Prix Gaïa 2007 – Paul Gerber. Craftsmanship-Creation category
Born in 1950, the watchmaker begun his career with a first specialization in horological and technical challenges. While he was named the producer of the smallest wooden clock in the Guinness World Records book, he remains above all the watchmaker who contributed to the achievement of the most complicated wristwatch to date.
The wristwatch with 19th-century complications was created by Louis Elysée Piguet and was first revisited by Frank Muller. After that, amongst other developments added to it was the world's smallest flying tourbillon designed by Paul Gerber.
A member of the AHCI (Académie horlogère des créateurs indépendants) since 1989, he has since then developed countless pieces of technical prowess and prestigious watch designs, including mysterious clocks, double-rotor retrograde watches, flying tourbillons, three-dimensional moon phases and so on.
By awarding him a Prix Gaïa in 2007, the jury acknowledged him as one the most talented watchmakers of his generation who knows, as evidenced by his technical and artistic creations, how to make people dream the finest hours of our time.
The official Gaïa prize giving was held at the International Museum of Horology on Thursday, September 20, 2007.
The Prix Gaïa, a large-scale and renowned event celebrating watchmaking genius in its every angle - be it technical, cultural, historical or economical - is sponsored by the Julius Baer bank since 2007.