At LVMH Watch Week 2025, Gérald Genta announced its fourth piece to join the Gentissima Oursin, the collection named after and inspired by sea urchins. Spiky in look, intricate in execution, and above all else, unconventional in approach, the Gérald Genta Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal watch brings together yellow gold, fire opal gems, and orange carnelian stone in a design that’s unmistakably Genta.
The Gentissima Oursin traces its origins to 1994 when Gérald Genta found inspiration in sea urchins during a family vacation in Corsica “Oursin” is the French word for “sea urchin” and the designer translated the marine creature’s spherical shape and prickly exterior into watch form. Evelyn Genta asserts that the Oursin is still one of her favorite designs from her late husband: “The Oursin was among Gérald’s few creations that he was proudest of; he actually almost didn’t want to sell them and produced only very few for very close friends and clients.”
Three decades later, the Gentissama Ourisin was reimagined as a new collection under Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps. The initial three models of the latest generation included titanium cases and gold spine-like details. This time around, the new-for-2025 Gentissima Oursin features an 18k yellow gold 36mm case with a glass-blasted finish, decorated with 137 fire opals individually screwed into the case with a yellow gold pin. The fire opals were sourced from the depths of Mexican volcanoes, where water trapped in lava yields the gems’ striking red, yellow, and orange hues.
On the new iteration, Ms. Genta said, “Seeing the new Oursin Fire Opal reminds me so much of Gérald, how much he loved adorning stones on his watches and looking at them through various light sources. The multiple ways a stone catches light was for him an endless source of fascination and its own definition of beauty.”
Following a similar colorway to the case’s fire opals is the orange carnelian stone used for the dial, punctuated with yellow gold dots around the periphery to mark out hours. The hour and minute hands at the center are also fashioned from yellow gold. Would this truly be a reimagining of a Genta design without an eight-sided element? I think not. Zoom in on the sapphire crystal shielding the dial and you’ll spot that its faceted finish creates an octagon right at the center.
The back of the watch, also furnished with a sapphire crystal, offers a view of the Caliber GG-005, a 126-component Zenith Elite movement with a redesigned oscillating mass and 50-hour power reserve. Describing the movement, Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, La Fabrique du Temps Master Watchmakers and Founders, stated, “To complement the design, we focused on producing this piece using nothing but the highest attention to detail. We designed a specific oscillating mass in 18-karat yellow gold for the automatic Zenith Elite movement.”
The fashion designer Amy Smilovic coined the term “the good ick,” which, among other things, describes (and I’m paraphrasing here) adding an element to an outfit that would generally be considered a “no-no” if you follow conventional fashion rules to intentionally create friction. For instance, adding something in a weird texture (even better if it’s in a bright color too) to an otherwise classic ensemble adds friction and, thus visual interest. When I first saw the pictures of the Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal watch, “the good ick” was the immediate thought that came to my mind thanks to its exaggerated texture, vibrant colorway, and frankly, weird and wacky style. This unconventional watch will certainly not appeal to a mass audience, and that’s okay since that isn’t its purpose.
Though the specific quantity hasn’t been mentioned, this is a limited edition piece. Gérald Genta has also chosen not to share the price of the Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal at the time of publishing leaving it “upon request”; for context, the previous titanium/gold versions ranged in price from CHF 22,000 to CHF 32,000, so expect this yellow gold version to be even more expensive. For more information about the Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal watch, please visit the brand’s website.
