Maestro GC2.0 Lapis Lazuli

Swiss watchmaker Gerald Charles begins its 25th anniversary with Mr. Genta’s favourite stone 

Geneva, 20th January 2025 - Gerald Charles is proud to announce the introduction of the Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin Lapis Lazuli, the first watch in its history to bear a hardstone dial. The design joins the brand’s flagship collection and brings an elegant new dimension to the Maestro, a watch which subverts traditional notions of watchmaking.

Neither a dress watch nor a sports watch, the Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin Lapis Lazuli blends opulence and practicality in a manner typical of the company’s founder, the legendary watch designer Gérald Charles Genta. Indeed, the stone chosen for the dial was Genta’s personal favourite.

The creation of the lapis lazuli dial is a painstaking and highly skilled process, taking an average of 24 hours per individual dial. From the very first step - the cutting of the raw stone - to the final assembly, it is a tentative journey with a risk of failure at every stage. Even selecting the stone at the outset presents its own challenge, as the colour within cannot be known until it is cut. As each dial is cut and polished from an initial 5mm thick disc down to a final thickness of just 0.55mm, a majority will be discarded as previously invisible imperfections are revealed.

Ultimately, to make 50 dials at least 150 discs will be needed.

As the dials are polished, by hand and by machine, the natural beauty of the lapis lazuli is revealed in all its splendour, but there are even greater tests ahead; the fragile stone must be drilled to accommodate the hands, hour markers and date window, and it must be shaped to fit the Maestro’s unique dial. This is the most attritional stage, as the stone cannot be cut but must be patiently and skilfully ground into the correct shape, moving from a perfect circle into the angled, asymmetric outline which distinguishes the Maestro’s silhouette.  

This shape, inspired by baroque motifs from the worlds of art and architecture, was one of the last great works of Gérald Charles Genta, who founded Gerald Charles in 2000, giving it his first and middle names. The Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin Lapis Lazuli continues his rich creative legacy, channeling the vibrant and expressive character which epitomised his designs at the height of his career.   To that end, the watch’s semi-precious stone dial is framed by another standout feature. The Maestro’s polished stainless-steel case has been enhanced by the addition of a blue Colormix coating to the bezel, a combined physical and chemical surface treatment that results in a rich blue colour as well as improved scratch resistance. The contrast between the polished bezel and the main case echoes the bold juxtaposition of the applied hour markers, inlaid with white Swiss Super-LumiNova, and the organic pattern of the lapis lazuli dial.  
The dial design is completed by a new logo for the brand, with ‘Geneve’ now signed beneath the Gerald Charles word mark; this reinforces the watchmaker’s connection with the city where its atelier is located.   The colour scheme is continued by the rubber strap, a signature of the Maestro family. Originally designed by Gérald Charles Genta, the strap’s Clou de Paris decoration elevates a practical choice while prioritising supreme wearability.  

Finally, the Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin Lapis Lazuli is powered by the Swiss Manufacture 2.0 caliber, an automatic movement hand-finished to Qualité Fleurier levels. The calibre boasts a 50-hour power reserve, runs at 28,800vph and measures just 3.7mm thick. Decorated with a combination of traditional finishing techniques, including Cotes de Geneve stripes, perlage, colimaçon and yellow gold engraving, it is topped with a customised oscillating rotor that commemorates the brand’s 25th anniversary. The Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin Lapis Lazuli enters the brand’s core collection from today. While not a numbered limited edition, its availability will be restricted by the material scarcity and handcraft required to create its mesmerising dial.  

Technical information

Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin Lapis Lazuli

Reference 

• GC2.0-SSPS-LS-RSPN 

DIAL:

• Lapis Lazuli stone dial 
• White minute track  
• Baton shaped hands and indexes filled with white Super-LumiNova® with green light at night 
• New logo Gerald Charles Genève 
• Flat sapphire crystal 

HANDS:

• Material - Brass
• Shape - Baton shaped, flat
• Finishing - Silver colour, polished, hours and minutes hands filled with white Super-LumiNova® with green C7 SPL light at night
  

STRAP:

• Material - HNBR Vulcanized Rubber with vanilla scent
• Description - Clou de Paris on one side and the GC logo’s tapisserie on the back. One fixed loop and one free. Original design by Mr. Gérald Charles Genta
• Colour - Timeless Black
• Size - Total lenght: S: 175mm, M: 190mm, L: 212mm; width: 22-20mm; thickness: 5-3mm

BUCKLE:

• Material - Medical-grade stainless steel 316L
• Description - Polished stainless steel new easy remove pin buckle 
• Finishing - Polished, brushed applied plate with GC logo engraved

CASE

• Dimension - Width: 39.00mm, lenght: 41.70mm, thickness: 9.00mm, entrecorne: 22.00mm
• Material - Medical-grade stainless steel 316L
• Crown - Screw-down crown with Clous de Paris finish and embossed logo
• Construction - Carved with CNC numeric control machinery. Asymmetric polygon with smooth edges (“Maestro” original design by Mr. Gérald Charles Genta). See-through case back
• Water resistance - 10 ATM/100m
• Parts - 35 Pieces
• Finishing - Hand-polished case, vertical brushed case back

MOVEMENT

• Caliber - Manufacture caliber, GCA 3002
• Type - Automatic 3 hands, 50-hour power reserve with double barrels system
• Functions - Central hour, minute and seconds hands, date window at 6h
• Dimensions - 25.60mm diameter, 3.70mm total thickness
• Oscillating weight - With a central oscillating mass decorated with the NEW 25th Anniversary logo
• Escapement - Ball bearings in ceramics
• Frequency - 28’800 A/h - 4Hz
• Shock resistance - 5G shock resistance, tested with 5 axes robotic arm.
• Incabloc® anti-shock system
• Jewels - 28 rubies
• Total components - 189 pieces
• Finishing - Bridges finely decorated with colimaçon, côtes de Genève and perlage finishes, and yellow gold colour engravings

WEIGHT

• Watch head - 64.60 grams
• Total - 87.70 grams

WARRANTY

• Five years (following ‘Smart Warranty’ system registration)

About Gerald Charles

Gerald Charles is an independent, family-owned watch company based in Switzerland. It was founded in 2000 by the great Mr. Gérald Charles Genta, the 20th century’s foremost watch designer.

Monsieur Genta, often referred to simply as ‘Maestro’, was a prolific artist and watch designer. After selling the company in 2003, he stayed on as its designer-in-chief until his death in 2011, leaving a treasure trove of watch designs in the company’s care. Every watch created by Gerald Charles is based on one of his original designs and carries his legacy of ‘artistic creativity, technical mastery’ forward into the future.

Gerald Charles watches are at the cutting edge of ergonomics and designed and manufactured to sit comfortably and elegantly on the wrist. Gerald Charles watches are produced without compromise and marry the finest traditions and most up-to-date technologies of Swiss mechanical watchmaking to deliver superior precision and performance, as well as exceptional water and shock resistant. Every piece is an elegant sport watch, the signature of the company's founder and eternal inspiration, Monsieur Genta.

MR. G.C. GENTA

Monsieur Gerald Charles Genta (1931-2011), born in Geneva, is deemed the most acclaimed watch designer in the world. In the early 2000s Monsieur Gerald Charles Genta – at the height of his success and willing to continue his creative production – founded the most modern of his brands: Gerald Charles.

He designed some of the most modern of his watches for the Maison Gerald Charles: amongst them the Maestro is one of his highest achievements. Its asymmetric watch case, one of its kind, has never been seen before and represents an exclusive innovation.

Timeline

2000 
Foundation of the Maison
Mr. Gérald Charles Genta founded Gerald Charles, giving the Maison his first two names. 

2001
Gerald Charles Renaissance
Renaissance is the first Gerald Charles collection, whose name perfectly describes Mr. Genta’s artistic revival. The collection is a bolder expression of the soft line which Mr. Genta was always particularly fond of. 

2003
Mr. Genta as Designer in Chief
Mr. Gérald Charles Genta sold the company to a group of investors, led by the Ziviani family, and remained Designer in Chief until 2011, with Mr. Giampaolo Ziviani as General Manager. Nowadays, Mr. Genta’s legacy lives on through his many watch designs and the Maison Gerald Charles. Every watch created by Maison Gerald Charles today is based on one of his original designs. 

2005
Gerald Charles Maestro
Mr. Gérald Charles Genta introduced the Maestro case, an iconic case made to last for future generations, whose shape lies between a square and an octagon. He took inspiration from the 17th century baroque architecture, realised by the Swiss-born Italian architect Francesco Borromini. The ‘smile’ at 6 o’clock is a subtle reflection of the concavity on the monuments’ façades. 

2011
Production of bespoke timepieces
Between 2011 and 2018, the Maison produced bespoke timepieces for a niche of collectors. Some of Mr. Genta's early creations had the designer's signature engraved on the case back, as an artwork of an artist. 

2019
Federico Ziviani as CEO
A new management took part in the Maison with a Board of Director and Federico Ziviani as CEO. The common mission has been opening up the story of Gerald Charles to a wider audience of collectors, increasing the production from a few dedicated pieces to 1.500 pieces a year. 

2021
The Maestro Anniversary and the Maestro premier 2021
In 2020, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the company, Gerald Charles released the Maestro Anniversary: a limited edition of 252 pieces marking the number of months since the company was founded. A year later, the Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin and Maestro 3.0 Chronograph Premier 2021 were launched. 

2024
Retail’s expansion
In 2022, the company was immediately appreciated among watch collectors worldwide. The brand supported by the best retailers in Europe, in particular Italy and the Middle East. In 2023, Gerald Charles continued its distribution in North Europe and the USA. In 2024. Gerald Charles officially began distribution on the Japanese market and inaugurated a new hub in Geneva, the Atelier.