Swiss watchmaker Gerald Charles is honouring its founder, Gérald Charles Genta, by launching a new limited edition collection called the Maestro 9.0 Roman Tourbillon. Each timepiece in the new collection boasts an exquisite hand-hammered Gold Dial and showcases Gérald’s high-end skills and expertise in going beyond the limits.
Gérald Genta first had the idea for the Maestro collection in 2005, creating the first-ever Maestro case with a tourbillon. The timepiece featured the iconic smile at 6 o’clock, and the case was meticulously shaped to host the tourbillon cage.
In comparison with the previous Maestro 9.0 Tourbillon, which was a somewhat understated luxury model introduced in 2023 and now sold out – the Maestro 9.0 Roman Tourbillon has been revised, bringing a wholly new twist on the tourbillon whilst still embracing old-style elegance.
The Roman Tourbillon is a 50-piece limited edition collection that celebrates Roman architecture and art, from which the iconic Maestro case draws its inspiration. One of the main signifiers is the Roman numerals on the dial. This special timepiece is intended to highlight the brand’s core values and origins and reinforce Gerald Charles’ high-end skills and expertise in exceeding limits.
Hand-hammered gold dial, Métier d’Art
Behind the design of the intricately crafted and visually stunning dial lies a work of precision and attention to detail, which has become synonymous with Gerald Charles.
Fine craftsmanship and a good deal of experience are necessary to master the art of hand-hammered gold dials. The R&D department faced numerous challenges including balancing dial craftsmanship, durability, and resistance and recreating a consistent finishing pattern.
The end result was a homogenous and refined texture that does not affect the timepiece’s readability while offering a unique exclusivity to each piece. Given the technique and handmade craftsmanship, Gerald Charles will only be producing two pieces per month, each truly unique.
The Blue Bezel Coating
The watch dial isn’t the only stand-out feature. The watches feature two-tone colours and are made of different materials.
The blue bezel features a specialised coating achieved through an advanced galvanic treatment. This treatment, derived from technologies utilised in aeronautics, gives the bezel superior mechanical and chemical properties.
In addition, the coating ensures remarkable durability and resistance to extreme stresses, while the refined blue finish enhances aesthetic appeal and significantly extends the timepiece’s longevity and robustness.
The Maestro 9.0 Roman Tourbillon is an original for Gerald Charles. It has the first hand-hammered gold dial, the first time a two-toned colour and two different materials have been used, and the first timepiece in the current core collection featuring a hand-stitched blue alligator strap with a brand-new folding clasp.
Excellent in design but also exquisitely engineered in terms of watchmaking
On a technical level, this new timepiece features a 60-seconds flying tourbillon with a unique skeletonised cage in the shape of the GC logo, returning to the original Maestro flying tourbillon created by Gérald Genta.
The Gerald Charles team decided to carve the cage from lightweight Grade 5 Titanium to overcome the tourbillon cage’s engineering challenges. Despite the difficulty of manipulating the material, the team managed to reach aesthetic and performance standards in pursuit of Genta’s vision of Artistic Creativity and Technical Mastery.
The result is a highly sophisticated 60-seconds flying tourbillon that oscillates at 4hz, made all the more vivid by the natural, three-dimensional contrasts created by combining a surgical-grade stainless steel case, a gold tourbillon bridge and a titanium flying tourbillon cage.
The screws have been repositioned to hold the 18K yellow-gold bridge to the movement.
The timepiece also features a blue indicator applied to the “G” of the cage that serves as a small seconds indicator. A stop-seconds function delivers a precise time setting.
Despite their very high technicality, the timepieces are 10 ATM/100 mt water-resistant, 5G shock-resistant, and offer a 50-hour power reserve.
As with all Gerald Charles watches, it’s the details that sets the timepiece apart. The textured dial, the alligator strap and the skeletonised tourbillon all combine to give the new timepieces a sporty feel. It represents a Métier d’Art that simultaneously exudes a contemporary and old-style demeanour.