Designer and brand
Gérald Genta
Also recorded as: Gerald Genta · Gérald Genta SA · Gerald Genta SA · Genta
Geneva designer of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus, and founder of his own brand.
Gérald Genta (1931–2011) trained as a jewellery designer in Geneva and worked freelance for many of the leading Swiss houses. His best-known designs are the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak of 1972, a luxury wristwatch in steel with an octagonal bezel and integrated bracelet, and the Patek Philippe Nautilus of 1976; he is also credited with designs for Omega, IWC and others.
He founded his own brand in 1969, which made both complicated watches — including grandes sonneries and minute repeaters — and playful pieces with licensed cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse. The brand was acquired by Bulgari in 2000, and Genta later designed under the name Gérald Charles. The Genta records in the catalogue are from his own brand; watches he designed for other houses are listed under those makers.
- Country
- Switzerland
- City / centre
- Geneva
- Life / active
- 1931–2011 (designer); brand 1969
- Status
- Historical individual; brand absorbed into Bulgari
- Key people
- Gérald Genta (1931–2011)
Innovations & specialities
- Royal Oak design for Audemars Piguet (1972)
- Nautilus design for Patek Philippe (1976)
- Grande sonnerie wristwatches under his own name
Works by Gérald Genta in the catalogue
All 37 records →
Wristwatches · 1980s
Gerald Genta “Succes“ Day Date Moon Phase Ref 2747, 1980s
Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen
Wristwatches · c. 1980s
Gérald Genta wristwatch, ref. G2796, Gefica Safari Day and Date, circa 1980s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1990s
Gerald Genta Fantasy Retro 'Mickey Mouse' G3612 Automatic NOS, 1990s
S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle
Wristwatches · c. 1990s
Gérald Genta Octagonal 'Cushion' Skeleton, c. 1990s
Analog/Shift (dealer), New York
Wristwatches · 1990s
Gerald Genta Octo Salmon dial ref g35587, 1990s
Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen
Wristwatches · c. 1990s
Gérald Genta wristwatch, ref. G.3386.7, Success No. 002, circa 1990s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1990s
Gérald Genta wristwatch, ref. G.3612, Retro Fantasy - Minnie Mouse Mop Dial, circa 1990s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1990s
Gérald Genta wristwatch, ref. M.10, Retro Fantasy - Minnie Mouse In Chinese Costume, circa 1990s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · Sold in 1996
Gérald Genta wristwatch, ref. G., Mickey Mother-of-Pearl Dial, Sold in 1996
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1999-2000s
Gérald Genta wristwatch, ref. G3612, Retro Fantasy-Donald Duck, circa 1999-2000s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · early 2000s
Gerald Genta "Retro" Steel Mother of Pearl Dial Ref G3734, early 2000s
Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen
Wristwatches · early 2000s
Gérald Genta Solo With Guilloche MOP Dial in new condition Ref SS0.M10, early 2000s
Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen
Linked through the Atlas maker authority list, which reconciles the spellings used by different institutions. Attributions are as stated by each holding institution or auction house.
Read and see more
Magazine features
- Patek Philippe: A History in Objects, from Patek, Czapek & Cie to the Calatrava, the Nautilus and the Grand Complications
How a Geneva workshop founded in 1839 by two Polish émigrés became the most collected name in watchmaking — told through twenty watches in museum, auction and dealer records, from a Patek & Co. watch of the 1840s and Victorian minute repeaters to the Calatrava of 1932, the quartz Beta 21, the Nautilus, the 150th-anniversary watches of 1989 and the complications of the 2000s.
- Vintage Watches: A Collector's Guide to the Classics, from the Cartier Tank to the Nautilus
Which vintage watches became classics, and why? Twenty-two landmark wristwatches from 1917 to 1976 — dress watches, pilots' and divers' watches, chronographs, electric watches and the first luxury steel sports watches — each shown from the Atlas catalogue, with what to look for when you meet one.
- Seiko and Grand Seiko: A History in Watches, from Kintaro Hattori to Spring Drive
How a repair shop opened in Tokyo in 1881 became the company that challenged Switzerland in the observatory trials, launched the first quartz wristwatch and built the Grand Seiko. The story told through watches in the Atlas catalogue — divers, chronographs, Grand Seikos and King Seikos — with a guide to reading a vintage Seiko.
Where to see related work
- Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet
Le Brassus, Switzerland
Listed because the directory entry names Gérald Genta; displays change, so check with the institution before visiting.
