Everyone knows Gérald Genta for his iconic designs: the Royal Oak, the Nautilus and the Ingenieur. However, fewer people know what he made when the name on the dial was his own. Monaco Legend Group’s upcoming Exclusive Timepieces auction offers a rare chance to discover some of the rarest designs from Gérald Genta himself. Four watches cross the block in Monaco, and together they show a designer who treated complications like a sculptor treats marble. For collectors chasing the next undervalued chapter of independent watchmaking, this is required viewing.
A Skeletonized Perpetual Calendar From the Golay Era
Lot 9 is the technical heavyweight. Reference G1993/8 dates to around 1980 and is cased in 18-carat white gold, with a diamond-set bezel framing a fully openworked automatic perpetual calendar. Day, date, month, leap year and moon phase all float above exposed bridges and wheels. And a striking blue moon disc cuts through the metalwork like a gemstone.
The backstory matters here. This movement belongs to Genta’s collaboration with Pierre-Michel Golay, the watchmaker who joined the maison in 1973 and shaped its complicated calibres before later working with Franck Muller. That lineage gives the piece real weight.
Estimate: €10,000 to €20,000.
The Maxi Time: A Traveller’s Watch With Swagger
Lot 29, reference G2981.4, is pure Genta theatre. The “Maxi Time” sits in a chunky, multi-faceted 18-carat yellow gold case and tracks five time zones. Four gold sub-registers each carry a 24-hour scale, with sun motifs and deep blue sectors separating day from night.
It sounds busy. It isn’t. Luminous dot indexes, a railway track and slim central hands keep the ivory dial surprisingly calm. The case shows an honest patina, the caseback reads “MAX TIME”, and the original setting stylus is included.
Estimate: €7,000 to €14,000.
A Sculpted Gold Perpetual Calendar From the 1990s
Lot 83, reference G2072.7, shows Genta’s gift for shape. The designer, best known for his octagonal cases, tried something different here: a rounded trapezoidal case in 18k yellow gold, a form that rarely surfaces even among his own work. That case flows straight into an integrated bracelet, the design move he made famous two decades earlier. The ivory dial carries four sub-dials for day, date, month and leap year, a moon phase at 12 o’clock and fine blue accents. Inside sits an automatic movement.
Estimate: €9,000 to €18,000.
Coral and Turquoise: The Most Daring Dial in the Sale
Then there’s Lot 84. Reference G3053.8, listed as a Gefica perpetual calendar, is a 33mm yellow gold watch with a dial cut from natural coral. A turquoise moon-phase disc at 12 o’clock glows against that warm orange base. Four counters handle the perpetual calendar without spoiling the decorative effect, and a quartz movement drives it all. An integrated yellow gold bracelet completes the look.
Stone dials are a gamble. Only a designer with Genta’s confidence could pair coral, turquoise and gold and make it feel inevitable. Estimate: €12,000 to €24,000, the highest of the four.
Why Gérald Genta’s Own Watches Are Gaining Momentum
Look at those estimates again. Every one of these pieces combines precious metal with a perpetual calendar or multi-zone complication, yet none is estimated above €24,000. For a designer this influential, that gap feels temporary.
The independent watch boom has pushed collectors to look backwards for the pioneers. Genta founded his maison in 1969, long before “independent” was a selling point. As more buyers discover his signed work, these eccentric, joyful designs look less like curiosities and more like the missing chapter of his legacy.
The watches are on view at the Hôtel Méridien Beach Plaza in Monaco from 29 October. Live bidding opens at 2:30 PM CET on both sale days.
