Watch Paparazzi

Athlete Giuliano Razzoli spotted wearing Gerald Charles

On a wintry Italian hillside, slalom champion Giuliano Razzoli offered an unexpectedly refined horological moment. Dressed in the Italian national team's Kappa race suit and carrying a pair of Völkl skis, Razzoli wore a Gerald Charles Maestro.99 Tourbillon on his left wrist — a timepiece whose retail asking price of $200,000 makes it one of the most rarefied watches in alpine sport.

The Maestro.99 is the spiritual centrepiece of the Geneva-based maison founded by Charles Weibel to continue the creative legacy of master designer Gerald Genta. The case is machined from solid palladium — a platinum-group metal prized for its hypoallergenic properties and exceptional lustre — in the brand's signature carré form: an asymmetric octagon with eight cut edges (coins coupés) and a pronounced hemispheric convexity at 6 o'clock that gives the case its unmistakable three-dimensional presence. The dial is fully skeletonised, exposing the hand-finished movement architecture beneath sapphire crystal on both sides.

The calibre within is a manually wound tourbillon beating at 18,000 vph, with integrated chronograph and power reserve functions — a technically ambitious combination that demands exceptional movement architecture. The red-tipped chronograph hands and contrasting blue seconds sweep visible in the product shot confirm the tri-colour display aesthetic Genta's atelier favoured in high-complication references. Production is limited to 99 pieces, as the name plainly states, and each example is individually numbered.

Gerald Genta's design language — bold geometric cases, skeletonised dials, sculptural lugs — has enjoyed a strong collector renaissance over the past decade, and the Maestro.99 sits at the apex of that revival. With palladium commanding a premium over white gold and the tourbillon-chronograph combination ranking among the most difficult complications to integrate, the watch justifies its position as a serious collector's instrument rather than a mere status symbol.

Razzoli's association with Gerald Charles, evidenced by the branded cap he wears in the same frame, suggests an ambassadorial relationship. For the brand, the alignment with an Olympic champion who competes at altitude and extreme speed communicates something about the watch's physical integrity — even if no rational person would take a $200,000 palladium tourbillon down a World Cup course.