Watchmaker Gerald Genta breathed new life into the watchmaking industry with his innovative watch designs throughout the 20th century, creating iconic pieces for watch brands including Audemars Piguet, Bulgari, Patek Philippe and Omega. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Bulgari Bulgari, Omega Constellation and Patek Philippe Nautilus are amongst his most well-known creations, before he began his own atelier in 1982.
The Gerald Genta brand, which has been owned by the Bulgari group since 2000, continues with the subversive spirit that characterised his designs. Now, his playful approach has been brought to life once again in the limited edition Gerald Genta Retrograde with Smiling Disney Mickey Mouse. By featuring the mischievous mouse motif, it nods to Genta’s habit of using Mickey Mouse in high-end watches, the first designer to do so.
Gerald Genta and Mickey Mouse
The new watch builds on the 2019 piece released to mark the brand’s 50th anniversary, before being rethought in titanium the following year and joining the Arena collection. In this new piece, the famous mouse rests on a rhodium-plated sunburst dial in a polished stainless steel case, with his left arm indicating the minutes.
For Bulgari watch design director Fabrizio Buonamassa, it encapsulates Genta’s philosophy. ‘Gerald Genta designed iconic products we still use today, but for me the important thing is that he was a designer with a strong artistic sense,’ he says.
‘Bulgari created watches with him because there were aspects of his creativity that were interesting, such as the unusual use of technological material. For the first time, we see Mickey Mouse on a high-end watch with different movements and different characters. It’s part of the spirit of Gerald Genta, with unexpected objects making these characters come alive on the dial and creating scenes, or simply telling the time in a much more ironic way. It was a very important collaboration and still today there are many collectors who appreciate these products.’
INFORMATION
-
Does Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein summon the gothic flamboyance of Mary Shelley’s novel?The visionary filmmaker was inspired by the famous 1931 adaptation of the book, but his long-gestating version is closer to its author’s astonishingly vivid tone
-
Artist Shaqúelle Whyte is a master of storytelling at Pippy Houldsworth GalleryIn his London exhibition ‘Winter Remembers April’, rising artist Whyte offers a glimpse into his interior world
-
Little gift ideas from the Wallpaper* editorsThese micro icons, from design and beauty pieces to tech and fashion, are ideal for filling stockings this festive season
-
Samuel Ross unveils his Hublot Big Bang watch designSamuel Ross brings a polished titanium case and orange rubber strap to the Hublot Big Bang watch
-
Playful design meets chic heritage in the Hermès Kelly watchThe new Kelly watch from Hermès rethinks the original 1975 timepiece
-
Discover the tonal new hues of the classic Nomos Club Campus watchThe Nomos classic wristwatch Club Campus now comes in two new collegiate colours. The perfect graduation gift from the Glashütte manufacture
-
Bulgari unveils the thinnest mechanical watch in the worldThe new Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra watch is a record-breaking feat of engineering
-
Breitling and Triumph unite on a racy new watch and motorcycle1960s design codes are infused with a contemporary edge in the collaboration between Breitling and Triumph
-
Shinola honours Georgia O’Keeffe with a new watchShinola Birdy watch stays faithful to the minimalist codes of Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting, My Last Door
-
Bulgari’s new book celebrates women and high jewelleryBulgari Magnifica: The Power Women Hold, published by Rizzoli New York, takes a closer look at the female muses who inspired the spectacular Magnifica high jewellery collection
-
Tom Ford unveils minimalist third watch collectionThis clean and elegant new watch collection, N°003, is the latest from Tom Ford Timepieces
