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A masterpiece of ingenuity and complexity, the GNS1 dazzled the watchmaking scene with its incredible free-running train that runs across the dial’s two central counters like a mechanical caterpillar. Marking the independent brand’s debut in 2019, the GNS1 was ten years in the making and was protected by two patents. Earlier this year, Genus introduced the GNS2, a follow-up model designed to simplify the display and lighten the case. Now equipped with a closed dial and two separate, shorter trains, the question is whether this exercise in style results in a watch that is more readable, more streamlined, and ultimately more wearable.
The first GNS1
Genus Watches is a collaboration between entrepreneur Catherine Heny and watchmaker Sébastien Billières, founded in 2019. The first opus to come out of Genus, the GNS1, is a true mechanical extravagance, based on an ingenious mechanical gear/moving element encircling the two tens of minutes counters in the center of the dial to form a figure eight. For more precise reading, the gear is complemented by a rotating counter at 3 o’clock with a single number and an arrow. The hours are represented by satellite indexes placed on the periphery that advance and pivot to face the wearer when they reach the fixed hand at 9 o’clock.
Another feature of the GNS 1 is its openwork dial, which reveals a breathtakingly complex panorama of mechanical components in the form of bridges, levers and wheels. However, the early GNS models had one problem, even those adorned with coloured gemstones and a Chinese dragon winding around the dial: they were not easy to read.
The new GNS2 genre
While the mechanical brain of the GNS2 is the same as that of the GNS1, they are two very different beasts. Now equipped with a closed dial, the visual complexity of the GNS1 is tamed. In its place is a simpler, more serene and more symmetrical symphony dominated by a central figure eight, a leitmotif at Genus.
Instead of the sprawling landscape of mechanical components, the hand-hammered closed areas of the dial actually enhance the visual pleasure by highlighting the central figure eight, which houses the tens of minutes discs that rotate in opposite directions.
The GNS1’s 12-body (genre) caterpillar has been shortened to three bodies with metallic blue arrows on its back. It still performs its spectacular figure-eight procession around the subdials, but one thing gets lost in translation: the separate single-digit subdial for exact minute readings (the brand insists that the arrow at the head of the procession indicates the exact minute, but it’s not as accurate). It also means there’s less movement on the dial, but that’s a good thing.
The rotating and pivoting hours have also been removed in favor of fixed indexes on the dial. These are indicated by a second 3-body mechanical gear train with blue arrows running on the peripheral railway.
Simpler, highly symmetrical and infinitely more readable, the GNS2 also plays with textures, reliefs and light. The two crescent-shaped areas enclosing the central figure eight are hand-decorated with a lovely hammered texture (a bit like AP’s frosted gold). The applied indexes, the contours of the hammered crescents and the spokes of the central counters are all polished, and the four screws are hand-mirror polished to form an integral part of the decoration.
In a sleek monochrome palette of grays, color is used sparingly. Blue is used for the origami-style arrows on the backs of the tracks, and black for the smaller discs that house the embossed tens of minutes.
Simplified case
The Genus GNS2 retains the 43mm diameter of previous editions and the large crown with the GENUS letters in relief, but its ultra-light titanium case now features hollow sandblasted sides that visually lighten the load. Equipped with a specially developed edgeless glass box-shaped sapphire crystal to achieve a distortion-free view of the peripheral hour train and maximize the dial aperture, the downside is that the case height is 18.8mm.
New caliber 260Rh-2
While the GNS2 relies on the same mechanical brain as the GNS1, it is no longer exposed on the dial, and the view through the caseback reveals some aesthetic tweaks. The movement is divided into two parts: one dedicated to energy and transmission, the second to energy distribution and regulation. The new caliber still features a single barrel with an impressive 50-hour power reserve – given the complexity of the caliber and the moving masses – and each component of the movement was designed by Billières and hand-decorated, with a little help from his sister, Sarah. The regulating organ is now distinguished by its blue surfaces, and one can appreciate the finely azured ratchet wheel and mirror-polished finishes.
Thoughts
In answer to our initial question, we have to conclude that the “less is more” strategy applied to the Genus GNS2 is a winner. With its closed dial and tight symmetry, legibility has increased exponentially. While the case is more streamlined thanks to the hollowed-out sides, the bulky sapphire crystal may take some getting used to in everyday situations to avoid shocks. It’s still a fiendishly complicated beast, but hiding some of the watchmaking magic results in a more versatile and contemporary watch.
The GNS2 is a limited edition of 18 pieces and retails for CHF 58,200 / EUR 61,360 (all prices are exclusive of taxes). For more information, please visit watchesgenre.swiss.