We had a preview of the Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis when Franco and Federico Ziviani was in Singapore. This is an amazing new watch with a brilliant optic yellow reminiscent of a tennis ball. Texture and all. Here is our hands on comprehensive review.
Review: the new Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis
The Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis has a retail price of CHF 17,600 before taxes. Limited Edition of 200 pieces.
YouTube: Federico Ziviani tells the tale of the 3 special features
We start off with a video. We asked Federico Ziviani, CEO of Gerald Charles to tell what is special of the Maestro GC Sport Tennis.
The case, dial and hands
The case is the classical Gerald Charles Maestro case, designed by Gerald Genta himself, with the rather atypical shape of an octagon formed by a square with short corner. But the shape is not exactly of straight sides, but rather subtly curved to present a curvy impression. At the 6 o’clock position, a convex curve is added, like a protrusion, which Gerald says is the indication of his smile. Describing the shape, makes me feel like this is going to be a grotesque one, but actually in the metal, it looks very nice. Well balanced, and though quite an unusual shape, is pleasant to the eyes. A testament that the form and proportions are well chosen by the master himself.
But the case is more than that. The design features a stepped bezel, following the shape of the case, and a crystal which also follows the shape of the case. Many manufacturers will be tempted to cut corners by fitting a round sapphire crystal, but not Gerald Charles. The crystal follows the form of the case. Nice!
The Darkblast titanium case is also rather special. Measuring 39mm x 41mm, and constructed from Grade 5 Titanium, it undergoes a process where the titanium case is sandblasted with a special powder that turns the titanium into a soft, matte finish which is dark. The case feels very smooth with a touch which is much like that of polished marble. And the additional benefit is that this process hardens the titanium, making it scratch proof. Very interesting material. A destro (left hand) crown knurled with a Clous de Paris motif completes the case. As this is a watch meant for use by tennis professionals, Gerald Charles claim the watch is tested to 5G, this feature is useful, as it avoids the crown from digging into the wrist when it is flexed during play.
The other speciality is the dial. It is inspired by the success of two now sold-out watches – the Maestro GC Sport Clay and Grass, which offered the same textured and graduated finish. The dial is made from a base plate which is hand hammered to create the texture. A special paint powder is then applied such that it is darker at the periphery than the center, creating a fumé effect. The dial is then baked to give it a clear glossy finish.
The colour chosen is what is known as optic yellow, and together with the texture makes the dial look like the surface of a tennis ball. Optic yellow is the official name for the fluorescent yellow color of tennis balls. This specific shade was introduced in 1972 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after research showed it was more visible on television than white balls.
The movement
The movement is the Swiss Manufacture 2.0 Caliber, an ultra thin automatic movement. As we understand it, the movement is crafted by Vaucher. The GC Sport Tennis has a rotor decorated with the Gerald Charles 25th Anniversary logo and honeycomb design. The watch sports a 100m water resistance rating, a common standard for all Gerald Charles watches, even their dress watch models.
Movement finishing is not exceptional, but certainly very good. Bridges are well finished to a high engineering level, with many haute horlogerie elements being addressed very well. IT sports a sunray style Côtes de Genéve and perlage. Anglage is observed on the edge of the bridges, but is more at an engineering level of execution rather than artisanal. But again, cognisant of the price point of below CHF 18k, this level of finishing is par for the course, perhaps even above the average offered by the competition.
Competitive landscape
In terms of a sports watch with a left hand crown goes, there are not many to go round. Though not tennis related, Rolex has their GMT-Master II Ref. 126720VTNR. Rolex states that it has an impact resistance of 1m. In general, a 1m drop can produce impact forces in the range of 1-5 Gs, but it can vary significantly, depending on many factors. In the video, I gave the example of Serena William’s AP, also in yellow is one. But that is probably a one off that Audemars Piguet made for her. The Richard Mille RM 27-02 Rafael Nadal is a watch designed for tennis, but it has a regular right hand crown arrangement. It is tested by Rafael Nadal and is rated at 5000G, but it carries the usual Richard Mille high six figure price tag. Sinn has their EZM1 and EZM 1.1 which are left hand crowns, but are chronographs with pushers also on the left, and designed for military use rather than sports.
Concluding thoughts
The watch feels very light on the wrist, weighing in at only 64 grams, with its fabric strap. The strap is designed to ensure the lugs, case, and strap sit ergonomically, adapting to all wrist sizes for maximum stability and weight distribution. A darkblast titanium buckle is integrated into the strap for closure. Another interesting fact about the strap is that and stitched like a leather strap and is made in Geneva. The colour chosen is also optic yellow, and matches the dial perfectly.
And that’s the bottom line. I really like the unusual shape of the Maestro case. I loved the darkblast titanium case material, especially how it feels to the touch, and also how it looks very distinguished and refined yet sporty at the same time. I loved how the dial is rendered to look like a tennis ball, and the comfort of the strap. The price is now low end budget level, but the design and execution is excellent, and with only 200 pieces to go round, it will be in hot demand.
Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis Technical Specifications
Reference: GC2.0-TX-TNSB-24GR-RSVC
Case: Darkblast Grade 5 Titanium * 35 components * Diameter: 39 mm x 41 mm * Left-hand screw-down crown with Clous de Paris motif * Embossed logo
Movement: Functions: Automatic, ultra-thin, Swiss Manufacture 2.0 Caliber * With a central oscillating mass decorated with the NEW 25th Anniversary logo and Gerald Charles “Honeycomb” design * Central hour, minute and seconds hands, date window at 6H * Finishings: Thickness: 3.7mm * 189 components * 28 rubies * Bridges finely decorated with colimaçon, côtes de Genève and perlage finishings * Frequency: 4 Hz * Incabloc® anti-shock system, stop-second system, uni-directional rotor * Power Reserve: 50 hours
Crystal: Sapphire crystal with inner and external multi-layer anti-reflection treatment
Dial: Optic Yellow, grained textured base, with degradé colour White minute track * Baton shaped hands filled with white Super-LumiNova® with green light at night * 3 – 9 – 12 Arabic numerals
Case back: Flat sapphire crystal
Strap: Optic Yellow velcro strap, textured finishing * Integrated darkblast buckle
Water resistance: 10 ATM/100 m
Total weight: 64 gr
Total thickness: 9 mm
Warranty: 2 years (extendable to 5 years following the ‘Smart Warranty ’system registration)
