Although some watch brands and manufactures have rich reserves of history and patrimony to draw upon, others don’t always have this option. The solution? Innovation! Genus understands this fact well. This young Genevois watchmaking brand (launched in June 2019) sets its own path, having decided from the beginning to position itself as a groundbreaker. The results are clear: the GNS 1.2 WG carried home the Mechanical Exception prize at the 2019 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
The brand Genus was formally established in 2019 by Catherine Henry and Sébastien Billières. At the head of marketing and development at Genus is Catherine Henry, who had her start in the finance and insurance sectors, subsequently spending time in diverse other areas such as the food and building industries. With her experience in early-phase start-up and SME management, Catherine Henry began her Genus adventure at the side of Sébastien Billières.
Sébastien Billières is a man of many talents — watchmaker, educational trainer and entrepreneur. His career as watchmaker took him through prestigious companies known for their non-conformist approach to horology, such as Roger Dubuis, Urwerk and Harry Winston, with some time spent teaching at IFAGE, the Genevois adult vocational institute. His work as an independent movement producer is characterised by his specialisation in tourbillon and automaton mechanisms. Apart from his role as co-founder, representing the technical side of Genus, he maintains responsibilities with Harry Winston as the head of their after-sales department.
Genus has created its own horological language, indicating the time in a unique way, thanks to Sébastien Billières and his creativity in novel timekeeping displays as well as movement innovation. The principle of free-element display in the Genus watchmaking vocabulary is equally new and disruptive, earning the brand a double patent for the display mechanism. The hours are indicated by means of mobile indexes rotating on the periphery of the dial and a fixed arrow at 9 o'clock. The tens of minutes, meanwhile, can be read thanks to a genus or a chain of 12 genera (depending on the model), which circulate in a figure-eight path around two fixed axes bearing minute scales. The first genus of the 12-genera chain indicates the tens of minutes based on its location along the minute scales. The figure-eight path which it describes is analogous to the mathematical symbol for infinity, and also corresponds to the celestial phenomenon of the solar analemma, which is deeply linked to our understanding of time. Finally, the minutes in single units are presented at 3 o'clock and supplement the chain reading for a precise reading of the minutes. With its avant-garde creations, Genus teaches us to rediscover time and our reading of it.
Genus expresses time in its own way, freed from convention, but this lack of inhibition is certainly not carried over into its use of raw materials. Catherine Henry and Sébastien Billières took an eco-conscious approach when choosing to work with particular suppliers, following global standards of material sustainability throughout their supply chain. The use of ethically sourced 18K gold that is certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) — in the indications, the external case elements, the movement plates and bridges and the buckle — is a good example. The leather used for the straps also comes from a supply source with full certificates of provenance.
Other brands may lean on their history and patrimony for prestige; Genus has found its place at the highest levels of horological art thanks to the experience and talents of its co-founders. The brand’s newborn status certainly does not count against it here; on the contrary, it puts Genus in a strong position to choose a new direction, without any need to conform to historical precedent. Catherine Henry and Sébastien Billières have turned this into the core DNA of Genus — the free display.
