Eternal Gallop Masterpiece

Description

GENUS presents the Eternal Gallop Masterpiece—an exclusive creation that unites horological innovation with exceptional artistic craftsmanship. Entirely conceived, developed, and assembled in its Geneva workshop, the Eternal Gallop Masterpiece is the first and only watch in the world in which galloping horses tell the time.

The magic of Eternal Gallop lies in the dialogue between disciplines: watchmaking, design, engineering, jewelry, goldsmithing, sculpture, engraving, and Feng Shui.

Along GENUS’ patented infinity-shaped 8-path, five miniature horses gallop across the dial in an endless race, tracing the rhythm of passing time. Five—the number associated with balance, transformation, and the dynamic center of life. Each horse is meticulously handcrafted, imbued with its own symbolism, and positioned according to a precise order determined by a Feng Shui Master. Their arrangement creates a continuously ascending flow of energy known as Sheng Qi.

Horse 1 – Earth: Foundation, preparation, and steady beginnings

Horse 2 – Wood: Growth, momentum, and development

Horse 3 – Water: Opportunity, speed, and progress

Horse 4 – Metal: Power, determination, and confidence

Horse 5 – Fire: Victory, success, and leadership

Arranged in a progressive, forward-moving sequence, the horses generate momentum and form a dynamic conduit for positive energy, harmonising strength, elegance, and motion in a balanced and auspicious flow.

Each gold horse is a living work of art in motion—sculpted, hand-engraved, and textured entirely by hand. Every surface is patiently refined to achieve remarkable depth and character. Nothing is decorative by chance; every detail serves both an aesthetic and mechanical purpose.

Engraving ranks among the most demanding Métiers d’Art, a discipline defined by irreversible gestures where every mark is final. Master Engraver Camille Grandjean sculpts depth beneath a high-precision binocular microscope, using a lifetime collection of hand-prepared gravers. Her craft is measured not in millimeters, but in movements. Each stroke removes metal forever.

Through relief and contrast, she orchestrates light, guiding reflections to reveal form, tension, and volume. Each horse requires approximately 12,000 irreversible gestures, often executed over several days. Musculature, mane, and posture emerge through subtle contrasts between matte and polished surfaces, while the suggestion of hair is conveyed through light rather than literal carving. Even horses sharing the same pose are never identical.

Beneath the galloping herd, the dial is divided into two perfectly mirrored sections. The twin crescent-shaped dials are painstakingly hand-hammered with more than 10,000 microscopic strikes each. Master Watchmaker and GENUS Co-Founder Sébastien Billières spends approximately four hours completing a single dial, using a specialised tool of his own creation with a tip measuring less than one-tenth of a millimeter. The resulting texture evokes earth softened by the passage of hooves.

Both dials must be completed on the same day to ensure perfect harmony of texture, as the craftsman’s eye and touch inevitably evolve from one day to the next.

Reading the Eternal Gallop Masterpiece requires a new understanding of time.

The horses replace the traditional minute hand, following a trajectory that is neither linear nor circular. At the heart of the display lies an analemma—a figure-eight path symbolising infinity. Acting as the minute indication, the horses complete one full circuit of the 8-path every hour.

Along this journey, their speed varies continuously. Each horse advances, crosses, and returns with absolute precision. The nose of the leading horse indicates the tens of minutes displayed on the two central black dials while simultaneously pointing to the exact minute on the white minute track.

Around the dial’s perimeter, the hour markers remain in their familiar positions. Rather than a conventional central hour hand, a bespoke kite-shaped diamond travels around the outer edge of the dial, completing one revolution every twelve hours and indicating the hours as well as the intervening fifteen-minute increments.

The 43 mm case is crafted from a single block of 18K 4N rose gold. Hollowed flanks accentuate its graceful curvature, enhanced by a finely sandblasted finish. A rubber strap secured by an 18K rose gold pin buckle ensures comfort on the wrist.

Water-resistant to 30 metres, the case is crowned by a hyper-domed sapphire crystal with internal and external anti-reflective treatment, offering an unobstructed view into the kinetic world beneath. A sapphire crystal caseback reveals the in-house calibre that animates both horses and kite.

At the heart of Eternal Gallop beats Calibre 260-Rh, the patented mechanical foundation of the GNS2 display. The hand-wound base movement houses the essential functions, including a single barrel delivering a 50-hour power reserve, while the upper module governs the distinctive GENUS display of hours and minutes.

Supplied by the brand to the GPHG for its entry.