The mechanical watchmaking industry today is crowded; to stand out, you don’t just need to have superlative technical expertise, but you also need to bring something novel to the table. An idea not seen in a genre several centuries old. So, how does a young, fledgling brand make that happen?

For Catherine Henry and Sébastien Billières, the answer lay in the concept of ‘Singularity of Time’, also the tagline of their brand GENUS watches, which they established in 2019. Referring to a new way of reading time, watchmaker Billières, who created the movement, along with Henry, unveiled their first offering, the GNS1.2 WG. Here was a white-gold watch that did not have the conventional hands to tell time. Instead, it featured a moving mechanical component—the ‘Genera’—that passed seamlessly between two orbits, tracing a figure ‘8’ (the movement could also be interpreted as the analemma, or the plot or graph in the shape ‘8’ that shows the position of the sun at a given time of day at one specific locale measured throughout the year). Its first element, or the ‘Genus’, told time in tens-of-minutes. The hour indices revolved around the periphery, and reoriented themselves four times by 1/4th to set themselves in the reading direction. The precise minute was shown by the rotating dial at 3 o’clock.

Today, GENUS’s repertoire features different iterations of the GNS1.2, including ones crafted in damascene titanium (TD) and rose gold, and also where the Genus and Genera can be studded with precious stones. The movement, Calibre 160W-1.2 is based on a traditional design with a large 18,000 vph balance wheel and with artisanal hand-finishing. Apart from the ‘in-motion’ complication, the brand lays a lot of importance on craftsmanship and detailing, something that is evident in the 43mm GNS1.2 WG Dragon, in which the Genera takes the form of an intricately crafted dragon. In GNS1.2 TD, the brand uses the age-old art of damascening, where different metals, in this case titanium, are forged into sheets, hammered, and folded back. “We never stop surprising and challenging ourselves,” says Henry, chief operating officer, GENUS.

An economics and business administration graduate who has worked in diverse multinational industries, including food, construction, technology, and sports, Henry eventually found her calling in horology thanks to a chance encounter she had with Billières. We spoke to her about the idea behind the creation of GENUS watches, the challenges faced, and what it is like to be one of the few women entrepreneurs in a male-dominated watchmaking industry.

WatchTime India: What was the idea behind starting GENUS? And the inspiration behind the name?

Catherine Henry: It was the magic of a professional encounter with a desire to stir up the fundamentals of watchmaking. To startle, to surprise, to contribute a new dimension to Swiss fine watchmaking, while remaining true to its values of tradition and craftsmanship. ‘GENUS’ comes from the Latin etymological root, and refers to ‘a new class’, ‘a beginning’. Isn’t it [a] logical [name] for a world or premier, unprecedented timepiece that reinterprets and pushes the boundaries of how time is told, and also opens a new chapter in the enduring story of watchmaking? That is the singularity of GENUS. It resides in the unique manner by which time is displayed in a choreography of mobile elements.

CH: We are classical, modern, and radically innovative at the same time. Modern art takes cues from classical paintings, and this is how we see independent watchmaking today. We have a deep respect for the watchmaking tradition. Our roots are solid. Take, for example, the GNS1.2. The movement is based on a traditional design, but when you turn the watch over, our display is unprecedented. GENUS timepieces are watches of incomparable design. Avant-garde, yet true to the exacting principles of haute horlogerie, whose state-of-the-art finishing shines through with the subtlest attention to detail. From the very first glance, the aesthetic impact and architectural richness of the GENUS evoke emotions.