Every example of this hand-hammered Gerald Charles watch is unique
Gerald Charles wows with limited-run Masterlink Atelier Edition
QUICK SUMMARY
Gerald Charles has revealed a new version of its Masterlink watch, sporting a new Maillechort dial with a hammered finish.
Created by hand, the pattern hammered into each dial is unique, giving each of the 75 examples to be made a different look. Those pieces are split evenly across three dial colours, of gold, silver and rose gold. Prices are available upon request.
Swiss watchmaker Gerald Charles has revealed a new version of its Masterlink, with a unique hammered Maillechort dial that makes every example unique.
Limited to just 25 pieces for each of three dial colours, the Masterlink Atelier Edition builds on what is already impressive about the Masterlink – its 7.99mm thickness, square 38mm case, and clever integrated bracelet design – and introduces a captivating new dial.
Made from Maillechort – a metal alloy made of copper nickel and zinc – the dial is hammered, by hand, into what Gerald Charles calls “a living metallic surface that no photograph can fully capture,”.
What’s special here is how the hammering technique makes every example unique. Each will catch light in a slightly different way – a point the watchmaker is keen to emphasise by not decorating the dial with numerals, a date window, or indeed any markings at all, beyond the name ‘Geneve’ and a simple set of hour and minute hands.
The watch is limited to just 75 examples, split evenly across three dial colours of golden rose, rhodium and golden yellow. Its maker explains the dial manufacturing process as being a process where “an experienced artisan at the Gerald Charles Atelier in Geneva takes a Maillechort dial and, through hundreds of individually controlled impacts, transforms a flat surface into something closer to light itself.”
The company further explains the dial: “The choice of Maillechort as the dial material is deliberate and uncompromising. Harder to machine than the brass commonly used in watchmaking, it demands longer production times, wears tools faster, and produces a higher rejection rate.”
The rest of the watch is similarly impressive. Despite sporting a bracelet with a butterfly clasp, no screws are visible anywhere when it’s being worn. The butterfly clasp and push-pieces to operate it are concealed inside the links, while the size can be adjusted by the half-link to ensure a perfect fit.
Inside, the watch is driven by a self-winding, in-house GCA 1000 movement with offset micro-rotor, 29 rubies and 50 hours of power reserve. While the case is already slim at 7.99 mm thick, the movement itself measures just 2.67 mm. Water resistance is 100 metres.
Twenty-five examples are available for each of the three dial colours, and the price is available upon request.
