Gerald Charles kicks off his 2022 with his first novelty of the year: the Maestro 8.0 Squelette designed by Octavio Garcia.
I was in Geneva for Watches & Wonders when I met Federico Ziviani, their CEO, who in the middle of our short chat showed me this watch on his wrist: it was the prototype of the new GC skeleton.
Who is Octavio Garcia? The heir of Gerald Genta
When it comes to modern watchmaking, and therefore to icons in modern collections such as Audemars Piguet’s 15202, one cannot but speak of Octavio Garcia. Although it may be a lesser known name to the general public, Octavio played a fundamental role as he was entrusted with the task of redesigning the Royal Oak in the reference 15202.
Gerald Genta throughout his life has considered him as his ‘heir’ in terms of designer. This time Octavio Garcia has put his talents into play together with Maison Gerald Charles to create a very interesting watch. We at IWS have interviewed him for a video that will be released soon on our YouTube channel. YouTube.
If you would like to learn more about the figure of Gerald Charles Genta, we recommend that you read this article.
A real skeletonization on the Maestro 8.0 Squelette
A large proportion of skeletonized watches in horology are not “real” openworked models. This is because only the dial is removed and (not always) partly redesigned the movement, but in fact the light does not pass from one side to the other as in the Maestro GC 8.0 Squelette, which is what struck me most.
But skeletonization is not something new for Gerald Charles. The first pieces that Genta created for his brand were hyper-complicated openwork, which in most cases combined the complication of the chronograph with tourbillons. In the example below you can indeed see the Maestro .99 Tourbillon, partly inspired by the 8.0.
The GCA 5482 Caliber made exclusively for GC
The caliber is obviously one of the highlights of the watch. Looking at the back, on the opposite side of the crown, we see an 18 gold micro rotor decorated with the logo and the shapes of the Maison. This solution for winding the watch allows to obtain a significantly reduced thickness compared to models with the normal central oscillating weight.
GC worked together with the atelier of Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, a Swiss company that designs calibers of several renowned brands in the sector, to create this GCA 5482 caliber. Octavio Garcia together with the team of GC and Vaucher, worked to ensure that the whole production process faithfully followed the idea proposed in the drawings, and so it was.
The specs of the watch and the feel on the wrist
The skeletonized Maestro case is made of steel and measures 39mm on the horizontal front and 41mm on the vertical front. The thickness, as we said above, is quite low with just 8.35 mm, which allows it to slide easily under the cuff of a shirt.
The feeling on my wrist was very positive for me. I haven’t always been a fan of the Maestro case but ever since I saw this skeletonized model on Federico’s wrist, I have changed my mind. The rubber strap features the classic Clous De Paris style designed by Genta, as does the crown, and securely wraps the wrist.
I’d like to see some leather straps, but we’ll see if there will an option in the future.
Price and availability to the public
The Maestro 8.0 Squelette has a retail price of € 58,000 and will produce a maximum of 100 watches per year. The reference is GC8.0-SQ-A-00. The strap will be interchangeable with different colors also according to customer preferences.
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