Brice Lechevalier
Travelling is part of the DNA of Bovet, whose founder set off to see the world at a very early age. Not in 7 days, of course, but in terms of the power reserve delivered by its unique barrel. The legibility of this new version of the Orbis Mundi is matched only by its ease of use, with all functions activated by the crown. The deep blue guilloché is a poetic wink that inverts the proportions of land and ocean on the planet. There is no doubt that this Orbis Mundi will be one of the 50 must-have travel watches that will feature in the 2024 edition of the Millennium Watch Book, this time devoted to GMT and worldtimer models. With Bovet, the world is a more beautiful place.
Marie de Pimodan
Some watches have the power to take you on a journey without you having to move. Such is the case with the Orbis Mundi, which Bovet launched in 2022 to mark its 200th anniversary celebrations as a tribute to its founder, who had the audacity to travel as far as China in order to develop his business, before spreading his expertise to the four corners of the globe. The first journey offered by this model is a journey through history, in the footsteps of Edouard Bovet. The other journey is a visual epic in the composition of the dial, which invites you to travel around the world in a single glance. The off-centre dial shows the hours, minutes and 24 time zones, which can be easily adjusted using the crown, which can be turned in either direction to select the desired setting. To the right of the dial, an indicator reveals the impressive seven-day power reserve, while the partial dial graduated over 20 seconds reveals the balance and regulating organ manufactured by Bovet. A window onto the mechanics enhanced by a beautiful blue guilloché dial. For the record, the Latin name of this watch, Orbis Mundi, means the world. The same one that feels like it's at your feet once you've put the Orbis Mundi on your wrist.
Sophie Furley
We have had our hands on a number of Bovet timepieces over the years, but this is the first time we have had the opportunity to test the Orbis Mundi and we are all pretty excited. The Orbis Mundi is inspired by the Récital 26 Brainstorm Chapter Two, which won the GPHG Mechanical Exception prize in 2020 and it takes this unique worldtime complication and translates it onto a large diameter sub-dial that is split into 24 segments for the 24 time zones. Wherever you look, the details will astound you, from the blue guilloché dial to the curve of the sapphire crystal, the finishing of the movement, to the curves of the case.
What I personally love about this timepiece is how it combines everything we love about traditional watchmaking but gives it a contemporary twist. I know saying this is a bit of a cliché. How many times have you read about a timepiece being at the “crossroads of tradition and modernity”, right? But I am sorry, in this case, it is absolutely true, so I am just going to say it out loud!
Mathieu Rotzer
As soon as I laid my eyes on The Orbis Mundi I knew what this watch was going to represent to me: adventure. I must admit, this watch is not a sports watch, nor is it a watch that would be the most practical to wear even on a simple hike. However, with its stunning blue guilloche dial and its extraordinary World Time display executed in a magnificent font, this watch allures me to want to get lost in the dunes of some desert, having to walk kilometres to the nearest oasis. At least with its 7-day power reserve, I should have no problem reading the time! And, when I would get bored of walking, I could take off the watch and admire the magnificently finished case back with its beautiful in-house hairspring and regulating organ. Funnily enough, this timepiece brings me back to a popular videogame series I used to play called Uncharted, all about travel, exploration and adventure. From high seas to desolate deserts and starry nights, this stunning watch is the companion I would like on my wrist. I hope I can find a rubber strap that will fit…
Suzanne Wong
When you travel a lot, a worldtime watch gains special significance in your life. The same happens when you have an immediate family that's spread all over the globe — you become acutely aware of different timezones and the hours that separate you from existing along the same cadences and diurnal rhythms of those you love. The Bovet Orbis Mundi is a watch that taps into all those sentiments for me, and it does so with a design reminiscent of past centuries, before it became common to have such a widely scattered family. This version of the Orbis Mundi, with its blue-on-white dial layout, prioritises legibility and ease of reading, making it a cinch to set the central city disc through the crown. The 7-day power reserve is always a bonus, ensuring that even when you're on the move for consecutive days, your watch stays on time and reliable to the very last second.
Allissa Pataki
I have been a fan of the Orbis Mundi collection for a little while. In fact, the more I have read up on it, the more I have come to appreciate it. So, naturally, when I wrote an article last summer about the watches that (I believe) should have been in the Barbie movie, I simply had to include an Orbis Mundi. And for Stereotypical Barbie - the star of the movie portrayed by (the brilliant) Margot Robbie -, there was no better match than the Only Watch Special Edition. It is a one-of-a-kind watch for a one-of-a-kind icon. All of this to say that when Sophie strolled in this Monday morning with the Orbis Mundi Blue Guilloché on her wrist, I was quite eager to slip it on. And as the age-old saying goes, watches are even better in person. Being able to see all the details of the World Time display and the blue guilloche dial up close was a real treat. I tried to devise a plan to be able to keep it with me for “the duration of its power reserve” (an impressive seven days), but my colleagues saw right through it and couldn’t be held off for any longer. Bon voyage!
