Gerald Genta

The latest collection from the revived watchmaking icon Gérald Genta introduces three evocative watches inspired by the 1994 Oursin. The Oursin, originally sketched by Gérald Genta after a family vacation in Corsica, features a unique aesthetic with a round case and deeply convex sides studded with beads. The 2024 Oursin models reinterpret Genta’s vision for a contemporary audience, maintaining the complexity, audacity, and distinctiveness of the original design. Each model has a convex titanium case studded with 223 beads, available in white gold, rose gold and diamonds, or yellow gold.

The Gentissima Oursin Punk is distinguished by its extreme tonal contrasts and urbane charisma. This watch features yellow-gold spiked beads projecting from a matt black DLC-coated titanium case, creating a tense visual equilibrium against the gravity-dark dial. This model is the most outspoken of the trio, eschewing diamonds and guilloché for a simplicity that speaks to a modern yearning for Zen-like clarity.

At the heart of the Gentissima Oursin collection is the automatic-winding GG-005, based on the Zenith Elite, a high-performance movement from the renowned Le Locle manufacture de la haute horlogerie. This iteration of the Elite has been customized for the Oursin, with a rotor reshaped in the form of an octagon and bas-relief beads sculpted along the periphery of the mass. The Elite movement, launched around the same time as the historical Oursin in 1994, adds a touch of symmetry and historical significance to these contemporary masterpieces.