You have probably heard the name G |rald Genta countless times if you have an interest in watch design. His name is synonymous with two of the most successful wristwatch lines in the modern era; the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. Numerous iterations have spawned from these core designs. And in the case of Audemars Piguet, the Royal Oak is the cornerstone of the brand's design DNA, even 50 years after its birth.So how did it come to be that two of the holy trinity Grand Maisons ultimately owe these successes to not just one designer, but the very same man? To understand this, you first have to understand the man himself G |rald Genta, a legend of 20th-century Swiss watchmaking.Starting with the basicsCharles G |rald Genta was born on May 1st, 1931 in Geneva, Switzerland. Throughout his 80 years on Earth, he blazed a trail through the watchmaking industry that still smolders to this day. He is survived by his wife Evelyne, whom he married at a grand wedding in Monte Carlo. In addition to her duties as a Mon |gasque ambassador for the United Kingdom, Evelyne maintains her late husbands legacy alongside the couples daughter, Alexia. The familial duo established the Gerald Genta Association in 2019 an event we covered here on Fratello.Genta the artistGenta was not a trained watch designer but worked as a jeweler who partook in art as a personal hobby. He painted daily and accrued a portfolio of nearly 100,000 art pieces, which are now preserved in the Bvlgari Genta Art Collection in Neuchatel, Switzerland.Hailing from the Mecca of watchmaking led to his artistry taking the shape of Swiss watches. Soon, he collaborated with brands such as Universal Gen ve and Omega. His larger-than-life character and artistic ego allowed him the freedom to redesign and revitalize any brand's existing models, breaking a lineage of tradition and complacency. This approach had its ups and downs but was interesting enough to catch the attention of higher-end brands. His emergence could not have come at a better time. As Genta was realizing his potential, the mechanical watch industry was marching towards a war it would not emerge from unscathed. The Quartz Crisis threatened everything. The industrys best hope of survival was in embracing the genius of a local boy who seemed able to breathe new life into anything he touched.The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak was born 50 years agoOne such brand was Audemars Piguet. As the story goes, AP contacted Genta with a rather far-reaching request. The remit? To conceive a new watch-design language. The timeframe? The next working day. Genta duly accepted and sketched his ideas overnight. Audemars Piguet presented Genta's work to its investors. Although one could well imagine a confused response to the avant-garde proposal, the results sufficiently impressed the investors, and they signed off on the design. As you may have already guessed, this overnight epiphany came to be known as the Royal Oak (after narrowly escaping being named the Audemars Piguet Safari). This took place a whole 50 years ago, and AP is currently celebrating with a number of special releases.