“If I had been born in Italy, and not in Switzerland, I would have designed cars.”
Fortunately for watchmaking, Gérald Genta designed watches.
And not just any: the Nautilus by Patek Philippe and the Royal Oak by Audemars Piguet, among others.
The designs of “Monsieur 100.000 montres” have irrigated, for decades, many of the great watch brands, from Old Europe to Japan.
This ultra-prolific creative could put dozens of models on paper in a day.
But also cutlery, perfume bottles and, of course, jewelry, its original universe.
“He had incredible dexterity,
remembers his widow, Évelyne Genta, who recently created the Gérald Genta Héritage association.
He always proceeded like this: he took his compass, drew a circle, started from there, and painted each drawing, magnifying glasses over his eyes.
He drew his ideas from what he saw around him: a door, a bird, a mosaic on the wall of a Moroccan palace.
Even a spacesuit…
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