Gerald Genta and Daniel Roth move to Louis Vuitton and officially "resurrect" their brands. LVMH Group's commitment to the watch business is accelerating!

In 2024, the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) Group announced the official revival of two brands, Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth, and unveiled their new works at LVMH Watch Week, a trade fair for new watches held every January. Drawing on my experience covering the subject since the 1990s, I would like to discuss the reasons and significance of this decision.

A full-scale revival in perfect condition!

The revival (resurrection?) of Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth from the Bulgari brand to the Louis Vuitton brand is a dream come true for me, and although it's only April, it's one of the most exciting things about 2024.

　This may seem like preaching to the choir to those who read webChronos or the Japanese edition of Chronos, but let me say it again: The boom in luxury mechanical watches, which has continued to expand for over 30 years since the late 1980s, would not have reached the heights it did from the 1990s to 2000, and would not have developed to the extent that it has without these two great watch designers and watchmaking brands.

　When talking about Gérald Genta's greatness, the focus is often on the designs he provided for numerous prestigious watch brands, but few people truly understand that the super-complex watch mechanisms created by the complicated watchmaking workshop (atelier) led by Pierre-Michel Golay and others in Le Sentier, in the Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, which existed until the brand was acquired in 2000, were just as impressive.

　I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to cover this atelier in the late 1990s, and I still remember the confident words of Pierre-Michel Golay, who was then in charge of watch development.

"Our work begins with the design sketches sent by fax from Mr. Genta in Monaco. We then consider how to realize the functions depicted in the sketches. It's not that difficult."

　The most important point about this "Resurrection of Gerald Genta and Daniel Roth" is that this revival is taking place under the Louis Vuitton brand, rather than Bulgari, which has owned these two brands since 2000. Specifically, La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, a subsidiary of Louis Vuitton currently led by Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, two great watchmakers who worked in Gerald Genta's atelier from the late 1980s to the mid-90s, will be responsible for developing and manufacturing new watches for these two watch brands.

　This means that the watch will be crafted by an exceptional team of watchmakers who know better than anyone the "Gerald Genta DNA" that he was once at the heart of.

　And, while this is merely my own speculation, I believe the watchmaking team at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton must have a deep connection with Daniel Roth. This is because, after Bulgari acquired Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth, the respective ateliers were integrated and operated by Bulgari after 2000. Considering the career plans of talented Swiss watchmakers, it is natural to assume that the watchmakers at La Fabrique du Temps and the two ateliers have had personal interactions, at least since the company became a subsidiary of Louis Vuitton.

The director is the person who understands me best!

The development and manufacturing system at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton is home to a young leader who perhaps has the greatest understanding and respect for complicated watches and watch culture within the LVMH Group. That's Jean Arnault, Marketing and Product Development Director for Louis Vuitton's Watch Division and the fourth son of LVMH Group Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault. Having studied mechanical engineering at Imperial College London's graduate school and earned a master's degree in mathematical finance from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he possesses the greatest knowledge of mechanical engineering and science and mathematics in his family.

　In a 2022 interview with Jean Arnault in Japan, he explained that his interest in watches began when he saw a Daniel Roth automaton watch made by Bulgari in a Paris boutique with his father. He has been interested in complicated watches since childhood, and is the project's general manager. He has achieved numerous accomplishments that have impressed industry heavyweights, including an ultra-complicated automaton watch that won the Geneva Grand Prix for Watchmaking (GPHG) and a luxury sports model of the Tambour.

　As I wrote in my January 15, 2024 column, "The future of the watch industry is sure to be in the hands of the Arnault brothers! Exciting new appointments at LVMH's watch division," just above Jean Arnault is his brother, Frédéric Arnault, who was previously CEO of TAG Heuer and has now become head of LVMH's watch division. In other words, the LVMH Group's watch division is an area with the greatest potential for growth going forward and is expected to become a core part of the group, so further investment is certain to be made.

　There is no doubt that Gerald Genta and Daniel Roth are at the pinnacle of modern mechanical watch culture, which began in the 1980s, and of the LVMH Group's watch division.