Credits: Article and images by Anders Modig @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/07/15/did-gerald-genta-design-historys-first-luxury-steel-sports-watch-for-iwc-and-not-audemars-piguet-reprise/
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Genta’s first design for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak – hitherto seen as the first imagining of a stainless steel sports watch – was made in 1970, two years before the watch was finally produced. But now it seems this design was pre-dated by one of a stainless steel chronograph for IWC, which may have been made in the late 1960s.
Sotheby’s has staged a strong series of auctions throughout the spring and early summer of 2022 collectively called Gérald Genta: Icon of Time thanks to a close collaboration with Genta’s widow, Evelyne Genta, Monaco’s ambassador to the UK and chairperson of the Gérald Genta Heritage Association. Thanks to this collaboration, watch designs previously unknown to the public have surfaced, including that of said IWC chronograph.
Dr. David Seyffer, curator of the IWC museum, has helped clarify the background of the (unproduced) design that Genta told his family was “very important.” According to Dr. Seyffer, there are three details that may show that it was made as early as 1967:
– By the look of it, it has been designed for a manual winding chronograph movement like the Valjoux 72, which was used in other chronographs around this time. This movement lost a lot of its appeal after the 1969 introduction of automatic chronograph movements.
– Hannes Pantli, who has been with IWC since 1972, had not seen the design or heard about the project. This former director of marketing and sales, today board member, would have been involved in such a chronograph project.
– Dr. Seyffer’s research has shown that IWC was considering adding a chronograph to its catalogue in 1967.
“With all these indicators, I really believe the design was made before 1969,” said Dr. Seyffer.
Sotheby’s however remained rather cautious in its communication of the design, saying it “could” predate the Royal Oak and that it “possibly” reaches back to the late 1960s – which is refreshing to see in an era where storytelling from brands and auction houses sometimes gets a little out of hand.
![](https://wristnews.com/storage/2022/07/original-prototype-design-of-an-IWC-bracelet-watch-Sothebys.jpg)
![](https://wristnews.com/storage/2022/07/original-prototype-design-of-an-IWC-bracelet-watch-Sothebys.jpg)
Gérald Genta steel sports watch design sketch for IWC (photo courtesy Sotheby’s)
Whether it was made in the 1960s or 1970s, it is definitely the first known design of a steel sports watch with a chronograph – the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak did not feature a chronograph until 1998, and the Patek Philippe Nautilus only featured a chronograph in 2006.
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Credits: Article and images by Anders Modig @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/07/15/did-gerald-genta-design-historys-first-luxury-steel-sports-watch-for-iwc-and-not-audemars-piguet-reprise/