The New Bvlgari Octo Roma Watches & Gerald Genta Mickey Mouse, Explained By Antoine Pin

Last week were the Geneva Watch Days 2021, a great initiative that allowed us to visit brands exposing to this self-managed and (yes, something rare these days), physically-organised event. While most of the MONOCHROME team was attending the event, reporting live with multiple articles displaying the new models presented during the fair, it also gave us the opportunity to meet with brands and their representatives. Among them was, of course, Bvlgari (the initiator of the GWD) that was presenting multiple new models, including new Octo Roma watches and, best of all, the ultra-cool Gerald Genta Mickey Mouse. In this video interview, we’ll talk to Antoine Pin, Managing Director of the Bvlgari Watch Division, who will guide us through the 2021 collection. 

The Bvlgari Watch Division must have had quite a prolific product meeting before Geneva Watch Days 2021, seeing all the new models that were introduced during this event. The focus of the year clearly is travelling, with two new, and rather opposite take on the traveller’s watch. First is the Octo Roma Worldtimer, a watch based on the slightly more consensual emblematic octagonal watch of the brand. Available in steel or in black DLC, this new edition displays all 24 time zones on its dial, and still features the sharp and immediately recognisable style of the Rome-based watchmaker. The other watch to encourage us to travel again is the cool, light and casual Aluminium GMT watch, which brings some colours and fun, together with a rather accessible pricing policy.

In addition to these two “core collection” models, Bvlgari was also introducing a series of high-end models, starting with the beautiful Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon, inspired by the work of Daniel Roth. The classic haute horlogerie movement is now housed in the Octo Roma case with a reduced size and still this spectacular combination of jumping hours, “butterfly” minute display and a flying tourbillon right in the middle of the watch. Also, Bvlgari being also a jeweller, the brand brought new and impressive paved watches in the Divina collection, under the Mosaica theme.

Finally, there’s the watch that might have created the most discussions during Geneva Watch Days, the resurrection of the Mickey Mouse-themed watch by Gerald Genta, with its retrograde indication of the minutes and jumping hours. A very limited edition that has been overly expected by collectors since Bvlgari brought back the brand Gerald Genta at centre stage in 2019… And you’ll be able to discover it, together with all the new models of Bvlgari, in our video interview with Antoine Pin on top of this article.

For more details, please visit bulgari.com and www.geraldgenta.com.