Life and soul of the fiesta
Mexico’s Day of the Dead is firmly on watchmaking’s calendar, discovers Laura Mccreddie-doak
Hyper-stylised skull make-up, brightly coloured flowers, hanging skeletons – the visual language is so distinctive that no 007 fan needed to be told that Spectre, James Bond’s 24th outing, opened in Mexico City on Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead). Born from a blend of Aztec remembrance festivals and Spanish Catholicism, it’s a joyful tribute to those who have passed on, celebrated with flowers, food and skulls, usually made of sugar in tribute to the sweetness of life. As festivals go, it’s up there with Christmas as a recognisable cultural touchpoint.
Such is its power that watchmaker Fiona Krüger took the iconic outline of the calavera, the skull design that is synonymous with the festival, for the case of her eyecatching timepieces. “The colourful skull ornaments during Día de Muertos are about celebrating the life of those who have passed and a reminder to celebrate the fact that we get to be here in this moment,” she says.
For the most recent take on her signature skull design, Krüger has collaborated with renowned pearl maison Tasaki. “Life, death and human experience are a personal way of knowing time and the skull encapsulates this in a universally recognisable form,” says Krüger. Here, it is given a ghostly mother-ofpearl visage. Its opalescent sheen gives movement to the dial, making for a hauntingly beautiful memento mori.
Chopard’s L.U.C Skull One takes direct inspiration from the Day of the Dead. The dial decoration is unmistakably a calavera. In keeping with the element of parody associated with the festival – it’s common to recite mock epitaphs to the dead – this skull has a debonair moustache and a beguiling grin.
Twisted realism is definitely on show in Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Carpe Diem. A minute repeater with four automata, it is a mechanical marvel. To reveal the time, the snake head on the side of the case is pushed, causing its tail to move across the dial, indicating the minutes. The head also moves to reveal the hour in the skull’s forehead. The symbol in the eye switches between two LV logos, and the skull’s teeth part to reveal ‘Carpe Diem’; a wonderful reminder to make the most of each passing day.
If you ever feel that time is mocking you, then Bell & Ross’s BR 01 Cyber Skull will confirm your suspicions. When the crown is wound, the jaw moves up and down, creating the impression that this three-dimensional ceramic head is laughing at you.
If the skulls act as a memento mori, then flowers, also an integral part of the Day of the Dead, are thought to guide souls from their resting place back to their family homes. And no soul could possibly resist the allure of Piaget’s gorgeous blooms. The enamel Altiplano Rose gently unfurling its delicate petals is hand-painted in pink, which for Mexicans signifies happiness.
There is pink, too, in the graphic La D de Dior Rose, reminiscent of the darkly outlined and gloriously bright La Catrina – the ‘elegant skeleton’ with flower-adorned hair and ruched skirts used to parody rich Mexicans who aspired to be more European.
Because of their impermanence, flowers on Mexican altars signify the fragility of life. But, when rendered in diamonds and enamel, as on Harry Winston’s Premier Lotus Automatic, they become symbols of the desire to freeze time because these petals will never fade or die.
Taking a pared-back approach is Boucheron’s Epure Lierre De Paris, its diamond flora on a black dial linking to the darkly gothic beauty of the calaveras. Chanel’s dainty Première Extrait De Camélia with tiny flower charm is an even stricter study in reserve – reminding us that in life, it is sometimes better to keep excess to a minimum.