There are complications that can be observed through a dial. The minute repeater, first and foremost, demands to be heard. Gérald Genta understood this very well: it was one of the complications he loved most, capable of combining mechanical virtuosity with emotion through sound.
At his side was Pierre-Michel Golay, a master watchmaker and opera enthusiast. Together, they worked for a long time on the acoustic quality of Genta’s minute repeaters, seeking in the timbre, resonance, and purity of the notes something that went beyond simply signaling the time.
It is almost inevitable, then, that the new Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian, unveiled at the 2026 Geneva Watch Days, would take its cue from there. Following the Black Onyx, Gérald Genta returns to his beloved complication with a 3N yellow gold case, a dial crafted from obsidian, and the GG-002 in-house caliber, developed by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
At first glance, it’s the dial that catches your eye. Then you slide the slider on the case, and the watch begins to tell time in a whole new way.
Genta, Golay, and Their Passion for Sound
The Geneva Collection takes its name from the city where Gérald Genta founded his Maison in 1969. The inspiration is what the designer himself called L’Esprit de Genève: in his vision, the savoir-faire of the Geneva-based Cabinotiers blended with a freer, more instinctive Italian sensibility.
The minute repeater is perhaps one of the areas where this dual nature is most clearly evident. Behind the simplicity of the action, moving the slider and listening to the watch chime the hours, quarters, and minutes, lies one of the most delicate mechanisms in fine watchmaking.
With the Golden Obsidian, every decision regarding the movement was made with an eye toward how it would feel. Even the case material.
A cabinet designed with resonance in mind
The silhouette is the now recognizable one of the Geneva collection: 40 mm, a coussin-shaped profile, polished double godrons, and satin-finished surfaces, with that softness of lines that is part of Genta’s design vocabulary without becoming a literal reference to the past.
However, 3N yellow gold serves a purpose that goes beyond aesthetics. Its acoustic properties promote a warm and clear resonance, and the case was calibrated by Matthieu Hegi, Artistic Director of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, to work in tandem with the minute repeater as a true soundbox. The result is particularly remarkable given the watch’s overall thickness: 9.60 mm.
At their thinnest point, the case walls are just 0.6 mm thick. The bezel and caseback are hollowed out internally with circular holes to reduce the mass that could impede sound propagation. The two components are screwed directly together, cutting the number of screws needed in half while maintaining the structure’s rigidity; even the screws lack additional guides, once again to eliminate unnecessary mass.
Sapphire also comes into play: 0.8 mm instead of the usual millimeter, again with the goal of enhancing sound transmission.
The crown follows the curve of the middle section with a slim profile, almost disappearing when not in use. The alternating satin-finished and polished surfaces of the case highlight the double fluting, a direct reference to some of Gérald Genta’s historic creations.
A dial born of fire
The dial is crafted from golden obsidian, a volcanic glass formed by the rapid cooling of lava. The dark surface contains inclusions and reflections in shades of gold and brown, which appear differently depending on the angle of the light.
Above all, no two are exactly alike. The veining, inclusions, and color distribution are inherent to the stone itself. Each Golden Obsidian will therefore have a one-of-a-kind dial, without the need for decorative treatments to simulate uniqueness. The material itself takes care of that.
Matthieu Hegi highlights the rarity of the gold-brown combination, which is less common than predominantly black obsidian with lighter inclusions. Alongside the yellow gold of the case, these shades create a particularly warm chromatic continuity.
The hour markers and hands, also in yellow gold, are curved and rounded. The white minute track, on the other hand, introduces a subtle play on perspective: circular along the inner edge, it follows the cushion-shaped profile of the case on the outside. The eye thus shifts between the circle and the cushion shape, a geometric overlap very much in the Genta style, playing with seemingly elementary forms.
And then there’s that small golden obsidian cabochon on the crown. An almost private detail, yet enough to bring the dial and case together when the watch is viewed from the side.
GG-002: A minute repeater tuned by ear
Turning back the clock means entering the realm of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, the two master watchmakers who developed the GG-002 caliber entirely within La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
It is a hand-wound movement measuring 32.4 mm in diameter and just 5.46 mm thick, consisting of 316 components and 32 jewels. It operates at 3 Hz and offers an 80-hour power reserve.
Each gong is individually cut and tuned by hand and by ear, with adjustments made until the desired amplitude of vibration is achieved. The instrument features traditional single-ring gongs and hammers with a mirror-black finish, which produce the repetitive sound sequence.
This is a step we particularly enjoy because it restores the complication to its most authentic form. We can calculate frequencies, design volumes, and work on tolerances with infinitesimal precision; in the end, someone still has to listen.
When even the movement speaks Genta’s language
The GG-002 is worth your time even after the last note has faded away.
The finishing is done entirely by hand according to the standards of fine watchmaking: Côtes de Genève, perlage, and hand-beveling adorn the bridges and components, while the balance wheel features polished gold weights to adjust its inertia, a refined and uncommon solution in minute repeaters.
Then a detail appears that cannot possibly be considered a coincidence: the octagonal balance wheel. The octagon is one of the geometric shapes most immediately associated with Gérald Genta’s work, and here it is incorporated into the movement itself, away from the display on the dial. It’s a subtle nod, almost intended for those who choose to truly take a closer look at the caliber.
Even the manual winding mechanism contributes to the experience through a sophisticated bar-click system, adding a tactile element to a watch already built around the relationship between mechanics and the senses.
The Luxury of Listening to Time
The Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian belongs to that category of watches for which a photograph, no matter how beautiful, inevitably ends up telling only half the story.
We can admire the iridescence of the obsidian, trace the fluted edges of the case, and lose ourselves in the finishes of the GG-002. We’re still missing the most important part: hearing it play.
This is what makes the minute repeater so captivating even today. In an age when checking the time requires just a glance, one of the most difficult complications to create still requires hundreds of components, gongs tuned by ear, hammers polished to a mirror finish, and a case machined to within a few tenths of a millimeter, all so that we can close our eyes and listen to it.
Gérald Genta was searching for precisely this emotion in sound. With the Golden Obsidian, one can’t help but wonder whether Navas, Barbasini, and La Fabrique du Temps have managed to recapture it.
The new Gérald Genta Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian will be available starting in September 2026. The 3N yellow gold case measures 40 mm in diameter and 9.6 mm in thickness; the strap is made of brown calfskin leather; and the price is available upon request.
Are you looking for the perfect gift? Explore our online store and discover the entire collection signed IWS – Italian Watch Spotter!
For all real-time updates on the world of watchmaking follow us on Instagram and visit our Youtube channel.
