Gerald Genta Arena Biretro Rose Gold Tantalum Luxury Watch Review

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This Gerald Genta Arena Biretro in 18K rose gold and tantalum is the definition of different. Like the man whose name it bears, the Biretro Arena pushes the limits of convention and succeeds on its own terms.

With a unique interface for displaying time and a look that's all its own, the Gerald Genta Arena Biretro is a luxury watch for contrarians with a flair for the dramatic.

From 1996, when Gerald Genta (the company) first debuted the retrograde minute/jump-hour complication to 2006, when this Arena Biretro launched, the Le Sentier workshops advanced this technology further than the entire industry combined.

Durability was the first challenge to be overcome. Synchronized "jumps" between the hour and retrograde came second. Third, Gerald Genta's team devised a mechanism that permitted safe forward and backward setting of the minute hand - a first for this style of complication.

Finally, in 2006, the GG crew combined all of the above with a new trick: a retrograde date. Therein lies the root of the name, "Bi-retrograde."

But the Arena Biretro takes no half-measures. A mechanism as singular as the Biretro deserves a showcase to match. The standout case design incorporates a bezel of brushed tantalum - nearly as dense as platinum - with a body and lugs of rose gold. Juxtaposed against each other, the gray-blue tantalum and rich rose gold create a striking effect.

The dial is no less enchanting. Gray and rose gold tones are revisited with a variety of guilloche patterns, brushed metal, and applied rose gold minute numerals. Gold and gray elements effectively bifurcate the dial in a deliberate parallel to the case design. Delicate white wire frame hands trace the arcs of the retrograde displays, and a 90 degree "teaser" aperture terminates in the jump-hour window.

The Gerald Genta manufacture passed into eternity shortly before the man himself, and no new Genta watches have been produced in over half a decade. Never common, they are becoming coveted collector's items among aficionados of jump-hour and retrograde display watches. And the Arena Biretro features both.

See this Gerald Genta Arena Biretro in high-resolution images on www.thewatchbox.com Video and content by Tim Mosso.