Gucci’s Fourth High Watchmaking Collection Plays With Making Sounds and Waves Visible

GENEVA — For its fourth high watchmaking collection, Gucci is introducing a new complication and toying with cymatics.

The collection is being introduced here with an off-fair event held at the Château du Reposoir estate to coincide with high watchmaking trade show Watches and Wonders, which runs from Tuesday to April 15.

“Gucci’s 50-year tradition in watchmaking finds its ultimate expression in the fourth high watchmaking collection,” said Maurizio Pisanu, Gucci’s managing director watches and jewelry and global director, high-end, lifestyle and décor, in emailed remarks.

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The collection is “a tribute to the house’s unwavering commitment to craftsmanship and innovation, while honoring the rich heritage of watchmaking savoir-faire and technical expertise,” he said.

Building on the evolution of the Gucci 25H family since its introduction in 2021 when the luxury brand unveiled its first exclusive caliber, followed by the launch of skeleton flying tourbillon and perpetual calendar iterations in the following years, the ultrathin Gucci 25H Minute Repeater is the collection’s hero piece.

Its movement features three hammers responsible for striking different notes for hours, quarter hours and minutes, and inspiring the dial’s pattern.

Leveraging cymatics, the “study of sound and waves made visible,” as it was defined by Swiss physician Hans Jenny in the 1960s, the pattern of the openwork dial on the 40mm watch was conceived by translating the hammers’ peculiar sounds into waves and then motifs.

The watch’s complication is the result of 340 hand-assembled components cramming the 9.9mm-thick case with an on-demand minute repeater activated by a sleek rotating bezel, in lieu of the traditional button.

The Roman indexes appearing at the quarter hours are inspired by the luxury brand’s interlocking GG motif, itself appearing at 6 o’clock, together with a tourbillon cage. The watch is available in white or pink gold with a bold black alligator strap.

“The Gucci 25H Minute Repeater watch is a masterpiece that marries artistry with innovation. Inspired by the captivating patterns of cymatics, the design reflects this mesmerizing aspect of horological artistry, mimicking sound waves,” Pisanu said.

Also in the Gucci 25H collection, a new iteration of the Skeleton Tourbillon comes with sapphire glass, in an ultrathin, 8.2mm case set on alligator straps in black, blue and pink matching the colored interlocking GG logo at 12 o’clock, hands and flying tourbillon.

Enhancing its reputation in the high watchmaking realm, the brand is debuting Gucci Interlocking, a new line combining the flying tourbillon and jumping hours complications for a dark, 41mm, cushion-shaped watch.  

“Crafted with meticulous precision, the timepiece gives an exquisite sense of motion, emphasized by the brand-new cushion shape and contemporary refined details such as the tourbillon cage,” Pisanu said.

The jumping hour display featuring a hand-lacquered disc with Roman indexes nodding to the interlocking GG motif is covered in a semitransparent, smoked sapphire glass available in black or blue, which conceals other indexes for every jump to the correct hour. The minute hand disc is crafted from aventurine glass creating textural contrast while the flying tourbillon, the same appearing in the Gucci 25H Minute Repeater, stands out at the center of the dial. The watch is available in pink and white gold.

A standout is the G-Timeless Planetarium collection that welcomes a new addition, the 40mm tourbillon with a rotating halo of 12 rainbow-colored stones. These include opals and garnets, yellow beryls, verdant peridots and tourmalines, as well as topazes, tanzanites, amethysts and pink rubellites. They encircle the central, diamond-set tourbillon boasting a floral motif, which also appears engraved on the back case.