Hands-On Debut: Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis Watch In Optic Yellow
Photos by Ripley Sellers
An easy way for a brand to communicate what spaces it wants to see its watches out in the world is by aligning itself with a particular sport. For Gerald Charles, the chosen sport is tennis. Not only does the company have a few tennis players as brand ambassadors, but it has also launched a couple of tennis-themed watches in the past, such as the Maestro GC Sport Clay and Grass. Now comes another in the form of the new limited edition Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis Watch, which we went hands-on with at Watches & Wonders 2025. Put your court-ready sunnies on because this baby is bright.
If you’re familiar with other Maestro GC Sport watches, this one follows a similar formula. The case shape, composed of eight sides and finished with a “smile” at the bottom, is inspired by a design founder Gerald Genta penned in 2005. Measuring 39mm by 41mm, and 9mm thick, the case has easy proportions to wear across a range of wrist sizes. In fact, the brand notes that its R&D team has developed a standard it calls ErgonTeq, defined as an “innovative engineering technique [that] ensures the lugs, case, and strap sit ergonomically on the wrist, adapting to both large and small wrists. Gerald Charles further adds that the technique also increases surface contact, improves stability, and optimizes weight distribution.
As you can see from Ripley’s wrist, what sets this particular case apart is the “Darkblast” titanium construction, which, as its Star Wars-sounding name suggests, is both sandblasted and darkened. The result is a deep gray shade that’s much darker than normal titanium (veering on DLC vibes) and finished with a very coarse texture. Identical to other Maestro Sport models, this Tennis edition positions the crown on the left to keep it out of the way during a match.
That’s right, the Maestro Sport Tennis (and the other versions that came before it) is 5G shock-resistant, built to withstand the types of vibrations your arms endure during a game of tennis. The ultra-light watch weighs in at just 64 grams.
Inside the case is a dial that borrows its color from a tennis ball, dubbed Optic Yellow. The super-bright dial fades slightly toward the edges and shares the same grainy texture as the earlier Grass and Clay models. The generously lumed and sized stick and Arabic numeral hour markers remain — as do the trio of center hands and date window at 6 o’clock — so legibility is certainly not an issue.
Another tennis-ready feature of the watch is its all-new strap, also rendered in the same shade as the dial and fitted with a case-matched Darkblast titanium buckle. Unlike previous GC sports models with rubber straps, this one is fitted with a Velcro strap made in-house and features a porous effect that’s meant to mimic the dial texture. The bottom part of the strap that connects to the loop is elastic, so the watch can be worn tightly but still flex when you’re serving up that ace. And, if the highlighter yellow hue becomes a touch too much, Gerald Charles ensured that the Velcro strap could easily be removed and swapped out for another band.
Around back is a view of the in-house developed 2.0 Caliber self-winding movement with 50 hours of power reserve — the same nicely finished caliber that powers other Maestro Sport watches. While the customary honeycomb-etched rotor is still there, it is also decorated with the Gerald Charles 25th Anniversary logo. Living up to the “sport” in its name, the Maestro Sport Tennis is water resistant to 100 meters.
Gimmicky or genuinely useful for tennis players? You decide. What’s becoming clearer with each new Gerald Charles release is that the brand isn’t shy about leaning all the way into its unconventional Maestro case silhouette, offering up iteration after iteration — a play that’s worked well for plenty of other watch brands with sporty Genta-era designs. Dressed in a bright, cheery color, this Maestro is aiming to induce a smile to match the one it wears on its case. If you love tennis, and the color of the ball you’re aiming to smash over the net is your jam, then this may be the watch for you. But hurry, there are only 200 available, priced at $20,700 USD each. For more information about the limited-edition Maestro Sport Tennis in optic yellow (ref. GC2.0-TX-TNSB-24GR-RSVC), please visit the Gerald Charles website.
