The Polerouter’s dial was the template for 1959’s Genta-designed Omega Constellation, which would angle the steel outer dial to become the now famous “pie pan” that showed up on more than a few Seamasters, and which continues to adorn modern Constellations. Genta’s Constellation marks the end of a distinct period for the designer, as he would soon turn to far more groundbreaking designs.
Photo by Atom Moore, Courtesy of Analog/Shift
Genta came back to Universal Genève in the 1960s to design the Golden Shadow and White Shadow. The Shadows show Genta’s newfound fascination with ultra-thin elliptical cases, which again relied on ultra-thin movements with micro-rotors, and later Bulova’s pre-quartz electronic Accutron movements. The Shadows were revolutionary in their technology and their design, and this caught the eye of Patek Philippe, who hired Genta to design 1968’s Golden Ellipse.
Courtesy of The Real Real
Many consider The Golden Ellipse a masterpiece of Mid-Century watchmaking, if also Patek’s first mimical design (there would be another in the Genta-designed Nautilus of 1976). The Golden Ellipse debuted in 1968 and has had a healthy run that peaked in the 1970s, tapered down to jewel-encrusted women’s models during the 1990s, and eventually came back to its roots in recent decades. In 2008, Patek Philippe celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Golden Ellipse with a platinum reissue, and for the watch’s 50th Anniversary in 2018, Patek released a modern-sized gold version. True to the original, the 2018 Golden Ellipse runs on Patek’s Calibre 240 with a micro-rotor that brings the watch’s thickness below 6 mm.
Courtesy of Patek Philippe
The 1970s turned out to be Genta’s decade of hits. He delivered classics for Bvlgari, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and IWC. In 1975, Bvlgari released the oddly named Bvlgari Bvlgari, a watch that defied all expectations one might have had for Genta’s work. Genta used an ancient Roman coin as the inspiration for the Bvlgari Bvlgari’s bezel, engraving it deeply with the brand name twice (thus the odd name), and he drew upon the columns of ancient Roman architecture as inspiration for the cylindrical case. The Bvlgari Bvlgari has been a running hit for the Italian brand for decades. They’ve since acquired Gerald Genta’s own eponymous watch brand and have captured the imagination of watch fans with Genta’s Octo Finissimo, which, in true Genta style, continually breaks thinness records.
In terms of overall impact within the watch industry, Genta’s Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet is arguably his greatest achievement. This nautically inspired watch–which Genta claims to have designed in one evening—certainly transformed Audemars Piguet from a respected brand into an industry powerhouse, but the Royal Oak also created the entire luxury sports watch category. The Royal Oak came out in 1970, and it captured the emerging fashion zeitgeist, which breezily combined casual attire and high fashion; think designer jeans and leisure suits, and you get the gist. Few watches are as instantly recognisable, broadly loved, and shamelessly imitated.
Courtesy of Audemars Piguet
It was Patek Philippe who imitated Audemars Piguet most blatantly by hiring Genta to design the now-classic Nautilus. Released in 1976, the Nautilus was Patek’s first sports watch, and because of its similarity to the Royal Oak, it garnered mixed reviews from hardcore Patek fans. But the Nautilus had the desired effect of attracting the growing consumer base for elegant sports watches to Patek Philippe, a traditional brand that feared going out of vogue as the world rushed along at supersonic speeds. Today, the Nautilus is perhaps more of a hit than it ever was, with waiting lists for steel models going on for years. Any misgivings over its imitative nature have been long forgiven and/or forgotten, and the Nautilus looks as hip today as it did in the 1970s.
Courtesy of Patek Philippe
IWC was another brand that needed a new look to keep pace with the fast-changing fashions of the 1970s, and in 1976, they introduced the Genta-designed Ingenieur as its entry into the luxury sports watch category. Though less celebrated than the Royal Oak or the Nautilus, the Ingenieur rounds out a trio of 70s hits from Genta. All three of these watches have been in continuous production since they first arrived on the scene.
In the 1980s, Genta went on to create his own eponymous brand (eventually acquired by Bvlgari). Genta’s company produced watches that get the chairs creaking in the auction houses as people crane their necks to witness the bids soar. And while Genta’s own brand was filled with masterpieces, they were mostly made in small numbers for elite watch aficionados, and thus never gained the popularity a watch can achieve via big brand marketing.
Photo: Courtesy of Bob’s Watches and Cartier
But there was one more dressy sports watch for Genta to design for a famous brand, this time Cartier. The Pasha de Cartier had been around since the 1930s when Mr. Cartier designed an elegant yet waterproof watch specifically for the Pasha of Marrakech, who swam daily. In 1985, Cartier–always charmingly late to the game–updated the Pasha as a luxury sports offering. With 100m of water resistance, Arabic numerals, and a round case, Genta’s Pasha was pushing the boundaries of what a Cartier could be, but he counterbalanced these innovations by including Louis Cartier’s own Vendome lugs and signature nipple crown topped with a blue sapphire.
The Pasha is not currently on offer from Cartier, but it opened the floodgates for Cartier to indulge in round watches. Today, there are numerous round models within the Cartier catalogue, and each of them carries Genta’s touch.
Courtesy of Bob’s Watches
Genta created all kinds of watches for brands like Timex, Benrus, Seiko, and Rolex (check out the Rolex King Midas for a truly unique piece). These watches were less celebrated than the icons above, yet they demonstrate, if only in sheer numbers, how broad-reaching Genta’s influence was on watch design. Though we can account for the disappearance of the lone genius designer to various cultural, technological, and economic factors, perhaps we are closer to the truth in saying that Gerald Genta was one-in-a-million, and that the stars aligned to raise this ambitious young Swiss kid to his now legendary status among the great artists of the 20th Century.
