Ingenuity, thinly veiled in classic inspirations. What have I done is part of a series of shorter articles where our team discusses our recent purchases. It allows us to share why we have picked up specific models and the knowledge we have gained during the purchasing journey.
Gérald Genta’s designs have stood the test of time and fended off waves of shock and criticism. The popularity of his work has shaped and influenced the watch industry and collectors for decades. However, the true peak of his creativity was likely at his eponymous Gérald Genta brand. To explore his work, we are going to do a deep dive on the Gérald Genta Backtimer, a limited edition 18K white gold piece with a possibly unique day countdown complication.
A macro shot unveiling the details on the dial... 2000!
Source: Generalist
You’ve seen the Disney pieces and the retros. We think these are likely the larger series production pieces of the brand. It is likely that the people behind the eponymous brand spent the majority of their time creating exclusive and piece unique creations for immensely wealthy clientele. Michel Navas, head watchmaker at the relaunched Gérald Genta, recalls the story of their team building three unique dashboard clocks, for three different Ferraris. Each was an 8-day power reserve perpetual calendar, showing the sheer extravagance of the some of their work.
Alongside these bespoke creations, the team was heavily invested in bring Genta’s artistic vision to life in watches. The brand’s automatic perpetual calendars and ultra-thin minute repeaters were incredible creations in a time where the entire Swiss watch industry was on the verge of falling apart. Evelyn Genta recalls that Gérald had the ability to sketch pieces with all the proportions nearly ready for production. This also speaks to the quality of the teams he must have worked with who managed to convert these sketches to reality.
The Gérald Genta Backtimer
Source: Generalist
The Backtimer is emblematic of the creative license the team had. 456 days before the year 2000, they launched a day countdown watch. It is possible that there is no other mechanical wristwatch in the world that has such a complication. If you do find evidence of other such creations, please share it with us.
The Backtimer is a limited edition of 456 pieces. The movement is a JLC base with the day countdown complication built on top. The complication was likely crafted by Pierre Michel Golay and his team of watchmakers specifically for this piece. On the top half of the white gold case, there are three pushers, each controlling one of the numerals in the day countdown. Everyday, near the end of the day, the countdown reduces by one as you near your next big event. This is no easy feat. Consider that even refining a time-only movement to go from having indirect seconds to central seconds was considered a complication decades ago. To build something completely new from scratch needs a combination of technical knowledge and experience that you will not find at every brand.
In the 21st century, the movement is the elephant in the room. For an exclusive creation with Genta's name on it to have a JLC base may be unthinkable today due to the success of the in-house movement marketing efforts over the years. However, in reality the JLC 889 used is a thin and reliable movement that is finished to incredibly high standards. Many top watch manufacturers leveraged on pre-existing calibers that were available in the market back then such as Frédéric Piguet or JLC, and Genta was no exception.
On the wrist, the 38mm case with short and straight lugs sits perfectly centred. The crown has the iconic shape of a large dome with a few protrusions. Looking at the underside of the watch, you can see it is shaped to slide perfectly into the case, rather than to solely protrude from it. This is a level of attention to detail and obsession that you are far more likely to see with independents.
Handling this piece immediately shows how there was immense thought and consideration that went into every aspect of its design. Case making is an underrated element of watchmaking but plays a huge role in how the piece sits on the wrist especially after hours of wearing. The current era where costs of production of all watchmaking components has reduced dramatically, we are seeing more watches that look exactly like vintage pieces at the fraction of the cost. This is a fantastic development as it allows more consumers to access brilliant designs. The trade off however is that the feel in the hand and on the wrist can’t compare as the same level of time and attention to detail may not have gone into crafting these cases as it would have in the past.
Personally, this is the era of Genta that I hope gets revived by the team at La Fabrique du Temps. Since the sale to The Hour Glass and eventually Bulgari, specific Genta designs have gone on to be iterated into smash hits such as the Octo Finissimo. Especially at Bulgari, the Genta catalogue became more a source of inspiration than a driver of creativity. Some bi-retro designs continued to pop-up and the Genta name disappeared and re-appeared on the dial over the course of a decade but The Maestro’s influence was kept in the background once again.
It is likely that the the creative license to produce unique complications was significantly restricted in this period. However, part of the allure of mechanical watchmaking is the ability of artisans to measure the passing of time in new ways. Regardless of whether they use classic techniques or more innovative ways to measure time, it connects the owner of a piece to a much longer lineage of watchmaking. I hope the relaunched Gérald Genta is a callback to their work in the 1990s, and brings both a revival of the sheer creativity and iterations of designs from that era. The early signs, such as the Success cased minute repeater for OnlyWatch 2023, are very promising.