The story of how a friendship shaped the Gerald Charles brand, and my visit to discover its history and watches in Geneva.
It was a rather hot day in Munich. I had an interesting meeting with a watch brand I had heard about here and there but never really got to know. We met in the lobby bar of Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski on Maximilianstraße. A handshake with a gentleman in a dark suit. Italian accent. I noticed a watch on each wrist. One in gold, the other in titanium. Double-wristing. Strong game.
His name was Franco Ziviani. Chairman of Gerald Charles, former CEO of Audemars Piguet Italy and a close friend of Gérald Genta. Learning those three things, I knew he had some stories to tell. And indeed, he had a few. He was happy to share them. The smile on his face whenever he recalled a particular moment told me how special those memories were to him. Well, I was impressed, too.
We didn’t have enough time that day to discuss everything. But I definitely left the Vier Jahreszeiten with new impressions, a bit more knowledge and, above all, the desire to learn more about Gerald Charles.
We all know Gérald Genta for designing some of the most important sports watches in history. Think of the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Quite a legacy already, right?
But Genta was more than a designer working for other brands. He also wanted to express his own vision of watchmaking. In 1969, he founded his eponymous brand, Gérald Genta, which eventually became part of Bulgari. Then, in 2000, he founded another brand. Gerald Charles.
The name combines his first two given names, Gerald and Charles. And it would become the final watch brand he founded during his lifetime.
Running a business, however, wasn’t always as easy for a creative mind like Genta. He needed someone who could take care of the business side while allowing his ideas to flourish. Someone he trusted. Franco Ziviani was that person.
The two had first met in Milan in 1982. Franco was building his career in the watch industry, eventually becoming CEO of Audemars Piguet Italy. Over the years, the two developed a close friendship, and Genta knew that Franco had the business experience to take Gerald Charles forward.
In 2003, Genta entrusted the brand to Franco and his family. Franco’s brother, Giampaolo Ziviani, took over the day-to-day management of the company, while Genta continued to work as its chief designer and remained creatively involved in the brand until his death in 2011.
After Genta’s death, the Ziviani family continued to develop the brand, preserving his designs and the archive of drawings he had left behind.
In 2019, Franco’s son Federico Ziviani took over as CEO. He wanted to bring Gerald Charles to a new generation of collectors without losing what made it special in the first place. A year later, designer Octavio Garcia, known for his previous work at Audemars Piguet, joined the creative team to help translate Genta’s design language into contemporary watches.
Franco himself formally joined the company’s leadership as Chairman in late 2023, taking on an official role in a brand that had been part of his life for two decades.
In 2024, Gerald Charles opened its Geneva Atelier, a place that brings together the brand’s watchmaking, history and archive. So, this was an obvious next stop for me to learn more about the brand.
From Munich to Geneva
A short flight from Munich to Geneva, and there I was on a beautiful, sunny autumn day that felt almost like summer. Geneva in the morning is full of runners, people in suits rushing to work, and that particular atmosphere of a city where watchmaking is part of everyday life.
This time, I didn’t need to drive to the Vallée de Joux to enjoy some watchmaking. The Gerald Charles Atelier is right in the heart of Geneva, in a charming building at Rue du Mont-Blanc 3.
Some of the watches are assembled here. There is an elegant lounge where you can spend time with the current collection, and then there is one particularly special place: the brand’s museum, where creations by Gérald Genta, both famous and lesser-known, are gathered under one roof. You can take a virtual tour of the museum in my Instagram Reel here.
When I arrived, a watchmaker was working on the Masterlink Perpetual Calendar Sapphire Dial. It was a nice way to start the visit. Over the course of the day, I got to see a variety of watches: ultra-thin automatics in gold and steel, sporty titanium models, perpetual calendars, chronographs and a few more complicated pieces.
The Signature of Gerald Charles
Different watches, different purposes, different personalities. Yet they all had one thing in common. The case. Or, more precisely, its shape.
The Maestro case is one of Gérald Genta’s most recognisable creations for the brand, introduced in 2005. With its unusual geometry, somewhere between a square and an octagon, and that characteristic curve at six o’clock, it is unmistakably Genta. The design was inspired by Baroque architecture, including the work of Francesco Borromini.
It is also a complex case to work with, particularly when it comes to the finishing. Its geometry makes hand-finishing four to five times more time-consuming than standard case finishing.
But what I find most fascinating is how far the brand has taken this single design. Since its introduction, the Maestro case has become the foundation of the entire collection. Whether it’s a sporty titanium watch, a skeletonised model, a tourbillon or a perpetual calendar, the same distinctive shape is there. And yet, each has its own character, and the team keeps finding ways to make the design feel relevant and fresh.
Today, the Maestro case has become an icon in its own right. You don’t necessarily need to read the name on the dial to recognise Gerald Charles. That “smile” at six o’clock is a signature.
More Than Just a Watch
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this story is that it didn’t begin with a business deal. It began with a friendship. Even the gold skeleton watch on Franco’s wrist that day in Munich was more than just a watch. Genta had a real passion for skeletonised watches. Seeing Franco wearing one felt like a small but meaningful reminder of the man behind the brand and the legacy he entrusted to the Ziviani family.
More details about Gerald Charles watches at geraldcharles.com.
