Gerald Charles has made a single watch based on the work of the sculptor Igor Mitoraj for this year’s TimeForArt charity auction. The Maestro GC39 Mitoraj, a Grand Maestro Jumping Hour, will be sold at Phillips New York on 5 December 2026, with proceeds going to the Swiss Institute.
The piece was developed with Atelier Mitoraj and Galleria d’Arte Contini, and it is the watchmaker’s first philanthropic project focused on the arts. Mitoraj, a Polish-Italian sculptor, was known for fragmented classical figures that deal with beauty, absence and the passing of time. The release is linked to the opening of the Museo Mitoraj in Pietrasanta, Tuscany, where he lived and worked for decades.
At the centre of the dial is Luci di Nara, one of Mitoraj’s best-known sculptures. Rather than being printed, it is reproduced in three dimensions as a miniature brass relief with a warm 4N PVD finish, set in the lower half of the dial against a finely machined guilloché background. Polished 4N cabochon indexes and a railway-style minute track keep the familiar Maestro look. The hours appear through an asymmetric window at the top of the dial, while a single central hand shows the minutes, leaving most of the sculpture in view.
The case measures 42 x 42mm and is made from grade 5 titanium with an interlocking profile, a design linked to Gérald Charles Genta, who founded the house. The bezel is titanium with a 4N PVD treatment, the watch is 11mm thick and water-resistant to 100 metres, and it comes on a taupe calfskin strap. Inside is the automatic GCA3900 calibre, which has 265 components, runs at 4Hz and offers around 50 hours of power reserve. It stores energy through each hour and then moves the hour disc forward in a single, almost instant jump. The closed caseback is engraved with the words Luci di Nara after Igor Mitoraj, the artist’s signature, TimeForArt branding and credits to Atelier Mitoraj and Galleria d’Arte Contini.
This is the third edition of TimeForArt. Money raised from the sale will support the Swiss Institute’s contemporary art exhibitions, residencies, education programmes and community work. No estimate, reserve or starting price has been published for the lot, which will be the only example of the design ever made. Bidders will be competing for a unique piece rather than one of a limited series.
