Hands On With The Gérald Genta Geneva Collection Time Only Watches

I can think of very few collections in the world of fine watchmaking which are represented by two very distant points on the scale of complexity. The Gérald Genta Geneva collection currently consists of just two models: a minute repeater, and an austerely beautiful one at that, and a time-only model. The latter comes in two variants and was introduced earlier this year in January; they are the white gold and rose gold Time Only watches and while the simplicity of the watches is reflected in the name, they have the same deceptively simple design as the repeater. There are relatively few design details in all; both the repeater and the Time Only watches are virtually identical with each other except for size (the Time Only watches are slightly smaller than the repeater, at 40mm x 9.6mm for the repeater vs. 38mm x 8.15mm) and of course, the other tell is that the Time Only watches don’t have a repeater slide set into the case flank.

Other than that, the repeater and the Time Only watches are alike as two peas in a pod – oh and of course, with one other major exception apart from the repeater slide. The Time Only watches have dials finished in a grained fumé pattern; Marron (brown) or Grafite (graphite). This is in contrast to the black onyx dial of the repeater and while the onyx dial on the repeater reads as a suave concealment of complexity, the textured dials on the Time Only watches act as a canvas for the deployment of the other design elements.

These are watches that very much live in the details and although they obviously don’t have the internal complexity of the repeater (nor, I suspect, the complex case construction of the repeater, which is designed to allow the case to act as a resonating chamber for the gongs) they have the same sense of attention to detail, no matter how small, as well as giving the impression, as the repeater does, that every detail no matter how small, has been thought through.

The hands and indexes, for instance, seem simple to the point of being perfunctory but a closer look shows that both have been carefully shaped and polished and what you end up with are both indications for telling the time legibly (both are mirror polished so that even in poor light, the time is easy to read, which is a feature the Time Only watches share to some extent with Grand Seiko) and the shapes take on a (postmodern) sculptural purity as well. Despite the fact that the chemin de fer minute track is printed on an irregular surface steps have been taken to keep the printing as clean as possible; the texture of the dial becomes less pronounced as you get to the edge and between that and the fumé dial treatment, the minute track and its markers and numerals seem nearly as crisp, even under magnification, as they do on the minute repeater.

The movement is a well-finished version of the Zenith Elite automatic caliber, here designated GG-005P. While this is not a vehicle for the deployment of the painstakingly elaborate finishing found in the repeater, it is nonetheless a movement with its own history and identity, which in this execution – especially with the gold rotors – feels appropriate to the watch, and which has its own character, setting it apart from the increasingly homogenous feel of so many modern, nominally in-house movements.

The watches are a pleasure on the wrist, as well; there is a self confidence about the designs, and a sense of self-sufficiency, which makes them enjoyable well beyond the sometimes unimaginative design language found in entry level luxury watches. In fact, although the Time Only watches are the entry point for the Geneva Collection (at least for now; it is tempting to think of this design, but executed in steel) they don’t feel as if they have been at all affected by any spirit of compromise. And for Gérald Genta loyalists, there is enough of a connection to the designer’s design idioms to give a satisfying connection to the history of the company as well, as you might expect from the fact that LV La Fabrique du Temps’ Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini both worked for Genta in the company’s first incarnation. Daniel Roth and Gérald Genta at LV La Fabrique du Temps are I think textbook examples of brand revivals done right – with innovation, sure, but with careful thought given to making sure expansions of the original watchmaking ambitions and design languages also build connective tissue with the history that made the brands worth reviving in the first place.

The Gérald Genta Geneva Time Only: cases, white or rose gold, with Grafite or Marrone dials respectively; 38mm x 8.15mm. Sapphire crystal. Movement, GG-005P, Zenith Elite base with redesigned oscillating weight; running at 4Hz in 27 jewels, with a 50 hour power reserve. Both watches, CHF 25,000.

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