STYLE BUZZ
These Swiss watchmakers keep things interesting with a heady dose of oriental inspiration.
Asian invasion
Whether in technique or tradition, the Japanese culture and its dedication to craftsmanship has influenced numerous luxury brands. It has even inspired some unique partnerships, such as this one between American jeweller Harry Winston and the Japanese pen maker, Nakaya. Together, the two companies created a watch and pen set paying tribute to Japanese art as well as New York City. In the Midnight Yozora Automatic, Harry Winston used urushi lacquering, raden mother-of-pearl inlays, and maki-e of platinum and palladium to create the New York night sky, perhaps as seen from the doors of its iconic Fifth Avenue salon.
Speaking of things that elicit delight, the Jaquet Droz Magic Lotus Automaton is a darling on the wrist, the life of the party, and the talk of the town. Think about the perfect watch: A piece that’s perfectly balanced between complication and refinement, with artistic flourishes inside and out. The Magic Lotus Automaton is all that and more.
Themed on a serene garden pond, this watch delivers hand-engraved and hand-painted lotuses in all stages of life, shiny pebbles smoothened by the constant flow of water, and vibrant fauna that – get this – moves on demand. This single most alluring aspect of the watch is also a cherished specialty of the Jaquet Droz manufacture.
Pushing the button on the crown starts the entire blue dial rotating gently. As it turns, so does the pretty little koi automaton, as well as the fully opened lotus that’s literally across the pond. Magically, the koi swishes its body left and right just like real fishes do, and ducks below the lotus leaves before rising up again. The precious heart of the blooming lotus also changes colour each time it emerges from beneath the leaves. Meanwhile, a little blue dragonfly hovers above the water, steadily descending to rest upon a lotus leaf once the animation draws to a halt. This entire act lasts 30 seconds – the longest ever achieved by Jaquet Droz – and the movement is calibrated to allow for four successive turns of this moving picture of kinetic art.
On a more esoteric note, the Chinese culture has long influenced the watches of Bovet, an ultra-niche brand producing handcrafted timepieces modelled after pocket watches. But rather than retell the history of Middle Kingdom or utilise its crafts, some of Bovet’s earliest creations simply feature traditional Chinese characters in place of the 12 numerals. When these watches first appeared, they were an anomaly in a Euro-centric industry. Today the Chinese hour Bovet watches are a rarely encountered yet always astounding collector’s classic.
Perhaps nothing epitomises Chinese culture more than a giant cuddly panda bear sitting on his furry bum and gnawing blissfully on tender bamboo shoots. In the case of the Richard Mille RM26-01 Panda Tourbillon, this adorable national treasure of China is sculpted in white gold and fully paved with diamonds and black sapphires. Set against a base plate of black onyx, it is surrounded by bamboo trees crafted from yellow gold and painted by hand.
Other Asian exclusives that Richard Mille has created include the RM57-01 Tourbillon Phoenix and Dragon and the RM51-01 Tourbillon Tiger and Dragon, both of which were designed in collaboration with some very famous friends. RM57-01 was designed for and with Jackie Chan, who’s a big fan of Richard Mille, while RM51-01 is the brainchild of Richard Mille and Michelle Yeoh, released as a nod to the 2000 film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Both watches feature handcraftsmanship of the highest level, where the awe-inspiring creatures have been so skilfully integrated into the movement mechanism that the line between time and art piece has been utterly obliterated.
Constantly intrigued by arts and crafts from all over the world, Blancpain has introduced a mesmerising plethora of Asian inspired techniques, motifs, and artworks. The Métiers d’art Great Beauties is a nod to ancient Chinese folklore and history. An ode to the fabled Four Great Beauties of China, the watches are dedicated to Xi Shi, Diao Chan, Wang Zhaojun, and the famous Yang Guifei. Rivalling the ladies in beauty, the timepieces showcase everything from champlevé enamel and relief-engraving to shakudo (a Japanese method of copper and iron damascening), marquetry and miniature enamel painting.
But Chinese tradition has made its way into Blancpain’s portfolio long before these models. In a most natural tribute to the Chinese culture, the Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar is at once unique and useful. It is the only watch on the market that offers the lunisolar calendar synchronised with a Gregorian calendar date display. This watch took Blancpain five years to make because unlike the Gregorian calendar which is based on solar day (24 hours) the lunisolar calendar is based on the lunar cycle which comprises 29.53059 days.
Yet for all the complexities within its case, the Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar remains impeccably refined, thanks to a white Grand Feu enamel dial and painted characters. Blued steel hands lend a pop of colour echoed by the classical moon phase display at six o’clock, which adds a touch of Zen.
Zen can also be said of watches such as the Villeret Métiers d’arts Binchotan and the Villeret Métiers d’arts “The Great Wave”. Indeed, in Blancpain’s own words, there is no image in Japanese art more iconic than the Great Wave off Kanagawa by Japanese artist Hokusai. Blancpain utilised a number of special techniques to evoke the power of the wave with glorious three-dimensionality. The entire wave was carved out of a piece of white gold patinated with Japanese shakudo which bestows light, shadow and energy. It is then set on a dial of rustic Mexican obsidian with fine nuances of grey emulating a stormy sky.
Likewise, the Villeret Métiers d’arts Binchotan applies a new craft to a familiar symbol: The sacred and traditional Torii gate you usually find at the entrances of all Shinto shrines across Japan. Blancpain takes a stab at an art form conceived in the Kishu region of Japan 400 years ago, where the indigenous Ubamegashi (Holm oak) is fired at low temperatures for weeks, resulting in a pure and dense carbon material with an intense black colour and a naturally smooth matte finish.
Sliced into thin rounds to make the dial, the wood pieces are polished and then coated with transparent Japanese urushi lacquer. Fine decorations are then etched and outlined in red urushi, before the red gold hand-engraved and Shakudopatinated Torii gate enters the scene, secured by its little gold feet sitting in tiny holes bored through the carbon.
From ancient legends to customary practices, Asian heritage comes alive in these mesmerising horological masterpieces.