Gérald Genta’s Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian is built around a simple but compelling idea, letting a rare natural dial and a serious chiming movement speak in the same language.
The watch pairs a golden obsidian dial with a yellow-gold cushion case, using light, texture and sound as its main points of tension.
It’s a watch for collectors who appreciate complication, but also for those who understand how much character a mineral dial can bring when no two examples are exactly alike.
At a glance
- Gérald Genta introduces the Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian with a volcanic-stone dial and yellow-gold case.
- The 40mm cushion-shaped case houses the manual-winding GG-002 caliber, developed by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
- Its architecture is shaped around sound, with thinned case walls, hollowed components and hand-tuned gongs.
Golden obsidian gives the dial its own rhythm
The defining feature here is the golden obsidian dial, a volcanic rock formed by the rapid cooling of lava.
Its brown and golden inclusions shift with the light, appearing and receding as the wrist moves.
That makes the dial less about a fixed colour than a changing surface, with each stone carrying its own internal pattern.
Gérald Genta frames the mineral with slender yellow-gold hands and hour markers, while a white railway minute track keeps the display precise and legible.
A curved yellow-gold case built for resonance
The case measures 40mm in diameter and 9.60mm thick, giving the watch a notably slim profile for a minute repeater.
Its cushion shape is generously curved, with polished gadroons set against satin-finished surfaces.
The minute repeater slide follows the curve of the case, a detail that keeps the complication integrated rather than visually intrusive.
Beyond its softness on the wrist, the case has been engineered to help the chiming mechanism breathe.
The walls are thinned to 0.6mm at their finest point, while the bezel and caseback are hollowed out and the sapphire crystal is reduced to 0.8mm thick.
The GG-002 caliber and hand-tuned gongs
Inside is the manual-winding GG-002 caliber, developed by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
The movement is visible through the open caseback and offers an 80-hour power reserve.
Its gongs are individually cut and tuned by hand, underscoring the artisanal side of a complication where mechanical precision and acoustic adjustment are inseparable.
In this context, the golden obsidian dial isn’t just decorative.
It gives the watch a quiet sense of material drama that matches the hidden complexity of the movement beneath it.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Gérald Genta |
|---|---|
| Model | Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian |
| Case size | 40mm |
| Case thickness | 9.60mm |
| Case material | Yellow gold |
| Case shape | Cushion-shaped case with polished gadroons and satin-finished surfaces |
| Dial | Golden obsidian with brown and golden inclusions |
| Hands and markers | Yellow-gold hands and hour markers with white railway minute track |
| Movement | Manual-winding GG-002 caliber |
| Development | Developed by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton |
| Complication | Minute repeater |
| Gongs | Individually cut and tuned by hand |
| Power reserve | 80 hours |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal reduced to 0.8mm thick |
| Case construction | Case walls thinned to 0.6mm at their finest point, with hollowed bezel and caseback |
| Caseback | Open caseback |
The Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian sits at the meeting point of mineral individuality and acoustic watchmaking, making its appeal feel more intimate than demonstrative.
For Gérald Genta, it’s a reminder that complication can be both technically ambitious and visually restrained when the material choices are strong enough to carry the emotion.
