Swiss luxury watch brand Gerald Charles has unveiled the new Maestro 8.0 GC Sport Squelette model in Grade 5 Titanium with the screw-down crown on the left and Royal Blue vulcanised rubber strap.
Designed by the Maison’s Creative Director Octavio Garcia and manufactured in collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, it is the brand’s first automatic skeleton watch with the screw-down crown on the left.
The GCA 5482 calibre has been rotated by 180° to allow the crown to be placed on the left of the Maestro Case. As a result, the balance wheel is now located at 1 o’clock, capturing all the power, while the train wheel follows the movement downwards consequently.
Completely redesigned by Octavio Garcia, based on his previous original design of the Maestro 8.0 Squelette, this new skeletonised movement fits perfectly within the asymmetrical shape of the Maestro case.
With its open-worked movement of just 2.6 mm thickness, and a total of only 8.35 mm, it is one of the slimmest watches of the Maestro Collection. It is also extremely comfortable and light, with a total weight of only 59.5 grams.
To strengthen the relationship with tennis and after the success of the three GC Sport models, Gerald Charles decided to introduce a new skeletonised version of this watch, tested and developed with some of ATP professional tennis players.
The GC8.0-TX-TN-01 is indeed perfect to be worn during sport activities due to its left-side crown, which prevents rubbing during playing, and its lightness, which is ensured by its open-worked movement and the material of the case in Grade 5 Titanium. With a watch head weight of only 40 grams, this timepiece is perfect to be worn on every occasion, on both on and off the court.
If Gerald Charles succeeds in creating a technical, thin, light and ergonomic watch – since it sits flat on the wrist, as the case-back, the lugs and the strap are on the same straight line – it also features a 5G shock-resistance.
With this model, Gerald Charles introduces a new sandblasting finish for the Grade 5 Titanium case. It results in a special shade of grey, which is darker than the sandblasted bridges in Rhodium plating colour with a shiny hand polished anglage.
To enhance the chromatic contrast, the decentred micro-rotor is in 22KRose Gold 4N, decorated with the Gerald Charles ”honeycomb” motif, and the train wheel is yellow gold coloured.
Also, a very unique detail is the “bleuissage” treatment for the screws: once over-heated by hand, they acquire the shade called “bleuie”, which comes from the resulting protective finish.
The movement offers a power reserve of about 50 hours, although the thickness of the movement is just 2.6 mm.
On the dial side, this process makes the watch extremely readable thanks to the colours used and the screws positioned close to the hours.
In order to perfect the aesthetics of the whole, the “bleuie” matches with the baton shaped hands, the minute track and the strap, all in blue.
The Maestro 8.0 GC Sport Squelette in Grade 5 Titanium, Ref. GC8.0-TX-TN-01, features the iconic Gerald Charles Maestro case and Royal Blue vulcanized rubber strap, both Mr. Gérald Charles Genta’s original drawings.
For the Maestro case, Mr. Genta took inspiration from a 17th century Roman monument designed by Francesco Borromini, whose shape is the result of a square and an octagon with the “smile” at 6 o’clock; with an overall fit of 40mm and a thickness of just 8.35mm.
While the vulcanised rubber strap features a double-face decoration with Clou de Paris motif on one side and the GC logo tapisserie on the other one.
Like all Gerald Charles watches, this model is water resistant to 10 ATM (100m), thanks to a bespoke gasket that seals the sapphire crystal.
Technical details
Model: Gerald Charles Maestro 8.0 GC Sport Squelette Titanium with Left Side Crown, Reference GC8.0-TX-TN-01
Case
Grade 5 Titanium with a left screw-down crown
Diameter: 39 mm x 41 mm
Screw-down crown with Clou de Paris finish, Embossed logo
Crystal: Sapphire crystal with internal and external multi-layer anti-reflection treatment
Caseback: Brushed, flat sapphire crystal
Water resistance: 10 ATM/100 m
Movement
Automatic, ultra-thin Ref. GCA 5482
With a decentred micro-rotor in 22K Rose Gold 4N, developed with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier
Thickness: 2.6 mm
160 components
29 rubies
Frequency: 3 Hz
Incabloc® anti-shock system, stop-second system, bi-directional rotor
Power Reserve: 50 hours
Dial
Sandblasted bridges with polished anglage, Rhodium plating silver color, bleuie bespoke screws
Blue minute track
Baton shaped hands filled with white Super-LumiNova® with blue light at night
Strap
Royal Blue vulcanised rubber
Clou de Paris finish to top side, Gerald Charles Gerald Charles logo tapisserie to rear
Sandblasted Grade 5 Titanium buckle with GC logo engraved
Total weight
59.5 grams
Warranty
Five years (following ‘Smart Warranty’ system registration)
Retail price
Upon request
