With Miss Inass Akisra, we’ve been through everything that horology means for Formula 1. However, with the release of the F1 movie (where Brad Pitt made more buzz among the sport’s amateurs than Verstappen) watches have unexpectedly but justifiably taken quite the spotlight. 

See, what I want to talk about is how this movie (not ”film” since that’s a word a snob like me uses for the more classic side of cinema) is not only showing how cool it is to be into motor racing as a watch enthusiast, but also how intentional the production team is with the pieces chosen for the characters. 

IWC is one hell of a watch company. The International Watch Company. A deep and rich aviation heritage. A strong and imposing presence in motor racing. And of course, a rising voice in popular culture.

In my opinion, they could not have picked a better sponsor for this modern F1 hyper interpretation. IWC has been very active these past few years. Especially after that GPHG win! 

Their partnerships with creators (they’d better sponsor me), their social media presence, their marketing, their releases… again, very active. 

As for the movie related pieces, Brad Pitt, being who he is, had a custom green dial Ingenieur made just to flex on us common folk. YES, a modified Gerald Genta (may his sould rest in piece) creation for a hollywood movie.

But it doesn’t stop at Pitt’s wrist. The whole thing feels like a curated watch flex. The shots where the watches aren’t just props, yet part of the storytelling. The mechanical heart of racing meets the mechanical heart of watchmaking.

And of course, IWC didn’t show up empty-handed. You can’t just slap any chrono on the wrist of a fictional F1 legend and call it a day. What they did was go full method. The production reportedly worked hand-in-hand with IWC’s design team to build “visual continuity”, both for realism and brand identity. That custom green-dial Ingenieur? It’s not just a vanity piece for Brad. It’s character-driven product placement. The color isn’t a random pick either — it’s a nod to British Racing Green, but also to IWC’s increasingly bold chromatic experimentation (see the Top Gun Mojave or Woodland editions).

Now, let’s take a second to reflect on what this means beyond the screen. We’re seeing a shift in how watches are presented in mass media. In the past, you’d get a wide shot, and maybe the Bond Submariner would get a two-second close-up. Now? The watch gets its OWN introduction scene.

And this is where F1 and watches really start dancing in rhythm. Both industries share this deep obsession with precision, with weight, with materials. Titanium is king in both paddocks. Aerodynamics in racing, case ergonomics in watchmaking. Carbon fiber on a spoiler, or a dial. It’s the same engineering language spoken by two crafts.

And what this movie did is shine a spotlight on that overlap. It reminded the public that being into watches and being into motorsport isn’t niche anymore. It’s not a dusty collector’s club or a rich guy’s Sunday hobby. It’s part of a larger visual and mechanical identity — something people actually relate to. You don’t have to own the Ingenieur to get it. You just have to know what it means.

Also, let’s be honest: a lot of people watching F1 now came through Netflix’s Drive to Survive. This movie is the next chapter. And IWC, once again, is positioning itself right at the intersection of new fans, old collectors, and cinema’s permanent craving for cool.

So where does that leave us? Enlightened by these big corp marketing lessons ? 

Anyways, I’m just wondering if Genta would approve of this…

Today we’re going on a trip through Horology’s Great Memory Museum, as part of The Beginner’s Compass Series; so, have your cameras on hand, and don’t forget your pens and notebooks to jot down the interesting facts and names you’re about to discover. I, your ever loyal editor, will have the pleasure of being your guide and a fellow visitor simultaneously.

As someone who not long ago got into the world of watches, I figured that the four pillars of this industry are the following: Engineering Prowess, Aesthetic Innovation, Market Influence, and Cultural Impact.

This tour will be different from the ones you’d expect to be part of. Let me tell you why. 

In the halls of this esteemed building, there are the greats whose names and achievements constantly and boomingly reverberate followed by a string of praise. And rightfully so. But that golden circle of founding fathers and pioneers that shaped the watch world isn’t as small as you think, some just get way more time under the sun of glory than others.

So on our visit’s program, we’ll be treading along the less visited corridors and exhibitions of this institution, the ones who honor and recount the legacy of figures that redefined the industry in many ways; as much as the mainstream ones. 

As we already know, watches do more than just mark the passage of time—they capture human ambition, artistry, and the deep desire to leave something behind that outlives us. The five figures we’re about to talk about didn’t just craft watches; they crafted legacies. Their work wasn’t about gears and complications—it was about vision, risk, and reimagining what it means to measure time itself. 

So buckle up, you’re in for a ride.

We’ll kick off our tour by visiting the design pavilion first.

And present to you none other than: Jorg Hysek, who’s not exactly known to play it safe. 

Born in 1953 in East Berlin, he started at Rolex before founding Hysek Design in 1984, working with brands like Cartier, Ebel, and Seiko. His magnum opus? The Vacheron Constantin 222 (1977)—a sleek, modern steel sports watch that became the blueprint for today’s Overseas collection. But Hysek had something many designers couldn’t quite tap into, and it was his RANGE. Most prefer to stick to a distinctive “design language” and an identity, he, like the disruptor that he is, did NOT subscribe to that school of thinking; and his creations from the Breguet Marine to the Abyss and the Kilada attest exactly to that. Yet when I looked at them side by side, I definitely could tell that they were fruits of the same spirit. That’s where his unique genius lies. Making him a pioneering icon that should get waaay more attention in the public eye (Could I make it any clearer that I’m a Jorg Hysek STAN?)

Jorg Hysek is—and I say this loud and proud—just as much a titan as Gérald Genta, as he reshaped watch design with his bold, futuristic aesthetics that challenged tradition in the same way Genta’s Royal Oak and Nautilus redefined luxury sports watches (which you read plenty about in Mr. Walid’s article).

Now ladies and gents we’ll be stepping into the storytelling pavilion, a place where watches are history lessons and cultural symbols.

Starting with—Nicholas Foulkes, a British historian and journalist, who has spent his career blending journalism and horological research as well as being the driver behind many collector trends. In 2024, he dropped Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch That Unlocked the Deep, the first Rolex-certified book, proving that watches have deep stories worth telling. His work with The Financial Times and GQ makes sure timepieces aren’t just for collectors—they’re for anyone who loves a good story. And with his Nick Foulkes & Sons YouTube channel, he’s bringing those stories to the next generation.

Then there’s Jack Forster, the ultimate watch-world translator. Formerly Editor-in-Chief at Hodinkee, now heading The 1916 Journal at The 1916 Company, Forster is the guy who makes watches make sense. If Foulkes gives us the grand, historical narratives, Forster gives us the why-you-should-care breakdowns, making horology approachable for collectors, enthusiasts, and casual fans alike.

Here’s where we get technical—the innovation pavilion, the gears, springs, and pure genius changed time forever.

John Arnold’s name might not be on every watch connoisseur’s lips, but it should be. 

Before his breakthroughs, sailors were basically gambling with their lives every time they set sail. The longitude problem was one of the biggest nightmares in navigation—figuring out your latitude (north-south position) was easy, but longitude (east-west position)? That was a guessing game that led to shipwrecks, lost cargo, and nations bleeding money. 

The British Government got so desperate they threw a £20,000 reward (basically $5 million today) at anyone who could fix it. Enter John Arnold, who got his bag and solved their problem by building marine chronometers—not only that,he made them practical, portable, and mass-producible (Girlboss behaviour if you ask me). 

His detent escapement revolutionized precision timekeeping, and his temperature-compensated balance wheels made sure clocks stayed accurate no matter how brutal the ocean got. While John Harrison might’ve paved the way, Arnold put precision in sailors’ pockets and made sure they’d never have to guess their way across the seas again. Basically, if you’ve ever used GPS, tip your hat to John Arnold—he helped lay the groundwork for precision navigation as we know it today.

And then, there’s Thomas Mudge, the OG of horological engineering. Back in the 1700s, he did what nobody else could—he invented the lever escapement, a mechanism so ahead of its time that it still powers almost every mechanical watch today. You should also thank him for THE perpetual calendar complication; yes, the same one that enables your watch to keep up with leap years without you lifting a finger. Earning him the title of one of the main architects of modern timekeeping.

Last but not by any means least, we hit the auction pavilion, to meet the ingenious salesmen of time.

Osvaldo Patrizzi saw the future before anyone else. In 1974, he co-founded Antiquorum, the first auction house dedicated exclusively to watches. He also pioneered detailed auction catalogs that later became essential collector’s guides. And evidently kickstarted the world of online watch auctions. Thanks to him, watch collecting transformed from a niche hobby into a multi-billion-dollar market.

Then we have Aurel Bacs, who started his career as a watch specialist at Sotheby’s in the mid-1990s, joined Christie’s in 2003, then co-founded the consultancy firm Bacs & Russo and partnered with Phillips auction in 2014.

He’s behind one of the most jaw-dropping watch sales ever, the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona, which sold for $17.8 million in 2017. But Bacs isn’t just an auctioneer—he’s a storyteller, hyping up every piece like it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. If Patrizzi built the stage, Bacs turned watch auctions into must-watch global spectacles.

These great men *cough* divas *cough* shaped how we read, perceive, and conceptualise time now by being disruptors, risk takers and dreamers with a shared desire to leave something behind. 

Au revoir my dear visitors, see you next time! Don’t forget to check out our other amazing articles or tours if you will.

XoXo, Your fave editor (don’t tell Walid)

*We do not own the rights to any of these photos. please note that all images and copyrights belong to their original owners. no copyright infringement intended.*

THIS IS NOT A BORING GENTA ARTICLE GUYS !!!

I promise you. 

I had to write that in full caps because this very persistent intrusive thought lingering in the back of my head, has been VERY present for the entirety of the 2 weeks I have dedicated to researching and thinking about today’s topic. I know most of you guys won’t get it, but I do have a certain feeling of duty regarding what I put out here for you to read and learn. And I believe that I have to discuss worthy and relevant subjects that’ll push each one of you further in your individual Horological journeys. 

So why the impostor syndrome ? Well, to put it short, Mr Gérald Genta’s name is as mainstream as it gets in the watch world. It’s like being in a Music Nerds’ Roundtable and mentioning Michael Jackson. You get it right ? Am I being too snobby ? Anyways… let me get into it. 

Just like with Michael Jackson, you have “Smooth Criminal”, but you also have a very deep quality underrated cut like “Invincible”. Both are very well known beautiful songs, but Invincible is not what pops up in your head when a street interviewer says “Name 5 MJ songs NOW !”

And it’s only right to compare MJ to Genta, since he is our star and the person most synonymous with watch design. I’m not going to get into Mr Gerald’s life and biography, so click here to read all about it. But what I will deeply and obsessively be getting into today, is a specific era of the legend’s design identity: Mr Gérald Genta’s Neo-Art Deco design language. 

There is a lot to uncover here, so buckle up guys.

What I mean by all this fancy talk, is that throughout his career, Mr Genta has had a signature way of designing the cases of his watches. By that I’m referring to his tendency to make the shapes of said cases very geometrical. But not any shape, an octagonal one. 

For those of you who don’t know, Gérald Genta designed both the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. Very iconic, significant, timeless and famous watches that have never failed to mesmerize both connoisseurs and noobies. These watches are SO well designed and proportioned to the point that they have become synonymous with respective brands. Especially Audemars Piguet, since the brand has not been able to graduate from nor make anything more relevant than its Royal Oak. A watch released in 1972… 

Although these pieces do respect the geometrical laws mentioned above, they are very far from what I will be introducing you to today: The Gérald Genta brand’s octagonal watches. 

2 words: Magnum Opus. 

That’s it. I could stop writing here and I would have said it all. But let me expand. 

As I said before, I think it would be fair to say that this 90s design identity Mr Genta solidified could be categorized as Neo-Art Deco. Now why is that ?

Let’s decompose what I just said. “Neo” stands for “New”. “Art Deco” stands for “Arts Décoratifs”, a design and architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s and one characterized by bold geometric shapes, rich colors, and lavish ornamentation. It combines modernist elements with luxurious materials and craftsmanship, often featuring symmetry, streamlined forms, and decorative motifs inspired by industrial progress, ancient cultures, and nature. So yes, the Lavish-New York-1920s-Great Gatsby-Jazzy era of design, but make it modern; as in the 90s. 

Now take this last paragraph and look at this picture: 

Right ?! I know, I’m good at explaining things LOL. 

Mr Gérald Genta’s octagonal design language is one of the most distinctive and influential in modern watchmaking. Period. He is often credited with revolutionizing the luxury sports watch category, and his octagonal designs remain iconic in both technical craftsmanship and aesthetic boldness, since he was deeply influenced by classical architecture. 

The octagon, a geometric shape that bridges the circle and the square, represents a combination of fluidity and structure. Fluidity. Key word. Something that you guys can appreciate in the pictures to come. 

Genta’s eponymous brand is often viewed as the playground where he truly unleashed his creativity, not constrained by the codes or traditions of the more established watchmaking houses. He launched his own brand in 1969, which allowed him to delve into more avant-garde designs and to explore complex watchmaking in ways that were bold, experimental, and often highly architectural.

This article is about the pieces from the Gérald Genta brand that deserve MUCH MUCH more appreciation and buzz. So let me blow your minds.

While Genta’s brand produced a wide variety of watches, it’s the octagonal models that reflect his most radical approach to watch design. These models took the octagonal theme he had popularized and pushed it further, incorporating unique shapes, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, complex complications. Why am I emphasizing on this ? Well because this guy made sure to tell every snob critic that he could in fact make the most experimental and strange looking watch ever, and at the same time, put the CRAZIEST complication in it. 

You know what, let me just show you guys. 

The Gérald Genta Octagonal Perpetual Calendar. 

Boom. A beast of watch. But a very pretty one nonetheless. 

Are you seeing that semi-skeletonized dial ? That moonphase at 12 o’clock ? That case ?… I could stay here forever. 

The perpetual calendar display is laid out symmetrically, with subdials for the day, date, month, and moon phase. Some models also feature a leap year indicator. The case sizes were typically larger than those of traditional perpetual calendars, adding to their bold, architectural presence on the wrist. 

As for the heart that powers them, these watches contain in-house calibers ensuring that the watch would display the correct date and leap year cycle without needing manual adjustment.

The GG Octagonal Perpetual Calendar comes in steel, yellow and more rarely white gold configurations. But believe me when I tell you that you could find Jack Sparrow’s treasure before  you find one of these in the market.

(Click here for more information about the white gold piece.)

Gérald Genta Grande Sonnerie.

This is how you properly flex. This is the ultimate mic drop guys. 

Let me explain why. The Grande Sonnerie is one of the most complex and prestigious watch complications in horology. It’s like having a mini orchestra on your wrist. This complication automatically strikes the time in hours and quarters as it passes, kind of like a grandfather clock, but way cooler and smaller. It also gives you the option to strike on demand, meaning you can hear the time whenever you want without looking. It usually comes with a Petite Sonnerie, which only strikes the hours. But the Grande Sonnerie does it all—hours and quarters—automatically, every hour. The level of craftsmanship needed to build this is out of this world as it requires hundreds of parts, all working together perfectly. It’s, as I said, the ultimate flex in watchmaking. 

His – I’ll say it again – Magnum Opus.

BUT ARE YOU LOOKING AT THAT CASE THO !!! god… 

The octagonal case is often massive, allowing the space required for the intricate chiming mechanism. These watches were often made of precious metals like gold or platinum, enhancing the luxuriousness of the complex movement inside.

More here.

Gérald Genta Octagonal Retro Fantasy Collection

You know what they say, “ Always finish with a sweet”. And this is as sweet as it gets for Gérald.

One of the most playful and whimsical interpretations of the octagonal form came with the Gérald Genta Fantasy Collection, which often incorporated retrograde functions, jumping hours… on cartoon character dials. Very quirky right ?

Well the dials frequently featured characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck… with their hands serving as the indicators for the retrograde minutes or jumping hours. But don’t be fooled, despite the playful designs, the watches were powered by high-end mechanical movements and featured advanced complications.

And hey, it really worked. The Fantasy Collection demonstrated Genta’s ability to blend high horology with playful and artistic designs. It appealed to collectors looking for something unique and unconventional, showcasing Genta’s diversity in design.

Huge fun fact about this collection: Back in 1984, the brand was infamously expelled from the Montres et Bijoux fair for using Disney designs, but Genta’s daring move to challenge and push the limits of this traditional industry sparked a shift that would reshape and redefine an entire sector of watchmaking. He made it okay to be playful, and the old snobs hated him for it; at first. 

Another thing that I learned while roaming the undiscovered territory of Mr Genta’s art, was that he was designing for an elite clientele of sultans and royals from the Middle East and Asia, who sought unique, ornate pieces adorned with gemstones and intricate details. Most of these pieces were “ Table clocks” or clocks in general that do fall into his Neo-Octagonal-Art Deco ’ish style. 

This custom-focused approach allowed Genta to move beyond the more traditional designs he created for major Swiss brands, transitioning into highly eccentric and often extravagant works of art. 

I know that this was long and boring to some of you. But hey, we warned you about how horology can be. But let me tell you, I had an absolute blast writing this story and inspecting the beautiful creations of Mr. Gérald Genta. 

Let me know on Instagram DMs what you thought about this and let me tell you, we are making a fantastic comeback ! If you’re Moroccan, please check the Time-Telling Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and I’m very happy and proud to announce a very interesting mini-series on The T-T youtube channel. So yea, enjoy

*Images courtesy of: Gérald Genta heritage – Hodinkee.com – Christie’s – Phillips Auction – Revolution Watch (Among other sources)*