Gérald Genta: The Life of the Designer Who Created the Best-Selling Products

Gérald Genta, a leading figure in watch design. Learn about his life in watchmaking, which led to the creation of the legendary Nautilus and Royal Oak, and explore the key to creating best-selling products. We also introduce words from his wife, Evelyn, and look at the future of his legacy, including his approximately 3400 drawings.

Gerald Genta: the perfect blend of creativity and practicality

　Gérald Charles Genta is considered by many to be the leading watch designer of the 20th century. A prolific designer throughout his long life, Genta achieved international renown for his uncompromising artistry.

　His most famous creations include the Polerouter for Universal Genève (1954), the Omega Constellation (1962) and Seamaster Polaris (1982), the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (1972), the Patek Philippe Nautilus (1976), and the IWC Ingenieur (1976). He has also collaborated with numerous brands, including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Hamilton, and Seiko. More recently, Bulgari's Octo watch has gained a cult following, named after the original Gérald Genta Octo (Bulgari acquired Genta's company in 2000).

　Genta's success wasn't overnight; his beginnings were humble. For nearly 20 years before he launched his own brand, he worked tirelessly and anonymously for numerous brands. "Gérald would often drive around with many designs and go to Bienne, La Chaux-de-Fonds, or Le Brassus to sell them to companies based there," recalls his widow, Evelyn Genta. "He sold them to Piaget, Corum, Vacheron Constantin, and others, but he never claimed the name. That's why many of his designs are unknown to us today."

Ensuring freedom to create

　Evelyn also said, "That's how Gérald started his career, but he never wanted a boss." He always worked freelance or on a contract basis; even when he designed the Royal Oak, he wasn't employed by Audemars Piguet. Genta's independence and artistic self-confidence allowed him to demonstrate his unconventional creative talent.

　Evelyn remembers the excitement that Gérald Genta's Mickey Mouse watch generated at Montres et Bijoux in Geneva in 1984 (the big trade fair that preceded SIHH). At this point, Genta, the maverick, was enjoying "design independence and distance from the conventions of luxury watchmaking."

　The new collection, featuring Disney characters, caused a furor. Rolex and Vacheron Constantin called it a "disgrace to Swiss watchmaking" and the organizers demanded that it be removed. As a result, Genta withdrew from the exhibition. Other brands, including Cartier and Ebel, followed suit. The uproar made national television and front page news. "I was devastated," Evelyn says.

　The brick that Gérald Genta dropped into the quiet pond of Swiss luxury watchmaking was a big one. For the first time, someone was upending standard values. A fundamental questioning of the concept of "artist's freedom" was raised. "To create something, you need to be free, and that's why Genta never worked for anyone," says Evelyn.

　Genta needed freedom to maintain the originality of his creations. "Gerard never looked at other watches, at pre-existing items, at what others had done." This allowed him to create and revitalize any brand's collection, breaking away from the conventions of tradition and self-satisfaction. As a designer, he drew inspiration from nature. "It was always about form."

　Genta's only daughter, Alexia Genta, remembers his keen eye for detail: "When I was little, my father took me to the Rose Garden in Monaco. It was just a short walk, but it took hours, as he stopped to examine every color and shape. He would comment on how amazing a fly's eye was, something I found difficult to understand."

One of the keys to success is "applying art to watches"

　Genta was constantly creating and innovating, combining new shapes and forms with complex mechanisms. "What I think is missing today is creativity in design. The mechanics are far beyond extraordinary, but the design..." Evelyn pauses. "Gérald saw watchmaking as an applied art. He applied art to watches, which, unlike art, are wearable."

　Evelyn Genta joined her husband's business in 1983, shortly after their marriage, allowing him to focus on watchmaking. Behind the scenes, she was the brains and driving force behind the business, responsible for finance, operations, and international market development. "I worked with my husband for 30 years. We woke up together in the morning, went to the factory together. We were partners in every way. Gérald knew what was important and what wasn't."

"The watches Gerald designed were not only artistic, but also mass-produced because he designed them in the right size and the right way, meaning they could be mass-produced," Evelyn adds.

　These somewhat unusual perspectives for the time were derived from building a watchmaking venture. After the so-called quartz crisis, Genta had two factories in Switzerland, employed around 250 people, and ran three businesses: private label work for Graff, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Cartier; and a line of watches manufactured in-house. However, their primary focus was on prototyping.

"Gerard never stopped creating. The factory had an incredible ability to create prototypes. Other companies would make one prototype, reduce the cost, recreate it, and then mass-produce thousands of them. But Gerard just kept making them." Practice breeds genius. It's no coincidence that he had the secrets and intuition to create market hits. "That's why we had so many watches that no one had ever seen before."

　Over his lifetime, Genta designed more than 10 watches for renowned watchmakers, his own brands, and prestigious private clients. He left behind 3400 drawings and prototypes, meticulously documented and archived. Some of them are "very iconic," says Evelyn. "Gérard was designing with new bestsellers in mind. He told me he had at least 50 watches that could become future Nautiluses and Royal Oaks."

Gérald Genta's Legacy

　As the steward of such a treasure trove, Evelyn is tasked with upholding Gérald Genta's legacy. She founded the Gérald Genta Heritage Association to "pay tribute to one of the greatest watch designers in history" and "inspire and celebrate promising young talent." Currently serving as Monaco's ambassador to the UK, the diplomat has assembled a board of directors made up of "prominent watchmakers and industry experts" who help guide the association's key decisions.

　From the 25th anniversary of the Royal Oak Offshore to the anniversary of Gérald Genta's company's founding 50 years ago, "my father was surrounded by a lot of press," Alexia Genta says. "There was a young, in-the-know community of people there, many of them millennials under 35. And about 70 percent of our Instagram followers are between 25 and 45." Such is the growing interest in Genta's career. "It feels like there's momentum to do something," she continues.

　Evelyn Genta has revealed that she plans to create an award to financially support watch designers, and also to "bring [her husband's] new creations to the world," as well as an exhibition featuring 110 designs, prototypes, and special watches from her archives.