Almost exactly one year ago to the day Gérald Genta introduced the Geneva Minute Repeater with black onyx dial. A tribute to the late great of watchmaking’s obsession with perfecting the minute repeater complication and designing the perfect acoustics for a watch. For 2026 they’re releasing a second version of that watch with an updated dial: the Gérald Genta Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian.
This is a pretty self-explanatory dial swap – the black onyx dial of the 2025 edition is now produced in golden obsidian. It’s a dramatic flip from the smooth, inky black of the onyx to the somewhat rough, grainy texture of the golden obsidian. Obsidian is a type of naturally forming volcanic glass and is most commonly black – the golden variant is typically caused by imperfections such as micro gas bubbles and particulates that predominantly occur in certain geological areas like Mexico and the US. As with all natural stones and glasses, no two dials are identical adding an individuality to each watch in the series.
Beyond the dial, there aren’t any major changes to speak of compared to the previous version. The case is still made from yellow gold thanks to the metal’s natural sonorous qualities that improve the acoustics of the minute repeater chime. It still measures 40mm diameter in a cushion shape with a thickness of 9.6mm, which is actually very slim by minute repeater standards. It has central lugs that connect to a brown leather strap.
Through the caseback you can see the GG-002 manufacture minute repeater movement. It’s manual winding with an 80-hour power reserve. Given the power intensive nature of a minute repeater (due to the force required to activate the hammer and gong chiming mechanism) that’s a seriously impressive reserve. The hammer and gongs are visible too, with the hammers positioned around 2 o’clock when looking at the caseback and the gongs encircling the edge of the display.
Like the Geneva Minute Repeater Black Onyx, the Golden Obsidian is price on request. We also know that the Black Onyx is limited to 10 pieces per year and so it would follow that the Golden Obsidian is similarly limited by production.
Price and Specs:
More details at Gérald Genta.
