No other designer has left such a mark on the industry as Gérald Genta. He was the man that gave us two of the most important stainless steel sports watches in history, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. As a true creative force, it didn't stop there, as he also worked for various other brands, designing icon after icon. A decade after his death, we get a rare glimpse into his archive as Sotheby's is auctioning one hundred of his original designs, including those of the Nautilus and the Royal Oak.

2020 marks the return of the Pasha de Cartier, which also happens to celebrate its 35th birthday. The watch was initially launched in 1985 and one of the great successes of the brand. It was created by Gerald Genta, who cleverly combined the Vendome-lugs, designed and patented by Louis Cartier in 1934, with a round case and a prominent canteen-crown. It resulted in a very expressive watch that today hasn't lost any of its appeal.

As a material, does bronze have an imposing history playing, especially an essential role from around 3300 till 600 BC. During this period, which is even named the Bronze age, was the alloy made from combining tin with copper. The advantage of bronze was that it is very malleable and also less brittle than, for example, cast iron, so perfect for making a great variety of different objects. As the material is very resistant to corrosion from seawater, it has also played a particularly important role in maritime history.

Rather than a traditional hour center hand that sweeps around the dial pointing to 12 indexes, jump hour watches use a digital display (not to be confused with modern digital watches) to indicate the current hour. This particular mechanical watch complication dates back to 1883 when Josef Pallweber patented his invention using rotating discs for hours and minutes and displayed the time numerically via a pair of windows. Over a century later, Pallweber’s innovation is still alive and well as illustrated by these three brilliant examples of jump hour watches.

Tomorrow Baselworld will open its doors once again. This year it will be a completely different animal altogether. The departure of the Swatch Group, as well as an exodus of other brands, has made the show much smaller than it was in previous years. The question that remains is if that is a bad thing?

Gérald Genta is a man to who many brands owe a great debt. As a designer, he gave Audemars Piguet the Royal Oak, Patek Philippe their Nautilus, and he worked on the Pasha for Cartier, as well as many iconic designs for other brands. What not everybody knows is that he was next to a designer also a watch manufacturer and, in fact, a pioneering one. It was already in 1969 that he founded his manufacture and as could be expected it turned out innovative watches. With the 'Gefica' did Genta introduced a bronze case before it was cool, but that was not all.

When Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Squelette at the 2016 SIHH, the watch caused quite a stir, and rightfully so. Within the iconic octagonal case, crafted from platinum, was now a skeletonized tourbillon chronograph movement. A dream watch by any means!

When it comes to watch designers, few can hold a candle to Gerald Genta. Thanks to a long and illustrious career, he created many of the industries icons.

The Vacheron Constantin 222 is somewhat of an enigma. As being a child of the 1970's, it is often placed in the company of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Patek Philippe Nautilus, as well as the IWC Ingenieur. A place that is rightfully his, yet at the same time, it has always also been the of the outsider of this group.

Ask people about their favorite Nautilus, and you can expect a variety of answers. Some prefer the original time-only model in steel; others want a moon phase or a precious metal. We fell in love, at its introduction in 2014, with the Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph.

This year the SIHH was larger than ever. While this means more great watches in one place, at one time, it also means that more watches have to share the spotlight. That is why we cleared the stage to highlight a few watches that you might have missed, but should definitely know about: