Oris, Daniel Roth, Gerald Genta and Zenith in Geneva
This third edition of Geneva Watch Days shines a spotlight on watches that play with materials, colors, finishes, and at times even mechanics. From Gérald Genta’s golden obsidian to Daniel Roth’s guilloché work, and from the playful caliber of the Oris ProPilot X Gonzo to Zenith’s revisited El Primero movement, each piece has its own way of commanding attention. Lightcatching dials, movements that hold a few surprises up their sleeves, and exceptional craftsmanship enough to delight a Frank Sans C in top form!
ORIS
ProPilot x Gonzo Edition
Gonzo enters the scene
It is hard to imagine a character more naturally suited to the ProPilot X. Stuntman, self-proclaimed artist, and lover of outlandish feats, The Great Gonzothe famous character from Disney’s “The Muppets” has found a watch that truly matches his personality. Oris has entrusted him with one of its most distinctive movements, the Calibre 115, transforming its skeletonized architecture into a veritable playground.
The 44mm titanium case presents a technical silhouette, while the dial unfolds in a spectacular blue, red, and yellow gradient inspired by Gonzo’s fur and attire. Even the peripheral ring plays the chameleon: its iridescent laser finish shifts in appearance depending on the viewing angle, transitioning from polished titanium to various shades of the rainbow.
Ten Days and a Chili Pepper
But the real magic happens beneath the hands. The Calibre 115 is a manual-winding mechanical movement boasting a 10 day (240-hour) power reserve, thanks to a massive mainspring. Visible through the skeletonized dial, the spring serves as the canvas for a watchmaking first: tiny laser-engraved markings on each of its coils gradually form the smiling face of Gonzo. When the watch is fully wound, the portrait appears; as the energy is released, the image disintegrates until it vanishes.
The power reserve countdown also reflects the character: its hand is shaped like a chili pepper and moves along a scale graduated in “GREAT” days
Mechanics takes a turn for the spectacular.
This is ultimately where the ProPilot X becomes interesting: Gonzo is not merely a decorative motif; he brings the mechanics to life. His face appears and disappears in sync with the power reserve, while the skeletonized design reveals the barrel, gear train, and various caliber components. Even the model’s original understated nature serves the concept: stripped of color, the ProPilot X’s architecture could accommodate this exuberant palette without sacrificing legibility. With this limited edition, Oris successfully marries high precision mechanics with a distinctively tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. It is a serious watch, then but one that has clearly decided not to stay that way for long.
€ 8, 500
View the technical specifications for the ProPilot X Gonzo Edition.
Oris Social Club Edition II
A watch that’s totally iced out
With the Oris Social Club Edition II, Oris revisits its 43.50 mm Aquis Date Relief. The silvery-white dial, featuring a frosted texture, catches the light unevenly. The hands and applied indices, coated with luminous material, stand out against this “icy” surface. The unidirectional rotating steel bezel features the raised minute scale characteristic of the Aquis Date Relief. The watch thus retains the identity of a true diver’s watch while offering a brighter aesthetic.
An Aquis built for diving
Beneath this more understated appearance lies the robust architecture of the Aquis. Its steel case measures 43.50 mm in diameter and 13.10 mm in thickness, featuring a screw-in security crown and water resistance increased to 300 meters. The double-domed sapphire crystal benefits from an anti-reflective coating on the inside, while the screw-in case back bears engravings specific to this edition. Fitted with an olive-green NATO strap, the watch adopts a more casual look without sacrificing the model’s technical attributes.
A mechanism stripped of the superfluous
Limited to 500 numbered pieces, this edition is powered by an automatic movement that favors a classic display, featuring hours, minutes, seconds, and an instantaneous date change. Concealed behind a solid case back, the movement offers a power reserve of approximately 41 hours. However, a few details set this new timepiece apart: on the first day of every month, the Oris Bear appears in the date window, while the case back features the outline of the Hölstein-based manufacture. This second Oris Social Club edition is the first to be created in partnership with all 62 Oris Social Clubs worldwide.
€ 2, 100
View the technical specifications for the Oris Social Club Edition II watch.
DANIEL ROTH, Extra Plat Rose Gold Gilt
This watch is distinguished by its black dial, whose surface reveals a fine guilloché pattern in the light. Crafted on a solid gold base, this decoration is executed on a guilloché lathe, a manual technique requiring years of practice (see Frank Sans C’s program on…). « Les merveilles de la Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton »).
Here, however, the guilloché work is merely the first step in a particularly meticulous process. The Roman numerals, the Daniel Roth name, and the individual number are first masked with varnish before the dial undergoes several electroplating treatments to achieve that intense black hue. Once the varnish is removed, the inscriptions emerge directly from the underlying gold plate the principle of the “gilt” dial, which lends the markings a depth impossible to replicate through simple printing.
The result is particularly subtle. The black surface absorbs and reflects light, while the guilloché pattern accentuates the variations depending on the viewing angle. The gold elements appear to emerge from within the dial, featuring a very slight relief that highlights their radiance. At the center, the hour and minute disc echoes this black guilloché finish, while the gold hands punctuate the composition with a luminous touch.
The softness of rose gold
The richness of the dial finds its harmony in the 5N rose gold case. True to the Daniel Roth signature, its 38.6 x 35.5 mm double-ellipse shape favors gentle curves. At just 7.7 mm thick, the Extra-Thin Rose Gold Gilt maintains a remarkably slender profile. The contrast between the deep black of the dial and the warmth of the rose gold creates a presence that is both understated and assertive, while the black calfskin strap extends this combination of materials and colors.
The essentials, right up to the movement
Behind this apparent simplicity lies the in-house DR002 calibre, developed and assembled at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. Measuring just 3.1 mm thick, this manual-winding movement features an architecture designed to fit the case’s compact dimensions. Its 143 components are visible through the sapphire case back and boast hand-crafted finishes: the edges of the bridges are shaped and polished, while the chamfering and beveling reflect the meticulous attention paid to surfaces and transitions. Beating at 4 Hz, this movement offers a power reserve of approximately 65 hours.
€ 71, 640
Technical details:
Case :
Material : or rose 5N
Dimensions : 38,6 x 35,5 mm
Case thickness : 7,7 mm
Glace saphir antireflet plate
Flat anti-reflective sapphire crystal Sapphire crystal case back
Water resistance : 30 m
Dial :
Gold hour and minute disc with black finish
Gold base with black finish and linear guilloché pattern
Rose gold typeface revealed using a “gilt” technique
Gold hands
Bracelet :
Strap material: calfskin
Lug width: 20 mm
Movement :
Calibre DR002
Manufacture manual-winding movement developed and assembled at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton under the supervision of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini
Frequency : 4 Hz
Power reserve : 65 hours
Thickness : 31 mm
143 components
21 jewels
GERALD GENTA, Geneva Golden Obsidian Minute Repeater
A stone serving as a dial
This magnificent timepiece immediately draws the eye with its dial, crafted from a plate of golden obsidian. Dark and streaked with brown and golden hues, it reveals—depending on the light—the natural inclusions characteristic of this volcanic rock, ensuring that no two dials are exactly alike. Polished, rounded 3N yellow gold hour markers and matching hands stand out with understated elegance against this mineral backdrop. Around the periphery, a white minute track highlights the watch’s distinctive geometry: circular on the inside, it follows the cushion shape of the case on the outside, creating a subtle interplay of perspectives.
Architecture in the service of sound
The 40 mm-diameter 3N yellow gold profile is certainly worth a closer look. Its polished gadroons—one of Gérald Genta’s signature design elements alternate with satin-finished surfaces, lending the case a subtle sense of depth. Yet this architecture is not merely aesthetic; in a minute repeater, the case plays a direct role in acoustic quality. The case walls have been thinned to just 0.6 mm, while the bezel and case back feature circular cutouts designed to facilitate sound propagation. The sapphire crystal, reduced to a thickness of 0.8 mm, also contributes to this acoustic optimization.
Remarkable mechanics
The spectacle continues on the case back, revealing the manufacture caliber a manual-winding movement. Its 316 components are entirely hand-finished. Côtes de Genève, beveling, and circular graining on the mainplate create a particularly refined decorative finish. Polished gold inertia weights integrated into the balance wheel ensure inertial regulation, while the octagonal balance bridge echoes one of the designer’s signature geometric shapes.
As for the two gongs, each is individually shaped and tuned by ear and by hand to achieve a clear, crystalline sound. With 32 jewels, a frequency of 3 Hz, and an 80 hour power reserve, this minute repeater successfully harmonizes the richness of a natural material, the sophistication of its architecture, and a movement in which every detail seems designed to be as beautiful as it is functional.
€ 412, 920 euros
Case :
Material : Yellow gold 3N
Crown: Yellow gold, golden obsidian cabochon
Dial :
Made of gold sheen obsidian
Dimensions: 40 mm
Thickness: 9.6 mm 3N yellow gold indices (polished and rounded) White minute track Gold hands, polished and rounded, with arrow-shaped tips
Movement :
Calibre GG-002 Manufacture
Minute Repeater
Manual-winding
Frequency: 3 Hz
Power reserve: 80 hours 316 components 32 jewels
Brown calfskin strap
ZENITH, Chronomaster Solo Sport
Ceramics set the tone.
With its new Chronomaster Solo Sport, Zenith introduces a series of ceramic dials available in white, black, and brown. Depending on the version, the material features either a sunray or a polished finish. The dial surface is further textured with a unique pattern composed of multiple “Z” shapes tilted at 45 degrees, appearing to repeat infinitely. This graphic arrangement evokes high-frequency vibrations—a visual signature that extends to the seconds hand counterweight and the peripheral “shark-tooth” minute track.
I’ve really taken a liking to the brown model, which stands out particularly thanks to the contrast between the dial color and the rose-gold-colored, faceted applied hands and indices.
The El Primero without the chronograph
The true evolution lies beneath the dial. For the first time in the Chronomaster collection, Zenith presents a three-hand watch. Derived from the El Primero 3600 chronograph, the El Primero 3620 caliber dispenses with chronograph functions to focus on the essentials: hours, minutes, and seconds with or without a date, depending on the version. It offers a fresh perspective on a movement born in 1969; stripped of its sub-dials, it nonetheless retains its fundamental identity: high-frequency operation, oscillating at 5 Hz, or 36,000 vibrations per hour.
Its 40 mm diameter steel case, water-resistant to 200 meters, features a unidirectional ceramic rotating bezel that integrates seamlessly with the dial’s aesthetic. The movement also incorporates a silicon escapement, a stop-seconds function, and bidirectional winding, ensuring a power reserve of approximately 60 hours. Visible through the transparent case back, it reveals a skeletonized, star-shaped oscillating weight the Manufacture’s emblem.
The game-changing loop
The Zenclasp™ clasp is distinguished primarily by its micro-adjustment system: by lifting a second cover, the bracelet can be lengthened or shortened in 2.5 mm increments up to a total of 10 mm without the need for tools. It is a solution designed to easily accommodate fluctuations in wrist size throughout the day. Beneath this simplicity lies a mechanism comprising 41 components that required three years of development and testing across more than 600,000 cycles.
Chronomaster Solo Sport with date – € 10, 500
Chronomaster Solo Sport without date – € 9, 500
View the technical specifications for the Chronomaster Solo Sport.
See also: