What is a watch? Very often we call a timepiece a masterpiece, a piece of art or just a beautiful thing. And this beauty appears from nowhere. A beautiful watch is a result of a perfect idea born in the mind of a certain person and drawn in black and white and then practically implemented.
Larry’s Rules
It was easier for craftsmen of the Past to create watches. Of course we don’t speak of making tiny parts with the help of primitive machinery, but about the design. They had a circular case and a circular movement at their disposal. For designer ideas of that time little space of the dial was sufficient. So actually watches of that time differed only with jewels used in inlay work of the case, shape of hands and guilloche pattern.
But if a modern company work this way, it won’t be very successful (Rolex is an exception proving the general rule). Fortunately, we live in period when craftsmen are free to create watches of any shape, with any complications and of any metal or alloy. More and more often we can hear watch designer telling the same stories: “Once on board the plane (train, departure lounge, study…) to while away the time I decided to draw a watch. The design was so nice that I decided to create the exact copy of that watch. I turned to designers, technologists, to Christophe Claret – and here is the result!” Such a story you might hear from Gerald Genta, Jorg Hysek and Alain Silberstein, Maximillian Busser (MB&F), Bernhard Lederer (Blu) and Guillaume Tetu (Hautlence). And this is not surprising at all: today design plays one of the main roles because watchmakers practically lost interest in competition with each other in durability and precision of their movements (what may be more durable than a regular ЕТА?). Contemporary customers know this perfectly well and that’s why when they enter th shop they say: “I already have a durable and reliable watch, can you please show me something stylish and notable”.
The same criteria of choice are used by the most advanced haute horlogerie connoisseurs. An American collector from San Francisco Larry Seyden has a collection of nearly 200 timepieces. He invented for himself three criteria of choosing a watch, and if a timepiece meets all the three it takes its place in Larry’s collection.
The first rule concerns the dial and hands. Larry’s advice is to look at the dial as at a picture slightly screwing up your eyes to understand what impression it leaves.
The second criterion is how the watch fits your wrist. What are the feelings when it is on your wrist: whether you feel like a millionaire or a playboy or a serious businessman or just a supplement to a heavy-looking thing.
And finally the third rule: is there at least one reason why you should take the watch off. You shouldn’t buy a watch just to wear it. There must be something more: an interesting movement seen through the sapphire crystal at the back case, some original device in an unusual place, peculiar case design or even a secret engraving – well, anything that may stimulate you to take off the watch and to look at it in detail at least ones a day.
If a watch meets all the three rules Mr. Seyden’s advice is to buy them without hesitation, even if it is made by an unknown company and its price is not as “prestigious“.
Proust’s Behests
The basis for the conceptual approach to watch design was set by Art Deco period and its chief ideologist Louis Cartier. Before the 20th century timepieces were created in compliance with the main style of the time or peculiarities of the watchmaking school. For example, well-known designer achievements of Abraham Louis Breguet, who invented his own style of watch hands, tiny curved Arabic figures and a guilloche dial, actually reflected the opposition of simplicity and modesty of neoclassicism to fanciful Rococo style. This opposition can be called a “battle of hands“. As luxurious and complicated golden hands of Louis XV were, as simple and elegant Breguet’s blue “apples” were.
Art Deco designers for the first time treated a watch as an integral idea where the shape can determine the content and not vice versa. Only then one of the main roles in creation of a timepiece was given to designers who drew the outline and which then was embodied by watchmakers.
Cartier embodied Marcel Proust’s observation that inspiration may be found everywhere, even in a bar of soap. Inspiration for the Tank model he found in the draft of a machine that first appeared in the World War I. Cartier saw an ideal shape for a watch in its rectangular cabin and large crawlers.
Such examples in the history of watchmaking are numerous. To stimulate idea of an unusual shape for a dial or case or a movement sometimes one casual observation is enough. So former CEO of Balmain Jerry Simonis saw the building of the famous Kingdom Tower in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, and made an outline of Amphora watch at once. Alain Silberstein saw his famous style in Lego construction set. The idea of Cintree Curveux was occasionally given to Franck Muller by one of his customers who said: “Your movements are so interesting and complicated… If only they were housed by a curved elegant case I would wear your watches only…”
To make their products even more original watchmaking companies became cooperate with guest designers who are not connected with the world of watches. Painters, fashion designers, jewellers, architects are desirable guest stars for many brands.
But guest stars do not define the image of industry; otherwise market wouldn’t see so many novelties. There thousands of professional designers for whom designing of cases, dials and new bridges of movements is an everyday work on which their reputation depends.
One designer once said that the most difficult thing in the watch design is practical implementation of a new image. To make a watch outline real you should work with 20 different workshops and many professionals that will produce, test and improve the prototype and the watch itself.
Next difficulty is to foresee the popularity of the model. “Real creativeness is not in an image of a fantastic case with a posh movement but in people’s desire to see the watch not in the shop window but at their wrists”, Jean-Claude Biver says. “A real designer never thinks only about himself. He must see the thoughts of other people and understand what they expect.”
Element X
In fact to design a watch you don’t need sophisticated computer programmes. The latter are user later when you need to create the exact copy of the future watch. So when the designers say that to create a watch they only need paper, pencils, rubbers, protractors, Indian ink and a brush they are absolutely sincere. New watches appear from imagination.
In the centre of the outline they draw a letter X — this is the basis for case location for ¾ to reflect its thickness and curve at once. Around X the shape is drawn: circular, oval, and square, polyhedral, whatever. Relative to X you can immediately see if the watch will fit the wrist harmoniously or not. Then to outline of the case bezel is added, then - a dial, side with a crown, strap and then shape of glass. So X is the cornerstone. If the idea looks good designers may draw additional outlines: front, profile, back case. Then the draft is processed with the help of different computer programmes.
Designing of a watch takes from 3 months to 1 year. The same thing with new calibres: first you should develop aesthetical image and only then process it with the help of computer.
It’s interesting for everyone how a watch of Future will look like. And only X knows it for sure.
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