The first of four auctions offering one hundred original drawings by Gérald Genta opens at Sotheby’s last week.
Bidding is already underway for 31 lots, with Mr Genta’s original sketch of Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak currently attracting the most interest. There have been 45 bids so far, the highest of which is CHF 65,000.
The online auction continues until February 24.
Each design is sold with a unique NFT-protected digital replica, which also serves as a record of ownership and proof of provenance.
A portion of the proceeds from the sales will go to the Gérald Genta Heritage Association, which has a mission to encourage and reward the next generation in the watch industry, notably with the launch of the first edition of the Gérald Genta Prize for Young Talent.
Auction highlights
The Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of one of Genta’s most famous designs – that of the Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet – the first sale will be led by two of his designs for the watch that has come to define his legacy.
The Original Prototype Design for The Royal Oak
Including all features and characteristics that were to become so emblematic for the model. Beautifully crafted on blue paper and signed by the artist himself, this lot encompasses both beauty and historic importance.
Three designs for the Pasha de Cartier, one of Genta’s favourite brands
Supposedly, the roots of the Pasha de Cartier go back to a timepiece ordered by the Pasha of Marrakech in the early 1930s, who wanted a watch that is water resistant and could keep up with an active lifestyle.
Still in Cartier’s collection today, the Cartier de Pasha has become an icon in its own right.
Genta was commissioned to recreate the watch with a complication component, and the round watch positively broke boundaries for Cartier, opening a new era for them. The movements for these very complicated watches were made in the Genta factory.
Never before seen private commissions
For Genta’s exclusive clients, which included the Moroccan King, the Sultans of Oman and of Brunei, the King of Spain, the King of Saudi Arabia, the Queen Mother of England as well as leading businessmen, sportsmen and entertainers, Genta created unique, prestigious and audacious models, some of which took years to emerge.
Represented in this sale are Genta’s design for a horse-shaped sword stick made for an undisclosed Head of State, set with diamonds and demonstrating Genta’s typical extravagance.
A wristwatch, also commissioned by a Head of State comprises a dial based on the painting ‘Les Amoureux’ by Raymond Peynet, and a design for a perpetual calendar desk clock created for a King in the Middle East. This very intricate design, which Gérald Genta stated on different occasions that this very design was his favourite, took a week to paint.
Quintessential Gerald Genta designs
Including Haute Joallarie pieces, a majestic lion family mantel clock, a playful Pink Panther desk clock, sports clocks and watches, and erotic watches, carrying on the historic tradition.
