Paul Gerber's Last Watches: The Truth About a Swiss Master Watchmaker Closing His Workshop

Let’s clear up the title first: Paul Gerber is not closing his Zurich workshop, retiring, or leaving watchmaking behind.

He is winding down commercial production so he can focus on teaching from that workshop. He remains an active master watchmaker and educator. That is a very different story, and, to me, a more interesting one.

For collectors, it is a reminder that a watch’s story is about more than how many were made. It is also about the hands, ideas, and tradition behind it.

A watchmaker’s work, at human scale

Paul Gerber is a Zurich-based independent watchmaker and a member of the AHCI since 1988. The Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants brings together makers whose work reflects a long tradition of independent horology: individual ideas, careful craft, and work made without the scale of mass production.

That human scale matters. An independent watch can carry the clear mark of its maker, not just in how it works, but in the choices that give it character.

Gerber’s Model 42 Triple Rotor is a good example. Its edition is closed at 46 pieces. The three gold rotors bring a distinctive mechanical idea to the watch, while each bridge carries Gerber’s “PG” signature.

And then there is the small Fiat silhouette on the seconds hand. It is a playful detail, easy to miss at first glance. But that is part of its charm: the watch has serious craft, without taking itself too seriously.

“Last” does not mean “finished”

When a maker winds down commercial production, it can be tempting to treat the story like a closing chapter. But Gerber’s decision is better understood as a change in focus.

He is turning more of his attention to teaching in his Zurich workshop. The knowledge stays in motion, passed from one set of hands to another. The workshop remains part of the story, not as a factory running at scale, but as a place for learning and watchmaking.

That is one of the things I value about the independent tradition. Craft is not only what ends up on the wrist. It is also the care, skill, and understanding that go into making it, and the choice to share that knowledge.

The meaning of a closed edition

A 46-piece closed edition sets a clear boundary around the Model 42 Triple Rotor’s production. But a number alone cannot explain why a watch matters.

For me, the details do more of the talking. The triple gold rotors. The engraved bridges. The tiny car moving around the dial as the seconds pass. Together, they make the watch feel personal and unmistakably considered.

Gerber winding down commercial production gives his existing work a fresh context. It invites us to look more closely at what is already there: a maker’s ideas, expressed in a finished object, with a story that continues beyond the workbench.

That does not mean every rare watch is automatically meaningful. It means the maker, the object, and the available history deserve a thoughtful look.

What I look for at Beckham Intemporel

At Beckham Intemporel, we believe a great watch should connect on the wrist and hold meaning beyond its first chapter.

That is the heart of the BIP. The Beckham Intemporel Process. We consider a watch’s identity, provenance, condition, and documentation with care. BIP is our standard for Future Heirloom quality: a considered approach to choosing rare, historically meaningful timepieces that can become part of a personal legacy.

It is also why white-glove service matters. Collectors deserve clear answers, careful attention, and a process that respects both the object and the person who may carry its story forward.

Gerber’s next chapter is about teaching. The watches he has made remain a lasting expression of his work, and an invitation to notice the independent watchmaking tradition up close.

To keep exploring, visit the Beckham Intemporel Journal, including our earlier story on Paul Gerber, or learn more about Beckham Intemporel.

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