What Watches Do Bigflo and Oli Wear?
I was recently at the Musilac Festival in Aix-les-Bains, on the shores of Lake Bourget. Despite the hectolitres of beer consumed, my watch-spotter’s eye was drawn to the watches worn by the two artists on stage: Bigflo and Oli.
Oli was wearing a yellow-gold-coloured watch whose dial looked anything but conventional. No visible hands, but several small apertures arranged across a broad metal plate. Next to him, Bigflo’s rather slender wrist was shining brightly: the watch appeared to be entirely set with diamonds.
My first thought was fairly down to earth: wearing such a conspicuous watch at a festival still seemed a little risky, especially when you know that even GMK, who is built like an orc from Mordor, has already had a Richard Mille stolen in France (something unlikely to happen in Monaco, his stronghold).
The research I carried out after the concert helped clarify things. Oli wears a Gucci Grip YA157403, a gold-tone quartz watch with a very distinctive design. Bigflo, for his part, was wearing his fully diamond-set Rolex (apparently customised after purchase), and notably owns a surprising 1980s Audemars Piguet Bamboo in yellow gold and diamonds.
Above all, these watches offer access to a more personal side of the two brothers. They speak of where they come from, their relationship with money, and the two rather different ways in which they experience their thoroughly deserved success.
Bigflo and Oli: two brothers, two relationships with watches
Bigflo and Oli, whose real first names are Florian and Olivio, grew up in Toulouse in a modest family. Their rise was rapid, but it did not erase their original relationship with money.
In an interview devoted to their watch tastes, the two brothers explain that the first watch given to Bigflo was a Michael Kors bought for around 130 euros. At the time, going to pick it up at Galeries Lafayette had made them feel as though they were buying a car. The amount seems negligible today when compared with the pieces Bigflo now wears, but the memory helps explain what a watch represented then: tangible proof that their life was changing.
Bigflo has since developed a serious taste for watches. He likes eye-catching pieces, diamonds, gold and vintage watches with a story. His collection notably includes a Piaget, a Rolex with a tropical dial, a fully diamond-set Rolex and the famous Audemars Piguet Bamboo.
Oli has a much more restrained relationship with luxury. He can appreciate the design or artistic dimension of a watch, but the idea of spending several thousand euros on an object troubles him. He immediately thinks of his friends, or of people around him who are facing financial difficulties. That discomfort has already led him to pass on certain watches he genuinely liked.
That does not mean Oli only wears a 40-euro Casio. His Gucci Grip was worth around 1,900 euros when it was launched. But it remains a long way from the gold-and-diamond watches chosen by his brother.
Oli’s watch: a Gucci Grip YA157403
The “yellow gold” coloured watch worn by Oli is a Gucci Grip, reference YA157403. Its identification leaves little room for doubt: the square case with rounded corners, the three white apertures and the metal bracelet covered with the famous GG motif are all there.
An important clarification: this Gucci is not made of solid gold. Its case and bracelet are made from stainless steel with a yellow-gold-coloured PVD coating.
The Grip was launched in 2019 under the artistic direction of Alessandro Michele. Its name refers to grip tape, the abrasive surface applied to skateboards to help shoes adhere to the deck. The watch was also presented as a unisex model, which explains its relatively compact dimensions and the way the bracelet sits very close to the wrist.
A dial without hands
The particularity of the Gucci Grip lies above all in its display. Instead of a traditional dial and hands, the watch uses three rotating discs visible through three openings.
The large upper aperture displays the hours, the one just below indicates the minutes, while the round opening at 6 o’clock shows the date. You simply read the numerals positioned opposite the small red triangles.
The system is simple, but it gives the watch an unusual appearance, somewhere between an old mechanical scale, a 1970s counter and a retro-futuristic fashion accessory. From a distance, it was precisely this almost entirely closed golden façade that had intrigued me at Musilac.
Specifications of Oli’s Gucci Grip
The Gucci Grip YA157403 has a 35 × 35 mm case and is only 6 mm thick. Its square format gives it more presence than a round watch of equivalent diameter, without making it feel bulky.
It is powered by a Swiss quartz movement and displays the hours, minutes and date. The crystal is sapphire, water resistance is rated to 30 metres, and the gold-tone steel bracelet fastens with a folding clasp.
Its launch price was 1,750 Swiss francs. As the model is no longer central to Gucci’s catalogue, it is now mainly found on the secondary market, often at significantly lower prices.
Model: Gucci Grip
Reference: YA157403
Launch: 2019
Case: steel with yellow-gold-coloured PVD coating
Dimensions: 35 × 35 mm
Thickness: 6 mm
Movement: Swiss quartz
Functions: hours, minutes and date via rotating discs
Crystal: sapphire
Bracelet: steel with gold-tone PVD coating and GG motifs
Clasp: folding clasp
Water resistance: 30 metres
Launch price: CHF 1,750 (around 1,900 euros)
The Grip is a fashion watch, in the original sense of the term. Its appeal does not lie in a complicated movement or in a great watchmaking tradition, but in an immediately identifiable design. On Oli’s wrist, it is original without displaying the price of an apartment.
Bigflo’s fully diamond-set Rolex
Bigflo has been seen on several occasions wearing a white-metal Rolex entirely covered in diamonds, from the dial to the bracelet. The watch appears to be a 36 mm Datejust, probably in steel, although the images do not allow its exact reference or original configuration to be confirmed.
The five-link bracelet resembles a Jubilee, a very common feature on the Datejust. The date at 3 o’clock is also visible, while there is nothing to indicate the day aperture that would be found on a Rolex Day-Date.
The watch is therefore most likely not a white-gold Day-Date, but rather a Datejust transformed after it left the Rolex workshops.
Gem-setting carried out after purchase
The gem-setting is described as aftermarket, meaning it was carried out by an independent workshop after the watch was purchased. Rolex did not deliver this piece in this configuration.
That changes a great deal for an enthusiast. A factory-set Rolex retains a manufacturing coherence, traceability and collectible value specific to the brand. A transformed watch depends entirely on the quality of the work subsequently carried out: choice of stones, regularity of the pavé setting, amount of metal removed, and the overall condition of the case and bracelet.
The result worn by Bigflo fulfils its visual mission perfectly. Under the spotlights, every movement of the wrist catches the light. On the other hand, it is impossible to seriously determine its value without knowing the original reference, the exact nature of the stones and the identity of the workshop that carried out the setting, though one could estimate its value at between 11,000 and 15,000 euros. The range seems plausible for a transformed, fully pavé-set steel Datejust, but it should remain an estimate, not an official market value.
This watch corresponds perfectly to Bigflo’s stated taste. He explains that he likes pieces that shine, precious stones and objects capable of making tangible a success that once seemed out of reach.
Bigflo’s Audemars Piguet Bamboo
Bigflo also owns a vintage Audemars Piguet Bamboo, a piece from the 1980s that he himself speaks about with enthusiasm.
The Bamboo has a highly polished integrated bracelet, made entirely of yellow gold, whose articulated links recall the segments of a bamboo stem. Some versions also feature diamonds on the dial, bezel or bracelet.
Bigflo’s example appears to combine yellow gold and diamonds, but its exact reference cannot be determined from the available images. It would therefore be unwise to state a calibre, diameter or precise estimate.
An Audemars Piguet far removed from the Royal Oak
The appeal of this watch lies precisely in the fact that it is not a Royal Oak. In the 1980s and 1990s, Audemars Piguet produced many jewellery watches with very free-form designs, often fitted with small cases and extremely elaborate bracelets.
The Bamboo belongs to that period. It looks more like an articulated jewel that tells the time than a modern sports watch. Its case is relatively small, but the gold, diamonds and bracelet construction give it considerable presence.
Bigflo therefore owns a far more interesting piece than a simple rapper’s watch bought because it was expensive. The Bamboo reveals a genuine taste for vintage watchmaking and for models that are not necessarily recognised by the general public.
That curiosity is also evident in his tropical Rolex, whose dial has discoloured and developed a patina under the effect of sunlight. This type of alteration was once considered a defect. Today, it is sought after by collectors, with each dial having aged in a different way.
Bigflo embraces the shine, Oli is wary of what it represents
The discussion between the two brothers about watches goes far beyond brands and prices.
Oli sometimes criticises Bigflo for his expensive purchases. Spending that much on a watch seems difficult for him to justify when he thinks of the people struggling around him. He can like an object, its story and its aesthetics, then decide not to buy it because of what it projects socially.
He has notably spoken about hesitating over a watch linked to Salvador Dalí, priced at around 6,000 euros, before ultimately walking away. He was also very taken with a Piaget inspired by an Andy Warhol self-portrait. Once again, its artistic appeal was not enough to overcome his discomfort with the price.
Bigflo experiences things differently. Coming from the same modest background, he long saw a watch as a goal and as proof that he had managed to reach a world from which he had felt distant. Buying the piece he had dreamed of allowed him to accept that success for himself and to gain confidence.
He does not really try to justify himself, either. He admits that he likes things that shine and that he continues to buy watches. He also recognises, lucidly, that objects solve neither the need for recognition nor deeper problems. The pleasure remains real, but he no longer attributes to it the power to fix everything.
This difference between the two brothers is quite revealing. Oli constantly monitors the social meaning of his purchases. Bigflo allows himself more freedom to enjoy what he has earned, while knowing that the feeling of success cannot be reduced to a diamond-pavé dial.
Watches that tell their story
Oli’s Gucci Grip and Bigflo’s watches could easily be reduced to a contrast between an accessible fashion piece and far more expensive horological jewels. Their story is more interesting than that.
Oli wears an original, highly designed watch that remains relatively reasonable given their income. It reflects his taste for artistic objects and his mistrust of overly emphatic displays of wealth.
Bigflo prefers watches loaded with gold, diamonds and history. His diamond-set Rolex openly materialises success. His Audemars Piguet Bamboo and his tropical Rolex, however, show that he does not choose solely according to the number of stones or the prestige written on the dial.
At the Musilac concert, all I had seen were two particularly bright wrists under the spotlights. Digging a little deeper reveals two ways of dealing with fame after growing up with limited means. Oli remains uneasy about what money shows. Bigflo grants himself the right to wear what he once dreamed of, even if he later acknowledges that confidence cannot be bought entirely from a watchmaker.
