Launched in 1969, Gerald Genta, the brand, was founded by the famed eponymous watch designer best known for creating the Patek Philippe Nautilus and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak amongst countless other designs. While both of those watches were launched in the 1970s, his brand was immediately successful on account of his already growing renown in the industry. With a growing clientele of royalty such as the Moroccan King, the Sultans of both, Oman and Brunei, the King of Spain, the King of Saudi Arabia, the Queen Mother of England and several leading businessmen, sportsmen and entertainers, Gerald Genta's own timepieces quickly became sought-after pieces of horological royalty. With his VIP clientele, Gerald Genta become known for producing exquisite timepieces made from precious metals that boasted meticulously crafted movements and unique stainless steel watches much like the Perpetual Calendar Moonphase ref. G2840.4 that we have here from the 1980s. Boasting a 33mm octagonal 18kt yellow gold case on a leather strap, the Perpetual Calendar Moonphase provided a platform for some unique watches with various complications. Offered here, our example is a perpetual calendar moonphase variant with a bright white dial boasting a quartet of subdials for its complications, such as its day, date, month, moonphase and leap year. With its branded blue moonphase subdial at 12 o’clock circled with gold, this timepiece ties its impressive complication in with its construction via the sapphire cabochon winding crown that it features at 3 o’clock, making this a thoroughly impressive piece of horology from its engineering to its overall design, as one would expect from a watch designed by Gerald Genta.

While he might be best known for the Nautilus and Royal Oak and the design language that he inadvertently created, Genta's diverse portfolio of designs has given us an array of interesting watches, one of which is this octagonal stunner.