the famed designer’s Mickey Mouse watch. At the same time the watchmaker/jeweler adds a world time watch to its Octo Roma collection and revives a Papillon central tourbillon design, now set in an Octo Roma case. The original Papillon was a Daniel Roth jumping hour invention with ‘butterfly’ hands.

These debuts were just three Bulgari highlights at Geneva Watch Days 2021, where the Italo-Swiss watchmaker launched nine new models. These also included new models in the jeweled Divas’ Dream lineup and three Divina Mosaica watches, including one spectacular diamond-set model fitted with Bulgari’s thin minute repeater movement.

Gerald Genta Arena Retrograde with smiling Disney Mickey Mouse

Bulgari’s retro Retrograde watch, starring the world’s most famous mouse, pays tribute to the genius of Gerald Genta, who placed Mickey Mouse (and other Disney characters) on his own high-end watches starting in 1984. The Gerald Genta Mickey Mouse watches are today much sought-after by collectors.

You may recall that Bulgari in 2019 launched the first ode to Genta with its 50th Anniversary Arena Bi-Retro, which Bulgari released with only Gerald Genta’s name on the dial. Last year we saw a titanium version of the watch.

Those debuts recalled Bulgari’s acquisition of the Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth brands in 2000, a purchase that has played a significant role in building Bulgari’s haute horlogerie expertise.

Gérald Genta, who died in 2011 at the age of 80, designed many of the icons of modern watch design, including the Universal Genève Polerouter, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the IWC Ingenieur, Cartier’s Pasha, the Omega Constellation, the Bvlgari Bvlgari and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. Many of these designs remain bestsellers for their respective brands.

This new Gerald Genta Arena Retrograde with smiling Disney Mickey Mouse marks the return of one of the most sought-after Genta designs. The watch’s debut also marks the next level in Bulgari’s ongoing reboot of the Gerald Genta line as its own brand. To accompany that expansion, Bulgari is developing a new Gerald Genta website.

The new watch almost perfectly mimics many of the original Gerald Genta designs, here nicely settled into 41mm steel Gerald Genta Arena case. In this version you’ll find Mickey showing the time amid an also-playful rhodium-plated sunray dial. Mickey’s left arm and white-gloved hand indicates the minutes on a 210-degree retrograde dial as a jumping hour indicator shows the hour at the 5 o’clock position.

Bulgari is making the Gerald Genta Arena Retrograde with smiling Disney Mickey Mouse as a limited edition of 150-pieces, all available only online at Bulgari. Price: 16,500 euros, with January 2022 delivery.

Octo Roma WorldTimer

Bulgari developed a new movement, Caliber BVL257, to power this world time watch, a first for the Octo Roma collection. And as a travel watch, it features instant reading of the time in twenty-four cities, which corresponds to the world’s primary time zones. This launch comes just days after the debut of another well-received Bulgari travel model, the Aluminum GMT watch.

Echoing classic world timer dial layouts, the Octo Roma WorldTimer offers a central display of the hours, minutes and seconds combined with a double rotating disc on the outer edge. One of the disks is set with the names of the reference cities while the second displays the 24-hour scale. When read in tandem, they allow the wearer to read the time in multiple time zones.

The Octo Roma WorldTimer is also available with a black DLC case and black rubber strap.

Bulgari took some liberties with the cities listed around the dial of this new watch, opting to swap the more common Bermuda for St. Barts, and representing cities where Bulgari has (or will soon have) one of its own hotels.

This sporty watch is built within the brand’ excellent multi-faceted Octo Roma 41mm steel case with a blue dial and matching steel bracelet. A stealthier version can be had in a black DLC case with a black textured rubber strap. Price: $8,350.

We’ll have more details about Bulgari’s Geneva Watch Days launches in upcoming posts. We’ve posted a few teasers below for those who can’t wait until then.

The new Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon. At the end of the 60 minutes indicated by one of the “butterfly” hands, the disc jumps to display the new time in the aperture.

The incredible Bulgari Divina Mosaica Minute Repeater.

Two debuts in the Divas’ Dream collection include models with dials in lapis lazuli (pictured) and malachite.

Specifications: Gerald Genta Arena Retrograde with smiling Disney Mickey Mouse

Movement: Mono-retrograde movement, jumping hour aperture at 5 o’clock, retrograde minutes hand on a 210-degree sector, 28,800 vph, 42- hour power reserve.

Case: Jumping hour aperture at 5 o’clock, retrograde minutes hand on a 210-degree sector.

Strap: Red textured padded rubber with Gerald Genta folding clasp in polished stainless steel.

Price: 16,500 euros, with January 2022 delivery.

Specifications: Bulgari Octo Roma WorldTimer Stainless Steel

Movement: Automatic BVL257 with World time display, hours, minutes and seconds, 24 time zones and 24-hour indicator; 42-hour power reserve, frequency of 28,800 vph (4Hz).

Case: 41mm by 11.35mm 904L stainless steel with satin-brushed/polished finish, satin-brushed/polished bezel, transparent back, screw-lock steel crown set with a ceramic decoration and serving to set the time as well as the cities indication; water-resistant to 100 meters.

Dial: Blue sunburst, applied brushed rhodium-plated gold hour-markers.

Bracelet: Satin-brushed/polished steel bracelet with triple-blade folding clasp.

Price: $8,350.

Specifications: Bulgari Octo Roma WorldTimer Steel DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon)

Movement: Automatic BVL257 with World time display hours, minutes and seconds, 24 time zones and 24-hour indicator; 42-hour power reserve, frequency: 28,800 Vph (4Hz).

Case: 41mm by 11.35mm 904L steel, black sandblasted DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) finish, transparent caseback, screw-lock crown in DLC black steel set with a ceramic decoration and serving to set the time as well as the cities indication, water-resistant to 100 meters.

Dial: Matte black sandblasted, hour-markers, hours and minutes hands enhanced with SuperLuminova.

Strap: Black textured rubber strap with DLC steel pin buckle.

Price: $8,350.

The Watches February 23, 2021

Lighter and Brighter

Greubel Forsey now offers its GMT Quadruple Tourbillon with a titanium case and adds eye-catching new blue hues to the dial of the highly complicated 46.5mm watch.

The newest Greubel Forsey GMT Quadruple Tourbillon is housed in a titanium case.

With its new case, the watch is one-third lighter than the original white gold model, which Greubel Forsey debuted in 2019. To complement that lightness, the watchmaker attaches a new rubber strap, which quite effectively enhances the modern profile of the watch, adding a touch of sportiness. (An alligator strap is also available.)

As noted, the new dial treatment maintains that message, with an electric-blue-hued hour ring and power reserve indicator. Previously all black, the circular-grained hour ring retains its polished bevels, echoing the mainplate, which Greubel Forsey has made more contemporary with its own gray frosted and spotted finishing. The plate boasts a full complement of polished bevels and countersinks.

Greubel Forsey has also re-faced one of the watch’s many technical highlights: its titanium GMT globe. This miniature planet Earth, which Greubel Forsey debuted in 2011, now displays the continents amid newly bright blue seas, a livelier depiction than the globe rotating within the white gold GMT Quadruple Tourbillon two years ago. The new ocean color nicely matches the new blue finish of the power reserve, hour circle and strap.

Many displays

These cosmetic changes haven’t altered the globe’s dramatic time display. The Earth is surrounded by a fixed 24 hours ring around the Equator. This ring displays local time for all the longitudes and takes into account the day/night with an indicator. A peek through the side of the case, through a sapphire window adjacent to the globe, reveals a clear view of the Equator and the southern hemisphere.

Beyond the new livery, the latest Greubel Forsey GMT Quadruple Tourbillon remains a feast for the eyes. The multi-level, three-dimensional dial offers the main hours and minutes subdial at the highest point (between 1 o’clock and 2 o’clock), with the coaxial small seconds and second time zone at 4 o’clock forming the second highest point.

You may recall that each Double Tourbillon 30° features a first cage rotating in one minute and angled at 30°, fitted inside a second upright cage that rotates once in four minutes. Greubel Forsey explains that the combination of the inner cage inclination and the different rotational speeds of the two cages cancel any timing variations. A spherical differential transmits the average timing rate of all four of the tourbillon cages, improving their chronometric performance.

The back of the watch also delivers both awe and information. Universal time can be spied, with a fixed 24-hour scale showing day and night zones and a disk with abbreviations of twenty-four cities. The same disk also distinguishes between the time zones that utilize Daylight Saving Time and those that don’t.

Greubel Forsey plans to make eleven examples of this new titanium-cased GMT Quadruple Tourbillon, each priced at 760,000 Swiss francs. The watch will be made, eventually, as an edition of sixty-six examples.

Specifications: Greubel Forsey GMT Quadruple Tourbillon, in titanium

Movement: Manual-wind, olive-domed jewels in gold chatons, three series-coupled fast-rotating barrels, 21,600 vph, inner tourbillons inclined at a 30° angle w/1 rotation per minute.  Outer tourbillons: 1 rotation in four minutes.

Functions and displays: GMT, 2nd time zone, rotating globe with universal time and day-and-night, universal time on 24  time zones, cities observing summer time, lateral window showing the equator and southern hemisphere, GMT pusher, quadruple tourbillon, hours and minutes, small seconds, power-reserve (72 hours).

Case: 46.50mm by 17.45mm titanium with asymmetrical convex synthetic sapphire crystal.

Dial: Multi-level in gold, anthracite color, gold hour-ring, colored blue, and blued power reserve with gold hour markers.

Strap: Rubber or hand-sewn alligator, titanium folding clasp, engraved with the GF logo.

Price: CHF 760,000.

Bulgari Expands Steel & Titanium Octo Finissimo Collection

Among its wide-ranging 2021 debuts, Bulgari adds three new models to its Octo Finissimo collection of record-breaking ultra-thin watches. New to the collection: an Octo Finissimo S in a new monochrome style, an Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT, and the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Titanium with a new dial and rubber strap.

Also new for Bulgari in 2021 are additions to its feminine Lvcea, Serpenti and Divas’ Dream collections, plus an impressive and highly complex Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon. We’ll show you these new models in upcoming posts.

But first, below we introduce the new Bulgari Octo Finissimo watches.

Octo Finissimo S

One of last year’s highlight debuts, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo S, introduced collectors to the brand’s first all-steel entry within the Octo Finissimo’s ultra-thin automatic range.

Until that launch, Bulgari had limited the Octo Finissimo collection of record-setting ultra-thin watches to designs with ceramic, precious metal or titanium cases and bracelets.

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo S is 6.4mm thin.

The premiere Octo Finissimo S with its all-steel case and bracelet, water resistance of 100 meters and case measuring 6.4mm thin, drew positive notices almost immediately, in part due to its entry level (for Octo Finissimo) $12,000 price point and broader appeal.

A year later, Bulgari adds an encore to the steel collection with a new monochrome Octo Finissimo S featuring a 40mm steel satin-polished case and a new silver vertical-brushed monochromatic dial. The watch, now the third in the steel collection (following the blue-dialed debut in mid-2020) retains the collection’s contemporary design, especially with its radially brushed bezel.

Back view of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo S, showing Caliber BVL 138 with micro-rotor.

The new watch is powered by automatic in-house ultra-thin caliber BVL 138 with micro-rotor. Echoing the entire steel collection, the watch is water-resistant to 100 meters, ensured by a polished steel screw-down crown set with ceramic.

Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT

With the success of the time-only steel Octo Finissimo S line, Bulgari in 2021 adds a chronograph GMT model in steel. Creating a steel model means Bulgari can offer its record-breaking ultra-thin chronograph in a more conventional steel case (and bracelet), which both reduces the price while also attracting consumers who might prefer steel watches. The chronograph GMT offerings within the Octo Finissimo collection had, until now, been limited to titanium-cased models.

Side view of the new The Bulgari Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT.

Called Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT, it features the existing Bulgari automatic in-house chronograph and GMT ultra-thin calibre BVL 318 with peripheral rotor.

The BVL 318 caliber., with peripheral rotor, is a mere 3.30mm thick.

Now offered with a satin-polished steel case and new blue dial, the watch also features silver (rather than black) counters, which Bulgari considers a “sport chic look.”

The new Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT joins the blue-dialed time-only Octo Finissimo S in Bulgari’s expanding ultra-thin steel collection.

On the dial you’ll find chronograph counters plus a GMT (second time zone) indicator. The watch’s 43mm diameter steel case measures 8.75mm thick, which is nicely integrated into the vertically brushed steel bracelet, accented with polished parts. And like the time-only steel model, the Octo Finissimo S Chronograph features a larger screw-down crown than the former sandblasted models. This ensures water resistance to 100 meters.

Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Titanium

As the third new watch in the Octo Finissimo collection this year, this 42mm titanium model essentially echoes the 2019 titanium-cased edition that captured the 2019 GPHG award for best chronograph watch. This year, Bulgari adds a new, sportier black dial and an appropriate sporty rubber strap to what remains the thinnest automatic chronograph watch available.

Caseback view of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Titanium, showing Caliber BVL318.

Specifications: Bulgari Octo Finissimo S

Movement: Mechanical Manufacture with automatic winding via a platinum micro-rotor, hours, minutes and small seconds indications. BVL138 Finissimo caliber (2.23mm thick) adorned with Côtes de Genève stripes, chamfered bridges and circular-grained baseplate, 60-hour power reserve, 21,600 vph.

Case: 40mm extra-thin satin-polished steel case (6.40mm thick) with transparent caseback; polished steel screw-down crown set with ceramic inlay.

Dial: Silvered vertical-brushed, water-resistant to 100 meters.

Bracelet:  Integrated vertical brushed steel with polished parts and folding clasp.

Price: $12,000.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Steel

Movement: Mechanical manufacture chronograph and GMT with automatic winding (peripheral rotor) and small seconds – BVL 318 caliber (3.30mm thick). 55-hour power reserve; local timezone adjusted through the push button at 9 o’clock.

 Case: 43mm extra-thin satin-polished steel (8.75mm thick) with transparent caseback; radial brushed bezel; polished steel screw-down crown set with ceramic inlay.

Dial: Blue sunray with silver GMT, chronograph and seconds counters; water-resistant to 100 meters.

Bracelet: Integrated vertical brushed steel with folding clasp.

Price: $16,500.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Titanium

Movement: Mechanical manufacture chronograph and GMT with automatic winding (peripheral rotor) and small seconds – BVL 318 caliber (3.30mm thick). 55-hour power reserve; local timezone adjusted through the push button at 9 o’clock.

Case: 42 mm extra-thin sandblasted titanium (6.90 mm thick) with transparent case back; sandblasted titanium crown set with ceramic; black opaline dial; water-resistant to 30 meters.

Bracelet:  Black rubber with sandblasted titanium pin buckle.

Price: $17,200.

Watch Of The Day November 16, 2020

H. Moser Blues its Award-Winning Streamliner Flyback Chronograph

Fresh from winning the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) award as the year’s Best Chronograph for its Streamliner Flyback Chronograph, H. Moser & Cie. this week underscores the collection’s distinctive H. Moser design by offering a new edition of the watch with a Funky Blue fumé dial, a signature color for the brand.

The H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Funky Blue.

Moser has applied the Funky Blue dial, with its sunburst pattern and eye-catching gradient color effect, throughout its collection, complementing similar fumé style dials with brown, red and even green hues. The color appears light in the center of the dial and becomes darker and deeper towards the outer edges.

This newest edition H. Moser Streamliner Flyback chronograph retains the technical ingenuity of debut that re-shapes how a flyback chronograph tracks elapsed time. Instead of developing a flyback function for a central seconds hands, H. Moser devised a wholly original method of tracking elapsed time with two chronograph hands, one for the minutes and one for the seconds. The minimalistic dial also shows current time with two display hands, one for the hours and one for the minutes.

The movement wizards at Agenhor developed the column-wheel chronograph with support from the technical teams at H. Moser & Cie. Also notable is the placement of the tungsten oscillating weight, which lies between the movement and the dial, allowing a clear view of the beautifully designed and finished caliber through the caseback.

The watch’s handsome steel cushion case measures 42.3mm in diameter, features an off-center crown and is topped with a slightly domed glass box-type sapphire crystal. Its new integrated steel bracelet features fluid lines based on organic forms. H. Moser named the Streamliner to recall the curved shapes that dominated the first high-speed trains of the 1920s. Price: $43,900.

SPECIFICATIONS: H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Funky Blue, (Reference 6902-1201)

Movement: Automatic Caliber HMC 902 developed with AGENHOR for H. Moser & Cie., frequency of 21,600 vibrations/hour, bi-directional winding, tungsten oscillating weight, positioned between the movement and the dial, double barrel, column wheel chronograph, two-stage chronograph mechanism, horizontal clutch with friction wheel; smooth wheel equipped with micro-teeth, tulip yoke allows the chronograph to be triggered or released. Power reserve: minimum 54 hours

Case: 42.3mm by 12.1mm steel topped by a domed sapphire crystal, chronograph push-buttons at 10 and 2 o’clock, screw-in crown at 4 o’clock adorned with an engraved M, see-through case-back.

Dynamic water resistance to 120 meters, allowing the chronograph and flyback function to be used underwater.

Dial: Funky Blue fumé, hour and minute hands with Globolight inserts, minute track for the elapsed seconds and minutes, tachymeter on the flange, Hours and minutes displays, chronograph with central display and indication of the elapsed minutes and seconds, flyback on the minutes and seconds.

Bracelet: Integrated steel, folding clasp with three steel blades, engraved with the Moser logo.

H. Moser was awarded two prizes at the 2020 GPHG: One for the Streamliner Flyback Automatic Chronograph (Best Chronograph) and another for its Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H.Moser X MB&F model (Audacity Prize).

The Watches October 13, 2020

MB&F Dresses its Perpetual Calendar in Zirconium

MB&F wants you to wear its new Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO anywhere you go.

The new watch, which MB&F debuts today, is an exuberant, ultra-tough version of its innovative and GPHG-award-winning Legacy Machine Perpetual (from 2015) that MB&F has now dressed in a new case and outfitted with enhanced shock resistance and increased water resistance.

The new MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO.

Cased in lightweight zirconium, an extremely durable silvery-grey metal frequently used by medical instrument makers, the new watch immediately differentiates itself from the earlier LM Perpetual by displaying no bezel. Instead, MB&F has fused the watch’s domed sapphire crystal directly to the 44mm case.

This re-configured case/crystal configuration opens up the wearer’s view of the watch’s eye-catching, hovering balance wheel, a signature MB&F design element. But more than that, the new design also decreases the watch’s overall height-to-diameter ratio, which can reduce the chances of accidental impact to the crystal.

Zirconium, while difficult to machine, makes for a particularly lightweight case; it also features enhanced hypoallergenic and anti-microbial properties. MB&F has only used zirconium to case two previous watches, the HM3 Frog and HM5.

FlexRing

Perhaps the most critical addition to the original perpetual calendar’s movement design is a one-piece stainless steel dampener called the FlexRing. MB&F fits this new round component between the watch’s case and movement to enhance shock protection along the vertical and lateral axes.

According to MB&F, the new component “makes for the most robust Machine ever to emerge from MB&F.”

In addition to these adjustments, MB&F has transformed the watch’s pushers, which are larger and oblong instead of small and round, and has enhanced the water resistance of the crown (which is now screw-down) on this updated perpetual calendar. The sleeker pushers in particular signal the EVO’s sportiness.

To increase the watch’s water resistance to 80-meters MB&F has connected the crown to a new type of winding stem that disengages the crown from the winding mechanism when it is pushed in and tightened. This also prevents the wearer from over winding the mainspring barrel.

The movement

As a reminder, Stephen McDonnell effectively redesigned the traditional perpetual calendar when he first devised the LM Perpetual for MB&F five years ago.

McDonnell built the LM Perpetual with a “mechanical processor” (a series of superimposed disks) that takes the default number of days in the month at 28 and then adds the extra days as required by each individual month. This removes the chance that the date will jump incorrectly. He also built in a safety feature that disconnects the pushers during the date changeover to eliminate any risk of damage to the movement when the date is changed.

One of three plate color options, dubbed Atomic Orange, is new for MB&F.

New colors

In addition to bolstering the shock and water resistance of its perpetual calendar, MB&F is also emphasizing the LM Perpetual’s EVO’s sporty nature with new movement plate PVD or CVD colors and a rubber strap that fits snugly between two polished lugs.

One of three plate color options, dubbed Atomic Orange, is new for MB&F. The watchmaker says it has devised a new coating material and CVD coating technique that allowed it to add this sporty hue to its component color options.

The clear caseback reveals superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style with internal bevel angles and hand-polished bevels.

MB&F is offering two other dial-plate colors, PVD black and CVD blue, for the LM Perpetual EVO and is producing each of the three shades in a limited series of fifteen pieces (in celebration of the brand’s 15th anniversary). Strap colors are white, grey and black. Price: $167,000.

Specifications: MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO

Movement: Fully integrated perpetual calendar developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell, featuring dial-side complication and mechanical processor system architecture with inbuilt safety mechanism. Manual winding with double mainspring barrels, bespoke 14mm balance wheel with traditional regulating screws visible on top of the movement. Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style; internal bevel angles, polished bevels, Geneva waves, hand-made engravings. A FlexRing, an annular dampener fitted between case and movement, provides shock protection along the vertical and lateral axes, screw-down crown, 72-hour power reserve, 18,000 bph balance frequency (2.5Hz).

Functions/indications: Galvanic black dials with both SLN numerals and hands (except for the leap year and power reserve). Hours, minutes, day, date, month, retrograde leap year and power reserve indicators.

Case: 44mm by 17.5 mm zirconium, water resistance to 80 meters, sapphire crystals on top and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces

Strap: Rubber strap with titanium folding buckle.

Price: $167,000.

Bulgari Revives Gerald Genta Mickey Mouse and Adds a Worldtimer

Lighter and Brighter

Bulgari Expands Steel & Titanium Octo Finissimo Collection

H. Moser Blues its Award-Winning Streamliner Flyback Chronograph

MB&F Dresses its Perpetual Calendar in Zirconium

AIKON AUTOMATIC DATE 42MM- Maurice Lacroix

interchangable DEFY Extreme Diver straps- Zenith

Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture- Frederique Constant