Evelyne Genta on Gerald Genta's lasting legacy in watchmaking

In this exclusive interview with Tatler, Evelyne Genta talks about working with Gérald Genta and his greatest contributions to horology

The name Gérald Genta is synonymous with the iconic forms of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. But for Evelyne Genta, his partner in life and business, her favourite works of Gerald’s are the ones he did under his name.

“Gérald had put so much into the Swiss [watch] industry that he deserves to be known for more than the Nautilus. I feel that he should be known for his own watches too because that’s where his DNA is,” asserts Evelyne.

She established the Gérald Genta Heritage Association to properly tell the story of one of the preeminent figures in modern watchmaking. One would be hard-pressed to think of a greater watch designer, and Gérald is often regarded as the Piccaso of watches.

“I’m impressed by the response we get from collectors all over the world,” shares Evelyne. “These are 25-year-olds who know more about my husband than me. It’s unbelievable that he has such a young following today. I think it’s because people want authenticity.”

Above Evelyne Genta

This surge of interest coincided with the relaunch of the Gérald Genta brand last year by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, founded by watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini who used to work with Gérald. Evelyne has given them complete access to her late husband’s archives which consist of hundreds of unreleased designs.

“I first met with Jean Arnault [the watch director at Louis Vuitton]. Yes, he’s very young but he’s also so passionate and so respectful of my husband’s genius and legacy. He took me to the factory in Geneva but he hadn’t told me before that the two people running the factory were watchmakers trained by us,” says Evelyne of the pleasant surprise when she arrived at its doorsteps.

The way the manufacture operates reminded her of how the Gentas used to run their facilities. “People were working on the enamel in-house, the case in-house, and the mechanics in-house. I really do feel Gérald Genta has come home.”

She is certain the partnership marks a great new chapter for the Gérald Genta brand. “What I like about Jean is that he is totally committed to putting Gérald Genta at the top of watchmaking again. I’m one million per cent confident that they will do things tastefully, respectfully, with no rush, and make beautiful objects. It’s really like restarting an adventure,” she enthuses.

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La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton had already given us a taste of what’s to come with the Mickey Mouse watch created for Only Watch last year. Crafted in an octagonal case shape so favoured by Gerald, it was a minute repeater with the Disney character’s hands doubling as the hour and minute hands. Whimsical yet highly sophisticated, the Disney association dates back to the ’80s when then Disney CEO Michael Eisner asked Gérald to make a Bambi watch for his mother.

“Gérald created a pretty Bambi watch with the deer looking up at a butterfly but instead of asking for payment, he asked Eisner for permission to use Mickey for his watches. He wanted to do it because Disney had brought so much happiness to the world,” shares Evelyne.

The first Mickey watch caused quite a commotion when it was presented at the annual watch fair in Geneva, with critics calling it “unacceptable” to be in the presence of other high-end Swiss watches. “Gérald retorted, ‘Really? I look at all your sour faces and I think you could do with a few Mickeys because he brought so much happiness!’” reveals Evelyne.

Above A re-creation of the famous Gérald Genta Mickey Mouse watch

While Gérald made a name for himself designing watches, he didn’t necessarily choose it as his vocation. “He always said that if he was an Italian, he would have designed cars but he made watches because he was Swiss.”

She adds that Gerald only ever did what he liked. “He never went along with the market. He wasn’t concerned about what was ‘sellable’. When big watches became a trend, he didn’t do it. He said, ‘What are you going to do? Put a village clock on people’s wrists?’,” she laughs.

The rebellion side was nicely balanced out with a visionary outlook. “We introduced the perpetual calendar in a wristwatch when it wasn’t popular. By the time everyone caught onto it, Gérald had moved on to making minute repeaters, which were only available in pocket watches then.”

Evelyne continues, “When people started making minute repeaters [in a wristwatch], he said he would make the grand sonnerie. Our watchmakers said then that it was not feasible, and suggested doing a pocket watch instead. But he insisted and took five years to develop it.”

Above The Gérald Genta Grand Sonnerie

The Gérald Genta Grand Sonnerie, when it was released in the early ’90s, was a masterpiece, a legendary watch in the Genta lexicon. “Nobody believed that you could have a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater, a Westminster chime, all in a single wristwatch.

To accommodate the whopping 1,000 movement parts, Gérald designed a pyramid case so that it didn’t look like a block on the wrist.

It’s this uncanny knack in design that Gérald is now so widely celebrated. “His biggest legacy is that he changed the profession of watch designer forever,” muses Evelyne.

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Evelyne Genta on Gérald Genta’s lasting legacy in watchmaking