When A Dragon Tells Time: GENUS Brings Moving Sculptures To India Watch Weekend 2026

Sébastien Billières spent a decade developing a watch with no hands. Ten years working out how to make time visible through movement alone, how to turn hours and minutes into kinetic sculpture, how to patent a mechanism that makes metal arrows travel a figure eight path across two counter-rotating wheels. The result won the Mechanical Exception Prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève in 2019. Now it's coming to India.

GENUS arrives at India Watch Weekend 2026 on January 17th and 18th with eight watches spanning two collections. Four from the GNS1 series featuring the original award-winning movement with its exposed mechanical trains. Four from the newer GNS2 line where the same brain gets wrapped in cleaner dial architecture. And somewhere in that selection sits an 11-segment hand-carved gold dragon that travels an infinity path to indicate tens of minutes while its head marks exact time.

Traditional watches use hands pivoting from a central axis. GENUS eliminated the axis entirely. The calibre 260Rh-2 that powers everything consists of 278 hand-finished components working to move small sculptural elements around the dial on tracks. These elements, which GENUS calls "genera" after the biological classification term, circulate between two counter-rotating wheels arranged in a figure eight. One element leads, marking the current ten-minute interval. The others follow. All three complete the infinity path as minutes pass.

Hours work differently. Three more arrows travel the dial periphery, each rotating on its own axis while moving clockwise around the outer track. The entire system runs on one barrel delivering 50 hours of power reserve despite the complexity of moving all these masses. Every component gets designed and hand-finished by Billières and his team in Geneva. The movement splits into two modules: one handling energy generation and transmission, the other managing energy distribution and the time display complications.

The Dragon
The GNS1.2 Dragon takes those free-moving genera and replaces them with an articulated Chinese dragon carved from 18K gold. Eleven segments, each individually sculpted and hand-engraved with scales, claws, whiskers, facial details. The head alone uses six blocks of solid gold. Each segment needed precise volume and weight calculations to transition smoothly from one orbit to the other along that figure eight path. Assembly required building the movement three times to achieve natural serpentine movement. The dragon sits between dial and movement under a dramatically domed sapphire crystal that lets you observe the sculpture from nearly any angle. Case height reaches 18.8mm to accommodate that crystal dome. The dragon travels its infinity path marking tens of minutes while peripheral satellite indices with axial rotation handle hours. A new version in rose gold case joins India Watch Weekend 2026. Exact specifications and imagery remain under wraps.

Three gem-set variants also make the trip. The Diamond Rivière uses invisibly set stones integrated into the dragon's body, letting rubies and diamonds move freely with the mechanism. The Rainbow Gems edition scatters colored precious stones across the composition. The Gold Arrows variant features rose gold case and movement architecture, swapping the dragon for the original arrow-shaped genera in matching precious metal.

The GNS2 Evolution
Five years after the GNS1 launch, GENUS introduced the GNS2. Same calibre fundamentals, completely different visual execution. The sprawling mechanical landscape of the original gets replaced with a closed dial featuring two crater-like openings forming the figure eight. Hand-hammered surfaces frame polished sloping edges leading down to graduated minute tracks and skeletonized wheels. Both subdials rotate in opposite directions, one clockwise, one counter. The genera shorten from twelve segments to three metallic blue arrows.

The Launch Edition presents this in grey and black tones with symmetrical composition. Applied numerals mark key points. Blue arrows handle time indication. Grade 5 titanium case at 43mm diameter and 18.8mm thick. Hollowed sandblasted flanks reduce visual weight. Glass box sapphire crystal without edges provides undistorted views of the peripheral hour track.

Infinity Blue takes the same architecture and adds deep blue dial surfaces reminiscent of desert horizons at dusk. Golden crescent dials with fine texture like windblown sand. The contrast between blue depths and gold surfaces creates the aesthetic while the three blue arrows continue their perpetual figure eight journey. Nocturne, described by GENUS as forged in the spirit of exclusivity and masculine authority, presumably uses darker tones and refined surfaces. Exact specifications weren't available before press time. Time2Race transforms the concept into motorsport. Three hand-engraved 18K rose gold miniature race cars replace the standard arrows. The lead car with red stripe marks minutes. Two white-striped cars pursue behind. Hand-hammered black dial. Peripheral arrows styled like trackside curbs indicate hours. The entire composition references Billières' childhood memories of his grandfather's European racing memorabilia boutique. Customization options let buyers select specific race car models. Priced at 92,500 Swiss francs.

The Details That Matter
Every GENUS movement gets assembled entirely in Geneva. Billières, who co-founded GMTI specializing in Geneva Seal movements before starting GENUS with Catherine Henry, handles component design personally. His sister Sarah executes hand decoration. Plates and bridges receive traditional haute horlogerie finishing: anglage, mirror polishing, micro-blasting, hand engraving where appropriate. The regulating organ on GNS2 models features blued surfaces contrasting with gold components.The two-part architecture separates concerns. Base module handles barrel, gear train, escapement, balance. Display module manages the patented figure eight mechanism and time indication system. This modularity allowed evolution from GNS1's fully exposed construction to GNS2's partially closed dial without redesigning the entire calibre.

Case options span Grade 5 titanium for lightness, 18K white gold for traditional luxury, 18K rose gold for warmth. Damascene titanium appeared in earlier limited editions, created by layering different titanium alloys with particular heat reaction characteristics, then cutting at precise angles to reveal forged layering. Each piece emerged visually unique. Every GENUS watch includes an Arianee blockchain-based digital passport guaranteeing authenticity and traceability throughout its lifetime regardless of ownership changes.

Why This Matters in India
Independent watchmaking reached India slowly. Urwerk, MB&F, De Bethune, the names collectors discussed in forums remained accessible mainly through grey market channels or international travel. That's changing. India Watch Weekend 2026 represents something different: brands showing up directly, bringing their actual range, letting people handle the watches they've only seen in Instagram posts. GENUS fits that shift. These aren't watches you buy for brand heritage or investment potential. You buy them because you want to see gears and levers doing something no other watch does. Because you appreciate that someone spent ten years figuring out how to make three arrows travel a figure eight path to display time. Because you understand that hand-carving an 11-segment gold dragon that actually moves naturally as it indicates minutes represents craft meeting mechanism at levels most brands abandoned generations ago.