1970's Vintage Yellow Gold Plated Maurice Gerdat Maxi-Oval Ref. 3238 - Champagne Dial

Maurice Gerdat is one of those obscure names from the golden age of postwar Swiss watchmaking that rewards a second look. While relatively little has been preserved about the history of the marque, surviving watches suggest a small-scale, design-conscious operation working within the broader Swiss watch industry, with period examples known to have been produced by established makers such as UTI. Rather than competing through technical complexity, watches bearing the Maurice Gerdat name seem to have leaned into the increasingly adventurous design language of the 1960s and 1970s, when the traditional round wristwatch was giving way to more sculptural forms.

This Ref. 3238 is a particularly compelling expression of that period. Its dramatically elongated oval case measures approximately 38mm across and 55mm from top to bottom, proportions that give it an architectural presence on the wrist. The case is broad, smooth and uninterrupted, framing the dial with confident geometry that defined the most memorable dress watches of its decade.

The obvious comparison is the Cartier Maxi Oval, whose expansive elliptical case has become one of the most recognizable and collectible shaped designs of the period. The Maurice Gerdat shares much of the same visual vocabulary: an exaggerated oval silhouette, a generous expanse of gold surrounding a restrained dial, and a scale that feels surprisingly contemporary despite its 1970s origins. It is not an imitation so much as another expression of the same moment in watch design, when jewelers and watchmakers alike were exploring watches less as miniature instruments and more as pieces of wearable architecture.

At the center is a wonderfully restrained champagne dial, its warm metallic surface closely matched to the tone of the case. There are no conventional hour markers to interrupt the composition. Instead, a pair of slender black pointed baton hands provides the only strong contrast, emphasizing the almost abstract simplicity of the design. The result is unusually modern: from a distance, the watch reads as a single golden object, with the time display becoming apparent only on closer inspection.

The case remains in excellent vintage condition, as does the acrylic crystal and original champagne dial. More than anything, this Maurice Gerdat captures the experimental confidence of 1970s watch design. Its Cartier Maxi Oval-like proportions place it firmly within the era's fascination with exaggerated, jewelry-inspired forms, yet its obscure signature gives it an individuality that is increasingly difficult to find. For collectors attracted to the great shaped watches of Cartier, Piaget and their contemporaries, but who appreciate discovering something far less familiar, the Ref. 3238 offers an unusually compelling alternative.

SKU# G1130