Gerald Charles unveils the Masterlink Atelier Edition, the first Masterlink with a hand-hammered dial. Each dial, in Maillechort, is shaped strike by strike by an artisan at the Gerald Charles Atelier in Geneva: no two pieces are alike. Three colourways — Golden Rose, Rhodium and Golden Yellow — in 25 pieces each.
The three colourways of the Masterlink Atelier Edition: Golden Yellow, Rhodium and Golden Rose — 25 pieces each.
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A Métier d’Art, not a finish
Hammering here is not a surface effect but a genuine Métier d’Art. Through hundreds of individually controlled strikes, the artisan turns a flat disc into a texture made up of hundreds of small facets. The gesture calls for long experience, calibrated force and an intimate knowledge of how metal responds to repeated impact. No mechanised or semi-automated process is involved.
The choice of Maillechort is deliberately demanding. Harder to machine than the brass commonly used in watchmaking, it lengthens production times, wears tools faster and raises the rejection rate. Gerald Charles chose it because quality is not negotiated at the end of the process — it begins with the material.
At the Gerald Charles Atelier in Geneva: the Maillechort dial, hammered by hand, facet by facet.
A different relationship with light
A traditional sunray dial reflects light from a single direction. A hammered dial scatters and captures it across its entire surface at once: as the wrist moves, highlights appear, disappear and migrate. The dial never presents exactly the same appearance twice.
No applied indexes interrupt the surface. The decision was deliberate — to let light travel uninterrupted and to reveal everything the artisan has put there. Nothing is added on top of it.
Steel as a noble material
Gérald Charles Genta, the most celebrated watch designer of the 20th century, saw steel not as a compromise but as a noble material. At a time when the luxury watch world measured prestige in gold and diamonds, he pioneered the idea that a perfectly conceived steel watch could embody the highest ideals of haute horlogerie. The Masterlink is the most distilled expression of that conviction.
Its asymmetrical 38 mm × 38 mm case, with its distinctive curve at 6 o’clock, is just 7.99 mm thin — screw-down crown included, integrated without adding even a tenth of a millimetre to the case height. The integrated bracelet, with no visible screws anywhere, follows the curve of the case before gradually straightening, its butterfly clasp concealed inside the final links.
Open case back on the GCA 1000 Manufacture calibre with offset micro-rotor, and the 7.99 mm profile.
Key specifications
Case: 316L steel, 38 mm × 38 mm, 7.99 mm thin, water-resistant to 100 m
Movement: GCA 1000 Manufacture calibre, self-winding with offset micro-rotor, 2.67 mm, 3 Hz, 50-hour power reserve
Dial: hand-hammered Maillechort, no applied indexes
Bracelet: integrated 316L steel, concealed butterfly clasp, micro-link adjustment
Limited edition: 25 pieces per colourway — price on request
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