The “ variations on a theme are the quintessence of Art. The musical genius of Johann Sebastian Bach expressed itself with the sublime Goldberg variations for harpsichord (1741-1745). Even a grat designer creates a model and its variants,which do not alter the basic shape, but greatly enrich the range of his creations. This is what Gèrald Genta (1931-2011), famous watch designer, did for IWC, Patek Philippe, Universal Genève, Bulgari. It was for the Audemars Piguet house that Genta, in 1970, created a totally new watch; the Royal Oak, with a non- round but octagonal bezel,and visible screws. It is said that he drew inspiration from a diving suit helmet. In 1976 he remodels the watch case smoothing the corners and creates the Nautilus for Patek Philippe, which recalls the porthole of a ship. In the IWC Ingenieur the case returns round, but the screws remain in the bezel.

In 1994, Genta designs “the most complicated clock in the world”, in which the case is again octagonal, but embellished with eight complications; it was produced in eight copies. When he created his own brand, the luxurious Octo model, with an octagonal base, was equipped with dials with countless decorative variations of great originality.