Gerald Charles Caliber GCA 3024/12

The Gerald Charles caliber GCA 3024/12 is a high-end flying tourbillon movement. This caliber was announced in March 2023 when the brand introduced the Maestro 9.0 Tourbillon watch.
Genta in 2000, before selling the company in 2003. 

GC labels the movement as GCA 3024/12 Manufacture. It is called “manufature” because it is based on the Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier S.A. caliber VMF 3024 framework with brand specific customizations (see below). Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier is a high-end private label movement company based in Fleurier, Switzerland. Every movement they produce is 100% Swiss made.

In the GC’s own words:

“The model was designed in collaboration with the Maison’s creative director Octavio Garcia, and is powered by the GCA 024/12 automatic flying tourbillon calibre, a bespoke manufacture movement produced by Gerald Charles’s long-time partner Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, the Swiss specialist high-end movement creator. ” –source

Finishing:

• Cote de Gèneve decorated bridges
• 60-seconds Titanium flying tourbillon cage
• Blue indicator applied as small seconds indicator
• 18-karat yellow gold bridge
• 22-karat rose gold oscillating mass with honeycomb motif
• Bevels, counterbores and apertures diamond-polished
• Pivots and flanges rolled
• Wheels circular-grained on 2 faces

Customizations:

One of the customizations Gerald Charles did to the VMF 3024 base is the found in the design of the rotor (seen in the image above):

“Also visible through the case back is the movement’s 22-karat rose gold oscillating mass, which charges the watch’s mainspring as it spins during wear. This is decorated with the striking honeycomb motif inspired by an ancient Roman monument and designed by Octavio Garcia.”

Also custom is the tourbillon cage with 18K yellow gold bridge:

“Octavio Garcia worked with Gerald Charles’ technical teams and Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier to engineer a unique tourbillon cage in the shape of the Maison’s GC logo.”

Replacement Price:

Of course with a caliber such as this, there is no defined replacement price because it is not available for purchase separate from the watch. The retail price of the basic Maestro 9.0 Tourbillon (GC9.0-A-01) is $95,800 USD. As of 3/23, the watch is available via pre-order with a non-refundable deposit of $9,580 (10%). The watches are scheduled to ship in May 2023.

As for the sapphire and diamond laced versions, those are priced on request.

About Gerald Charles:

Gerald Charles was founded in 2000 by watch designer Gérald Charles Genta. This was after Genta sold his brand Gerald Genta to Bulgari. Notice how he used his name for the brand, but not the part of his name that would likely clash with the sales agreement.

Fast forward to today, one may get the impression from the brand’s about page that the Genta family still owns the Gerald Charles brand:

“Gerald Charles is an independent, family-owned watch company based in Switzerland. It was founded in 2000 by the great Gérald Charles Genta, the 20th century’s foremost watch designer.”

“Family-owned” can be found in other parts of their marketing copy, such as the description for the watch discussed on this page:

“The Maison Gerald Charles’ Maestro 9.0 Tourbillon is one of the most technically and aesthetically advanced pieces ever conceived by the family-owned Maison.”

However, in 2003, Genta also sold this company to an investment group (which the about page also states):

“Monsieur Genta, often referred to simply as ‘Maestro’, was a prolific artist and watch designer. After selling the company in 2003, he stayed on as its designer-in-chief until his death in 2011, leaving a treasure trove of watch designs in the company’s care. Every watch created by Gerald Charles is based on one of his original designs and carries his legacy of ‘artistic creativity, technical mastery’ forward into the future.”

The family they are talking about above is not the Genta family, but it is the Ziviani family who apparently was in on the acquisition and remains to be in charge of leadership to this day – specifically Federico Ziviani as the current CEO (as of April 2018).

Additional Resources:

• Gerald Charles official site
• Reviving Gerald Genta’s Watch Brand (New York Times)
• Gerald Charles – dialling into social networks to take on bigger rivals (Financial Times)