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OK, I'll bite -- who has got the Genta/Polerouter connection proof?>>

tomvox1
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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"?

TudorBullseye-1_zps0ebgme7y.jpg

UGPolerouterDate-wrst%20copy_zpscusq5kls.jpg

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.
 
aap
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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.
 
Dre
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tomvox1 tomvox1
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"?

TudorBullseye-1_zps0ebgme7y.jpg

UGPolerouterDate-wrst%20copy_zpscusq5kls.jpg

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.

Daymn! Dibs on the Tudor if it's yours!
 
tomvox1
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Dre Drechristian
Daymn! Dibs on the Tudor if it's yours!
Tudor is long gone, I'm afraid. 😉
They are around, though!
Best,
T.
 
Selbo
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Dre Drechristian
Daymn! Dibs on the Tudor if it's yours!

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.
 
tomvox1
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LouS LouS
Not concepts, but components if I understand him correctly. He described the business in the opener to this 2009 interview: http://www.veryimportantwatches.com/files/pdf/creating_desing_rules_en.pdf

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:
By around 1965 Genta was beginning to feel uneasy at maintaining a singular commitment to one company. Evelyne [Genta's wife] recounts that, “He was finding this way of collaboration not totally satisfying and he left Omega.” “Gérald then chose to collaborate with Universal and thereafter created the Golden Shadow as well as 80 other models.” Genta had earlier designed the Polerouter in 1954 at the age of 23! His design, incorporating a beautifully machined inner bezel that created a three-dimensional effect to the dial, is one of his true mid-50s classics and far ahead of its time.

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):

Gerald Genta: By this I mean that, for example, my direct client wasn’t Omega, but Omega’s suppliers and it was in this manner that I participated in the creation of the Seamaster, or of the Constellation, for example by designing the case for the one, or designing a dial or a bracelet for another.

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
 
m84
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Reviving this rather short thread, given that UG have also been revived AND appear to be developing a Polerouter reissue (while also stating in their new website: "Designed by the legendary Gérald Genta at just 23 years old[...]" )

Has anyone got concrete proof of Gentas involvement on the design of the Polerouter?

I'm surprised that when the news broke that UG would be brought back, and Breitling CEO Georges Kern did an interview for Hodinkee Radio, this wasn't picked up...

Ben Clymer asks if it's been confirmed that Genta designed the watch and Kern replies:

“[…]we did some legal checks, and from the ledgers and the contracts i have - yes. Actually, we checked if we bought the rights [...] and we have different correspondence which actually underlines that he designed that watch.”

You can see it here:

I assume this isn't exactly news to many here, but i thought it was interesting.

Cheers,
Edited:
 
Adam2941
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Adam2941 Adam2941
In 2016 I posted this evidence that Genta designed the Polarouter dial and hands, and selected the case from many models that were then available by independent manufacturers. It is an email exchange I had with Desmond Guilfoyle, who knew Genta and told me that Genta told him he designed the Polarouter: https://omegaforums.net/threads/gerald-genta-and-the-polarouter-first-hand-evidence.39902/
...of course now eight years later the only part of this story that does not quite make sense is that if this case were not designed specifically for the Polarouter, why do we not find it in other watches? At least I have never seen one exactly like it in any other watch.
 
aap
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Sharing my old Polerouter collection...now, I;m down to just one (second from left)

polerouters3.webp
 
fizz
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Looking at this thread and going through it, I now realise there is such a thing as Polerouter FOMO!
 
bgrisso
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fizz fizz
Looking at this thread and going through it, I now realise there is such a thing as Polerouter FOMO!
On the plus side, you can probably buy a new one before too long 👍
 
fizz
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True. Either that or just find a nice condition vintage which are still rather affordable.
 
Davidt
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Adam2941 Adam2941
...of course now eight years later the only part of this story that does not quite make sense is that if this case were not designed specifically for the Polarouter, why do we not find it in other watches? At least I have never seen one exactly like it in any other watch.

Its not necessarily unheard of for independent parts manufacturers to sign exclusivity agreements afaik. An example is the 60’s Heuer Carrera. I don’t believe Heuer designed the case - it was designed by a case manufacturer, Jack Heuer picked it and they agreed to only supply it to Heuer.
 
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