Gerald Genta is probably the most famous watch designer in history known for his identifiable style, worldclass designs and attention to detail. While watches like the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and IWC Ingenieur lead the way, he also produced watches through his eponymous brand Gérald Genta. Today that brand finds itself in the stewardship of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, who have produced the new Gérald Genta Minute Repeater.
Being the stewards of such a big name isn’t an easy task because there are multiple directions in which you could take the brand. One option is the heritage route, reproducing the watches that Genta produced during his lifetime. However, doing so would essentially turn the brand into a static museum of Genta’s work, which doesn’t feel right when Genta was constantly innovating. Creating new watches with modern watchmakers and new designs that fit within the influence and inspiration of Genta’s original work is a much more authentic legacy.
And that’s exactly what the new Gérald Genta Minute Repeater is. It’s a brand new watch designed by Matthieu Hegi, Artistic Director of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, and brought to life by the maison’s master watchmakers Enrico Barbasini and Michel Navas. But at every turn it pays homage to the man whose name graces the dial. That’s primarily through the fact that the minute repeater was Genta’s favourite complication and he worked on them constantly, developing his own movement as well.
His obsession was on perfecting the acoustics of the chiming complication and so that’s also the focus here. For that reason, the 40mm x 9.6mm yellow gold case is exceptionally thin. At points the metal walls are as thin as 0.6mm and the sapphire glass has been reduced from 1mm to 0.8mm thick in order to amplify the sound created by the Calibre GG-002, which was developed entirely in-house. The chime itself is produced by black polished hammers and gongs that have been manually tuned by ear and adjusted by hand.
While we’re talking about the GG-002, it’s also immaculately finished with a combination of Côtes de Genève, perlage, hand-bevelled anglage and snailing. It also features an 80-hour power reserve, supplied via manual winding, which is exceptional given the power hungry nature of a minute repeater complication. Through the exhibition caseback you can also see that the inertia wheel has been given an octagonal shape in reference to the shape Genta used in some of his most iconic work (cough, Royal Oak, cough).
The octagon shape is also more subtly expressed through the smooth lines of the cushion case. The angular edged of the octagon shape being softened until it produces a single sweeping line encircling the entire watch. It’s actually easier to understand the shape of the watch by looking at the railway minute track, which varies in width in order to create a perfect circle with the inner rail while maintaining a consistent distance to the edge of the case from the outer rail.
The dial it’s presented on is made from onyx, making this the third watch at Geneva Watch Days to feature this particular stone. The Furlan Marri Onyx Diamond and Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar both also use the material. So perhaps onyx is the ultimate winner from the increased interest in stone dials.
In terms of availability, the Gérald Genta Minute Repeater is limited to a production of just 10 pieces per year. It’s listed as price on request but rumours online circulate a figure in excess of CHF 300,000. For a hand-produced minute repeater where each movement takes more than four weeks to make, I can well believe that. It is an exceptional piece of horology that blends modern and traditional watchmaking while simultaneously embracing new and heritage design elements. The perfect tribute to a legend.
Price and Specs:
More details at Gerald Genta.
