We investigate the relationship between sonority shape and global timing in complex onsets in Georgian. We hypothesize that all onsets, regardless of sonority shape, will show the global timing pattern predicted: the c-center effect, first described in Browman and Goldstein (1988). However, our data show no evidence for the c-center effect, and therefore for global coordination of the syllable onset as a unit, in Georgian. We discuss possible motivations for this unexpected finding and its broader implications for analyses of Georgian and theoretical definitions of the syllable.