It is impossible to be a fan of high-end watches and not know Gérald Genta Watches Who was this iconic designer? What is your background? We tell you about it here.
August 18, 2023 will mark 12 years since the death of this great character, but his legacy continues to leave its mark on the world of watchmaking.
The Style of Gérald Genta’s Watches.
The pieces created by this famous jeweler have classic and innovative airs, but also some models became very controversial.
Many of Genta’s watches stand out with their hard edges and show off the mechanics of a watch with nonchalance.
And ultimately he is quite right as every part of these high-end watches is an art worthy of display.
He had the audacity to make the world understand his particular vision of watchmaking and one of his personal hallmarks was undoubtedly to have shown the screws directly, the robustness and opt for case and bracelet “fused” as one.
In each of his designs he focuses on highlighting the essence of a watch to the maximum, mostly participating in the design of men’s watches that expose the technology and make the most of the materials.
Who was Gérald Genta?
The simplest answer would be to say that he was a genius who revolutionized the world of watchmaking for more than 30 years.
He had the ability like no one else to create luxury sports watches and is the author of models that are considered the greatest icons among contemporary watches.
His full name is Gérald Charles Genta, he was born in Geneva in 1931 and has Swedish and Italian blood running through his veins.
By the time he was 20 years old, he had already completed his jewelry studies and received his federal diploma, and it didn’t take him long to enter the world of watchmaking.
Great beginnings.
One of his first incursions was with Universal Genève, which at that time was one of the most recognized brands in the world.
In 1954, the airline SAS asked this manufacture for a watch that could withstand the extreme temperatures and magnetic fields during their complicated flights over the pole.
The team that created the watch included 23-year-old Genta and thus the Polerouter Watch, one of the first legends of Gerold, was born.
He participated in the design of more than 100,000 watches and in 1969 he developed his homonymous brand through which he made pieces for important clients.
Some of Gérald Genta ‘s watches were created for kings, sultans and other interesting characters.
What are the Gérald Genta Watches?
To make a detailed list of the watches in which this designer collaborated could be endless, so we are going to mention some of his best creations:
Royal Oak by Audemars Piguet.
Genta at the age of 38 had the responsibility of creating for Audemars Piguet one of the most acclaimed steel sports watches in the world.
It is the Royal Oak that remains the great star of Audemars Piguet in which Gérald knew how to combine elegance with sportiness in a masterful way.
The aesthetic codes of this model broke all the schemes of the time and marked a deep mark in the world of watchmaking.
A watch with a robust, octagonal-shaped bezel was not common, although the real disruptive element of the design was represented by the presence of the visible screws.
Precisely for this reason the piece was not an immediate success, however, today it is acclaimed and desired by collectors and investors.
Patek Philippe Nautilus High Range Watch
Henri Stern and Philippe Stern did not hesitate to call on Genta to help them create a piece that would be among the first luxury sports watches.
So the Geneva-born designer proposed a steel piece based on an octagonal shape reminiscent of boat windows.
In turn, the bracelet and case come together in the Nautilus in a perfect way to conquer the loyal buyers of the brand and also those who were not.
This model became the workhorse of Patek Philippe, so much so that if you currently want to have one of them you must sign up on a waiting list unless you get it second hand.
Bvlgari Bvlgari watch.
The design of the Bvlgari Bvlgari launched in the 80s comes from the creative mind of Genta, who got inspiration from Roman coins.
In these coins the faces of the emperor were surrounded by a double inscription, an idea that I took to use in the proposal.
He thought of a cylinder-shaped box design that evokes ancient architecture, based on the columns of Roman temples.
For this reason, the model was initially called Bulgari Roma, although it was eventually exhibited simply as Bvlgari Bvlgari Bvlgari.
Ingenieur SL by IWC
Ingenieur is a piece that focused on paying tribute to scientists and engineers, in which an interesting work was done on the bezel, dial, indexes, hands and bracelet.
The model was equipped with antimagnetic protection, with the idea that it could be used by professionals working near magnetic fields.
The qualities of this watch are accompanied by a sporty steel case, and the magic touch is added by five screws on the bezel (only present in the first versions).
Pasha de Cartier watch.
Its official launch took place in 1985, however Cartier had it long before, specifically since 1943 when the Pasha of Marrakech (Morocco). Thami El Glaoui ordered a watch from Louis Cartier.
At that time Cartier contacted Gérald Genta, for his collaboration in the design, and thus combined handles designed by Louis Cartier in 1934 with a round case and a prominent crown.
With its own name!
With its own name!In addition to his collaborations for various manufactures, Gérald created watches with his own name.
In 1982, Gérald Genta created his own workshop in Geneva and this was the beginning of great successes, then in 2000, the Gérald Genta brand was acquired so it served as a base for this brand to settle in the world of fine watchmaking.
One of the great proposals with its own name is the Gérald Genta SPORT CHRONOGRAPH GRANDE DATE watch that you can see here.