Gérald Genta has created the Royal Oak, the Nautilus, the Ingénieur, the Pasha, the Bvlgari-Bvlgari, many state that by creating the 222 by Vacheron Constantin, he is also the spiritual father of the Overseas. He contributed to the creation of the Seamaster and of the Constellation (practically, the majority of successful sports watches today), as well as to at least 100,000 watches for most Haute Horlogerie companies (Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget, Chopard, Van Cleef & Arpels, Omega, Chaumet, Corum, Hamilton, Universal, Seiko, down to his latest collaboration with the Confrérie Horlogère of Mathias Buttet), also by executing specially commissioned pieces for members of royal families and collectors from all corners of the world, without neglecting to design the most widely sold watch at the time, a Timex, which was produced in 30,000,000 copies !...

Gérald Genta has ceased to be among us for exactly one year today, but his creative spirit of a great artist imbues nearly all of today's successful timepieces.

I have the pleasure of sharing with you, both with the long-standing as well as the newly-acquired friends of Horlogerie, an exclusive interview with the man to whom we owe everything.

In this interview, the grand Master of watchmaking aesthetics recounts for us (and you can also listen to him speak, by clicking on the 'Click to Listen' link - yet another innovation of veryimportantwatches.com), like he has never done before, his collaborations with Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Omega, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, Chopard, as well as the birth of the Royal Oak and of the Nautilus. He simultaneouly shares with us his opinion on today's trends, on his numerous imitators, on the watch that he would have liked to have designed himself (he who designed more than anyone else!), on his relationship with collectors and with Horlogerie companies, on what he thinks of Patek Philippe, of Rolex, of Franck Muller, he criticises the "peculiar language", as he terms it, of speaking about watches entirely in terms of the millimetres of their diameter, while also touching on the subject of clients who are ready to request a dozen tourbillons on the same watch!

He confesses to us that, at the beginning of his career, he was paid 15 Swiss Francs (!) for the design of each watch and he passionately talks about his love of painting, about design, his career and his personal relationship with watches.

A rare interview that reveals the distinct values of the Haute Horlogerie we so love!

Even if we don't often speak about him in the watchmaking world, he remains a priceless source of inspiration - let us hope that this will not limit itself to a simple replication of his designs, but that it will allow young creators to truly partake of the values he represents, allowing them to enrich their own creativity and aesthetic.

In the VIP-PEDIA section, under the ARTICLES tab of veryimportantwatches.com (personalised glossary entries written by the foremost protagonists of Haute Horlogerie) you can find the commentaries of Franco Cologni and of Laurent Picciotto on Gérald Genta.