The unmissable Gerald Charles Maestro 8.0 GC Sport Squelette “Destro”

Swiss watchmaker Gerald Charles is a brand established by the famous watch designer Gerald Genta in the twilight of his career, and as a result, boasts a portfolio of distinctive designs. While the brand fell into silence after Mr. Genta’s passing, it was revived in 2020, courtesy of the heirs of one of its founding partners, resurrecting the splendid designs of yesteryear.

Today Gerald Charles concentrates on one special case style: the asymmetrical, octagon-shaped Maestro case. It has introduced several complications, such as chronograph and tourbillon, expanding its collection with a unifying theme – creative and distinctive case designs.

This year, Gerald Charles unveiled the Maestro 8.0 GC Sport Squelette, which, at first glance, looks just like the skeletonized version launched last year. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll find all the differences in the details, beginning with the crown position.

While Gerald Charles has offered left-handed crown watches before, they were limited to simpler, entry-level models with solid dials. Customers seeking higher-end options were confined to more conventional crown placements.

This changes with the new Sport Squelette. It is the first skeletonized watch – with a micro-rotor, no less – from the brand that features a left-handed crown. This feature not only adds significant wow factor to the watch, but also serves practical purposes.

For one, from an operating point of view, a left-handed crown is more suitable for, well, lefties, to wind and adjust the time. However, for right-handed people, this configuration could be perfect as a sports watch since the crown will no longer dig into the wrist during a huge rotational movement during sports.

In fact, this watch is built as a sports watch – despite its delicate skeletonized movement – as the case has been upgraded to titanium, instead of steel as found on the original version launched last year. As a result, the watch weighs 59.5 grams, including the strap, which is relatively lightweight and will not interfere with any sporty activities.

The new titanium case still keeps its unique octagonal design, including the asymmetrical bezel with those familiar “smiley” curves at six o’clock. It now has a sportier look thanks to a sandblasted finish, in line with the idea of making it a lightweight watch for outdoor use.

The movement within the Sport Squelette is the GCA 5482, a thin, automatic movement developed by Vaucher, a specialist that’s a sister company of independent watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier, a very capable one, in fact, as it supplies top brands like Richard Mille, Hermes, and also Kikuchi Nakagawa.

One key reason contributing to the movement’s thinness, at 2.6 mm, is the micro rotor, which can sit flush with other parts and reduce some height. Furthermore, thanks to the skeletonized bridges, the winding rotor becomes visible from the front. Positioned at five o’clock, the motion of the gilded rotor is perceptible when the watch is on the wrist, lending it a more engaging appearance.

Notably, the movement features a few elements that are unique to the brand. For example, the bridge above the rotor is adorned with a hexagonal shape, a motif echoed on the rotor. Additionally, the screws have a triangular shape, adding yet another layer of interesting details to the watch.

Movement: GCA 5482; automatic; 50 hours power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes
Case: 39 mm x 41 mm x 8.35 mm; titanium; water resistant to 100 m
Strap: Rubber strap
Availability: Through Gerald Charles and authorised retailers