Lot 16
GÉRALD GENTA
GÉRALD GENTA ONLY WATCH 2023
A magical take on Haute Horlogerie combining a playful display of time with Disney’s Mickey Mouse and an on-demand chiming time. The octagonal case celebrating Gérald Genta design masterpieces.
Description
For its very first participation in Only Watch, Gérald Genta is unveiling a minute repeater watch with Disney’s Mickey Mouse playfully indicating the time.
This beloved character has played a central role in the Gérald Genta brand since the 1980s. Mr. Genta, the “Picasso of watchmaking” who gave his name to the watch brand, was bold enough to combine cartoon characters with high-complication watchmaking from 1984 onwards. This was a radical new direction in watchmaking – whimsical and daring, while undeniably keeping with an ongoing quest for excellence.
Now, under the lead of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini and on the initiative of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the Gérald Genta team is celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary as well as the 50th anniversary of the Maestro’s first watch under his own name in 1973, with a joyful Mickey Mouse in the iconic Gérald Genta octagonal case.
Mickey’s swivelling arm, pointing to the retrograde minutes along an arch marked 0 to 60 paired with a jumping hour complication, and the minute repeater chiming the precise hour are three key ingredients in the Gérald Genta brand’s DNA. Though occasionally sketched by the Maestro himself, this masterpiece is the first Gérald Genta watch combining these elements together.The design is very meaningful for Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, who spent many years working with famed Master Watchmaker Pierre-Michel Golay to bring Mr. Genta’s groundbreaking, creative designs to life.
Aside from the enchanting animation driven by several horological complications, this defining timepiece features a white gold octagonal case – a hallmark design cherished by Gérald Genta for its very legible symmetry and spiritual significance. The champlevé enamel dial showcases a smiling enameled Mickey Mouse holding a birthday cake aloft with one hand — a reference to both the Disney’s 100th anniversary and the 10th edition of Only Watch.
Specifications
Model name:
Gérald Genta Only Watch 2023
Ref: GG0011WG-01
Case:
The design of the case is a contemporary interpretation of the legendary and signature octagonal case design of Mr. Genta.
Made from white gold - Water-resistant to 50 meters - Alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces - Display caseback to admire the all-new Manufacture caliber GG-001 - Engraving Only Watch on the caseback - A red ruby cabochon is crimped into the winding & time-setting crown at 3 o’clock.
Dial:
Dial made from white gold with an enameled figure of Mickey Mouse playfully indicating the time and holding a birthday cake with one hand to celebrate Disney’s 100thanniversary.
Enamel grand feu: champlevé (done in house at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton by Nicolas Doublel) - The right arm of Mickey Mouse is animated and displays the minute retrograde on an arch from 0 to 60 - A guichet at 3 o’clock displays the jumping hour.
Calibre:
New caliber GG-001 developed and manufactured at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton under the supervision of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, who worked with Mr. Genta himself - Made of 394 components - Power reserve: 80 hours - Frequency: 3Hz
Bracelet:
Tang type buckle in white gold
Strap: Red rubber
Dimensions:
Width from 3 - 9 o'clock and 6 - 12 o'clock: 40mm
Thickness: 10.96mm
Strap : 20 – 18mm
Specificities:
Sketched by Mr. Genta but never concretized, this is the first time a Gérald Genta watch combines a minute repeater complication with a minute retrograde displayed by an animated Mickey Mouse – two of the most defining elements of Genta’s DNA.
A meaningful realization for Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, who learnt those complications from Mr. Genta himself and for whom it was crucial to revive the brand with a watch that the Maestro would have been proud of.
The brand
Gérald Genta
Founded in 1969 as the eponymous brand of a genius prolific designer, considered as the greatest watch stylist of his time, the brand Gérald Genta enabled the Maestro to concretize his very own vision of high watchmaking with a clear mission: creating extraordinary watches for extraordinary clients.
Since its first watch in 1973, the brand established a rule-breaking aesthetic identity predicated on the interplay of circular and rectilinear geometric shapes and was revered as one of the early pioneers of independent watchmaking, with its first ultra-thin minute repeater wristwatch in 1981 and the most elaborate wristwatch of its time, the Grande Sonnerie of 1994, which required five years of research and development.
Never afraid of wit and whimsy; Gérald Genta was bold enough to combine Disney cartoon characters with high-complication watchmaking from 1984 onwards. A radical new direction in the watchmaking landscape.
Today, Gérald Genta is revived with the support of la Fabrique du Temps – Louis Vuitton and under the supervision of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini who worked with Mr. Genta. The brand will focus on reviving Mr. Genta’s DNA and uncompromising approach: high—watchmaking complications reinterpreted into whimsical horological creations.