During the last few years you have certainly heard the name of a “new maison” with a name that immediately brings to mind the greatest watch designer of all time: Gerald Charles Genta
Well, yes. Gerald Charles is the prestigious independent Swiss Haute Horlogerie maison established in 2000 by Maestro Gerard Charles Genta.
“We want to be a niche company that produces a limited number of handcrafted watches “.
Gerald Genta (Gerald Charles archive, 2000)
The Gerald Charles brand was sold by Genta in 2003 to a group of investors, including the Ziviani family, which includes the young Federico Ziviani, who at the age of 25 is the current General Manager of the company. However, Gerald Genta remained in the company as designer-in-chief until his death on August 17, 2011, at the age of 80.
From then on, the maison, which combines Italian style with the precision of Swiss manufacturing, has oriented its line on a selective and limited production of a few pieces of the highest quality, dedicated to the most ambitious collectors.
The philosophy of the Swiss house is, if we will, the opposite of a traditional one: instead of relying on a defined network of retailers, Gerald Charles prefers to follow, retain and directly accompany his customers, who approach the brand mostly through social media, and then refer them to trusted retailers.
Federico Ziviani himself stated, in an interview with the Financial Times, that Gerald Charles sells most of his models thanks to Instagram, which is an incredible vehicle for dissemination and knowledge for fans of the sector, thanks to which a sort of community has been created between the company and customers.
The relationship that generates is almost “familiar”, sincerely and constantly maintained also via WhatsApp, to ensure maximum and prompt satisfaction of every customer need.
Gerald Charles retailers (about 20 to date) are mainly located in Switzerland and Europe.
The components of the watches are assembled in the Lugano headquarters: the movements are produced in Fleurier, the dials in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the cases in Geneva.
Gerald Charles watches, all developed from drawings by Maestro Genta, are divided into two collections: the Maestro Collection and the Museum Collection.
The Maestro: Gerald Charles’ icon
With a name that clearly pays homage to the great Gerald Genta, the Maestro is the most representative model by Gerald Charles.
The 40 mm case, with a very recognizable octagonal shape with rounded edges, is both sporty and elegant and is characterized through a play of steps and curves that contrast well with the extreme simplicity of the dial.
The symphony of shapes and geometries is also found in the leather strap, characterized by a motif of small pyramids, a tribute to the monuments of the pharaohs admired by Genta during a trip to Egypt.
The Maestro has been the subject of various reissues over the years. Among these, we remember the Maestro 2.0 Ultra Thin, characterized by an ultra-thin 40 mm steel case, just 8 mm thick. It weighs only 85 g and its resistance to water, up to 100 m, has been tested with the help of the Olympic swimmer Luca Dotto. This model was produced in an emerald green and black version.
Another version is that of the Maestro 3.0 Chronograph: this model therefore adds the chronograph. The case is made of steel, with a weight of 110 g and total dimensions of 40 mm, with a thickness of 11.5 mm.
The twentieth anniversary of the Maestro watch was celebrated in 2020, with the production of the Maestro Anniversary, grandson of the famous Maestro watch created in 2006 by Gerald Genta and considered by the latter to be his favorite model.
The limited edition of the Maestro Anniversary, produced in only 252 pieces (one for each month since the birth of the Company, from January 2000 to December 2020), was sold out in a short time.
Here exclusivity is elevated to the nth degree because, in this case, it is the collector who chooses his favorite date among those of the 252 months of the last 20 years, with the awareness of being the only one in the world to own a timepiece. with that month-year combination.
The case incorporates the original design of the Maestro model, clean and clear in the dial, with the addition, at six o’clock, the number celebrating the 20th anniversary and the so-called “smile”.
The rubber strap incorporates the pyramid pattern typical of the original model and water resistance is guaranteed up to 10 atmospheres.
The Anniversary was also produced in the Demi-Pavè and Full-Pavè versions, respectively with half and the entire case embellished with diamonds.
However, we cannot talk about the Gerald Charles brand, without telling who Gerald Genta is and the immense value that his works represent for watchmaking: he is undoubtedly considered the greatest and visionary watch designer of all time and has signed the most famous and successful timepieces in history.
Gerald Charles Genta: the story of the Maestro
Gerald Charles Genta was born in Geneva on May 1, 1931, to a Swiss mother and an Italian father.
Passionate about art, painting and architecture, after completing his goldsmith and jewelery studies, he was hired by the Swiss fashion house Universal Genève, a manufacturer of luxury watches.
Here begins the adventure of what today is the undisputed demiurge of the most famous and desired timepieces. If there is a circumstance in which the now used and abused adjective “iconic” can be truly fitting, it is to describe Gerald Genta’s design.
In 1954, at the age of 23, his pen gave life to the Universal Geneve Polerouter, a watch created to commemorate the Scandinavian Airlines enterprise which in 1953 organized the first polar air route from Copenhagen to Los Angeles, via the North Pole.
The route crossed the magnetic North Pole to shorten distances and decrease flight times, thus causing significant imbalances to flight instruments and pilots’ watches due to magnetism.
S-A-S then commissioned its wristwatch supplier, Universal Genève, to create an anti-magnetic one and the task was assigned to the very young Gerald Genta.
From that moment on, Genta – considered the Picasso of watchmaking – gave life to a series of models destined forever to change and mark the history of watchmaking.
The most prestigious Swiss manufacturers, in fact, turned to the young designer to create incredibly successful models: from Omega, who asked Genta to renew the Constellation collection, to Audemars Piguet, with the birth of the mythological and revolutionary Royal Oak (the first watch luxury steel), to Patek Philippe, for which Genta created the legendary Nautilus, up to IWC, with the Ingenieur.
Specifically, excluding the latest Maestro, the incredible genius of Gerald Genta gave birth to the following iconic watches.
1958: Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse
In 1958, Gerald Genta designed the Golden Ellipse for Patek Philippe, a masterpiece with a rounded rectangular shape designed by Genta using the “golden ratio”, the result of the Master’s in-depth studies of art and architecture.
The rectangle that uses the golden ratio is considered among the most pleasant to the human eye and has been used since ancient times in many monuments and works of art, such as the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops, the facade of the Parthenon in Athens, the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Golden Ellipse represents a true icon of luxury watchmaking, with its minimal style (only two hands on the dial), clean and at the same time prestigious.
1960: Omega Constellation
In 1959, Omega commissioned Gerald Genta to renew the Constellation collection, so much so as to earn the Maestro, from that moment, even the well-deserved nickname of “star designer”. In particular, we owe to Genta the famous “pie pan” dial, typical of 1950s watches, whose characteristic is to reflect light always in a different way.
1972: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
But the creation that perhaps most of all has made Genta ascend to the Olympus of Haute Horlogerie is the Royal Oak, a true turning point in design and in the timepiece market, destined to revolutionize and overturn every canon of watchmaking.
In 1970, Georges Golay, the Managing Director of Audemars Piguet commissioned Genta to design a watch that could revive the fortunes of the company, which was going through the crisis of quartz watches.
Genta was inspired by the nautical world, taking inspiration from old diving helmets and their characteristic screws, as well as from the oak hull of the HMS Royal Oak (hence the name), one of the warships of the Royal Navy fleet.
Genta designed the Royal Oak prototype in a single night, giving life to the first luxury watch in steel, a material hitherto relegated to less worthy models.
1976: Patek Philippe Nautilus
In 1976, another monument of watchmaking was born from the visionary genius of Genta, which thanks to the perfect balance between elegance and sporty lines, is still at the top of the wishes of every collector.
Also in this case, as for the Royal Oak, the inspiration came to Genta from the nautical world, with the shape of the dial that recalls the portholes of ocean liners and with the name, Nautilus, which is a tribute to the submarine from the novel by Jules Verne Twenty thousand leagues under the sea.
Legend has it that the sketch was drawn by Genta in just five minutes on a paper napkin, while he was in a restaurant.
1976: IWC Ingegnieur SL
In 1976 it was the turn of IWC, which owes the reinterpretation of the famous Ingenieur model to the pen of Genta, a great success still in production to this day.
It is a sober and elegant watch designed (like the Rolex Milgauss) for those who work in areas crossed by magnetic fields: thanks to the antimagnetic protections, the movement was shielded from magnetic fields up to 80,000 amps per meter. Hence the name “Engineer”.
1977: Bvlgari Bvlgari
Even the famous Bulgari-Bulgari model was born from the genius of Genta and, even in this case, art leaves its impressive trace, in the forms of ancient Rome. For this watch, in fact, Genta was inspired by the coins of the Empire, marked twice (hence the name) by the name of Bvlgari.
The model was a great success and, above all, it helped to project Bvlgari – which had always been the queen of high jewelery – in the Olympus of watchmaking.
1980: The Diseny Collection
In the 1980s, Gerald Genta obtained a license from Walt Disney to design watches using cartoon characters, Mickey, Goofy, Minnie and Donald, but with very precise movements. The collection caused a great stir, even up to indignation.
At the Montres et Bijoux exhibition, the models were exhibited among the classic Rolex and Vacherons, whose representatives – shocked by the novelty – accused Genta of discrediting Swiss watchmaking with these disruptive models. Genta, after replying that Disney, unlike the boring Swiss watchmakers, was a source of joy and fun for everyone, turned his back and walked away.
1984: Gefica Safari
The Gefica was commissioned in 1984 by three safari hunters, Geoffroy, Fissore and Canali, whose first two letters (Ge-Fi-Ca) named the watch.
The fundamental and revolutionary feature is the use of bronze for the case.
This unusual material was chosen by Genta both for aesthetic reasons, given that the bronze gives a warm and suggestive tone that recalls the landscapes of African safaris, and for practical reasons, as it is less inclined to reflect light with the risk of attracting animals. .
The Gefica in its original version (pictured left) featured a calendar and moon phases and a quartz movement. Subsequently it has been the subject of various reissues and is currently produced by Bvlgari which has acquired the Gerald Genta brand.
In addition to putting his signature on these milestones in watchmaking, Genta has prolifically collaborated with brands such as Cartier, Bulgari, Chaumet, Van Cleef & Arpels, Hamilton, Seiko and even Rolex, with which he produced the iconic King Midas.
The brand Gérald Genta
After successful years working in favor of other manufacturing houses, the Maestro, as is often the case, wanted to create, in 1969, a company bearing his name, registered under the name Gérald Genta, to produce watches of exceptional prestige, intended for selected collectors.
Precious materials, irresistible design and daring complications are the characteristics of the creations created by Gérald Genta, of which perhaps the most identifying are the Grande Sonnerie and the Retrograde.
1995: Gerald Genta Grande Sonnerie
One of the most iconic watches of Genta’s signature is undoubtedly the Grande Sonnerie, born after five years of study and research to amaze anyone who came across a specimen.
Sophisticated, complex and opulent, it is a true masterpiece that includes an incredible array of complications including the perpetual calendar and minute repeater.
According to Genta himself, “In 1995, if you were a king, a billionaire or even just a millionaire and you wanted to buy the ultimate in watches, you had to choose a GG Grande Sonnerie.”
Recently, two Grand Sonneries where sold at auction for a stuggering $800.000 and they were not even working… Discover more about it in this article!
And it is no coincidence that, among the clients of Gérald Genta, attracted by the extreme sophistication and distinctive taste of the Maestro, there are – among multimillionaires, stars and magnates – also the King of Morocco, the Sultan of Brunei, the King of Spain and the Queen Mother of the United Kingdom.
1996: Gerald Genta Retrograde
One year later, in 1996, Genta stuns again all his admirers with a brand new invention.
The Gerald Genta Retrograde is the first watch in history to ever read time combining jumping hours and retrograde minutes on the same dial, with the same movement.
In 2000, Gerald Genta sold the company – for $ 23 million – to Bvlgari, which continues to distribute the watches under the Gérald Genta brand.
Final Remarks
After recalling, albeit only in part, the incredible world created by the inspiration and talent of Master Gerald Genta, we can certainly recognize that, with his activity, he has kept faith with his aesthetic belief according to which “Beauty is something much appreciated all over the world “(Gerald Genta Archive, 2000).
Author: Benedetta Valcastelli
Translated by: Enrico Della Guerra
