Obviously, it's thrown around a lot that Genta was responsible for the design of the original bombé lug Polerouter with two-part crosshair dial.
So I'm curious as to the factual source of this information.
And also: if Genta designed the Polerouter, what about the Tudor "Tuxedo" or "Bullseye"?





Maybe he was working for a company that sold concepts to the watch companies as opposed to just a UG exclusive? Or maybe Tudor/Rolex just copied it outright??
Thanks for any verifiable info or even enlightened opinions on this subject.
Best,
T.

 

Great topic! I was just wondering about this myself. The Tudor "tuxedo" is of interest to Mad Men fans like myself, as it was worn by Roger Sterling in at least one episode.

 

I can't add any facts to the Genta/Polerouter connection, but he was certainly a force in many watch design features, some directly attributable and dozens (if not hundreds) more that are not. Tudor, and many other watches of the day shared similar designs.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/polerouter-knock-off.27866/

 

Daymn! Dibs on the Tudor if it's yours!

 

Tudor is long gone, I'm afraid.
They are around, though!
Best,
T.

 

I love the look of the Tudor Tuxedo but keep in mind these guys are tiny. The diameter is only a smidge over 33mm. The Polerouters run a little larger.

 

Thanks, Lou, wonderful interview and in the recesses of my mind I think I had seen this before, possibly via Desmond's Omega blog. Sounds like Mr. Genta really had to hustle in the early days -- fair to ask just how many watches from that 50s-60s era have a bit of his DNA in them!

Here is another article I was looking for where Genta (or at least his wife) seems to definitively take credit for the Polerouter with the famous "designed at the age of 23!" story, as well as later UG designs from the 60s and also a lot of Omega's Constellation line of that era ("Grasshopper", C-shape) [also via Desmond/mondodec's superlative Constellation Collectors blog]:

http://users.tpg.com.au/mondodec//Gerald_Genta_Designed_Omega_Constellations.pdf
Money quote for our purposes:

Interestingly, that is a bit more assertive than the key quote in the Stikas interview (and you could substitute Universal for Omega in this context, I feel):

So does Genta himself really say he designed the Polerouter or the Connie per se? Not exactly. But does he say he designed certain specific elements for those models? Almost certainly yes. So... I think that's where it stands and unfortunately the late great genius is no longer here to clarify or elaborate. But you can be sure people will be attaching his name to certain vintage watches to give them that certain Genta sex appeal for years to come!
Thanks again to you, Lou, and to all who answered so far.
All the best,
Tom