Tennis player Martina Navratilova spotted wearing a Gerald Genta

Martina Navratilova's victory at the 1990 Wimbledon women's singles final remains one of tennis's defining moments, immortalised in the famous photograph of the champion kissing the Venus Rosewater Dish. On her wrist during that triumph sat a Gerald Genta Success Perpetual Calendar Ref. G.2599.4 in 18-carat yellow gold—a timepiece as architecturally bold as Navratilova's baseline game was commanding.

The Ref. G.2599.4 measures 35 mm across its most distinctive feature: a stepped octagonal case that became Gerald Genta's signature aesthetic. Machined from 18-carat yellow gold, the case exhibits Genta's trademark geometric precision, with faceted flanks that catch light at multiple angles. The cream-coloured dial accommodates a perpetual calendar complication—including day, date, month, and leap-year windows—alongside a striking lapis lazuli moon phase disc positioned at 12 o'clock. The movement, a hand-wound calibre housed within the solid gold case, delivers water resistance rated to 30 metres, appropriate for a dress watch rather than a sports instrument.

The perpetual calendar mechanism itself represents significant horological achievement. Unlike a standard annual calendar, the perpetual calendar requires no adjustment until the year 2100, a feat of micro-engineering rare in watches of the 1980s and early 1990s. The Success line, launched in the 1980s, positioned Gerald Genta—already celebrated for the Gefica and Retro models—as a master of unconventional case geometry and complex complications simultaneously.

Navratilova's choice of the Gerald Genta Success Perpetual Calendar reflects the aesthetic preferences of elite athletes and collectors during that era, when Swiss complications were worn as much for their mechanical prestige as their timekeeping function. The watch's architectural form complemented her precise, tactical approach to tennis.

The Ref. G.2599.4 trades on the grey market between $45,000 and $65,000 depending on condition and service history. Original retail pricing in the late 1980s approached $40,000–$50,000 USD. Perpetual calendar Gerald Gentas remain highly sought by complications specialists and vintage sports-watch collectors, with Navratilova's documented wearing adding provenance and cultural significance to any surviving example.