Text: Lisa Epifanova WHEN THE WORDS “CLOCK” AND “PAINTING” ARE SPEAKED TOGETHER, MOST IMAGINES A PICTURE GIVEN “PERMANENT MEMORY”. BUT NOT ONLY TIME MEASURING INSTRUMENTS FROZEN ARTISTS. WATCH MASTERS FIND AND CONTINUE TO FIND INSPIRATION IN THE WORKS OF THE GREAT PAINTERS.
Romain jerome
Manuel Emsch, the head of the Romain Jerome company, who himself is a collector of modern painting, does not miss the opportunity to collaborate with various artists. In 2012, a limited series was presented as part of the Art-DNA project, created in collaboration with the famous Swiss artist John Armleder, who is known for using a skull image in all of his paintings and canvases, which is intended to refer the viewer to the culture of the American Indians. Emsh and Armleder came up with an original interpretation of the 46-mm steel watch: on the dial, as if casually beaten with a hammer, there was fixed a steel plate in the shape of a skull, coated inside with colored varnish. If you look at the watch at an angle, it seems as if the skull is glowing. A total of 10 copies were released, each in its own unique color. And in 2014, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Romain Jerome released the 25-piece Berlin-DNA model in a case made of matte black ceramic with the automatic caliber RJ001-A. The dial was adorned with a three-dimensional image of the central part of Berlin, on which the Berlin Wall is marked with a red stripe, and the Spree river bed is blue (in the dark they glow with fluorescent light). But the most interesting thing is hidden on the back cover: there is an engraving of the “Brotherly Kiss” drawing based on a painting by Russian artist Dmitry Vrubel inspired by a 1979 photograph that depicts the famous kiss of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honneker.
Jaeger-lecoultre
The practice of decorating watches with miniature copies of paintings is well known since the beginning of the 17th century, when the art of enamel painting appeared, which later became almost on the verge of extinction with the transition to wrist watches, and, as a result, the disappearance of the cover, which served as the "canvas" for the watch pictures. By the end of the twentieth century, only a few well-known brands created a series of watches with enamel-painted dials, and then mainly on simple topics. Do not be surprised that the pioneer in the field of transferring timepieces to watches in our time has become a manufactory from Le Sentier Jaeger-LeCoultre.
She had an ideal Reverso model for this: her flipping design allows enamel to be applied not only to the dial, but also to the case cover, and the rectangular shape corresponds to the format of the painting. This is exactly what Jaeger-LeCoultre master Miklos Merzel reasoned in the mid-90s - it took him four years to learn the classic techniques of enamel painting, develop his own unique style and in 2001 introduce the first Reverso line, painted in arnuvo style based on Alfons paintings Flies. Merzel himself could paint only 26 copies a year, but soon he had students, and today several enamel artists work in the atelier of the manufactory in Le Sentier, overlaid with painting catalogs. In the Reverso a Eclipse series (watches, in which the dial is not only turned over, but also closed with sliding “blinds”), models from August 2006 appeared with copies of nude, Dominic Ingres and Gustav Klimt paintings by Auguste Renoir. And in December 2011, in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Reverso collection, the manufactory presented a limited edition Reverso a Eclipses Kazimir Malevich in a case made of pink gold 46.5 × 29.3 mm with a JLC 849 mechanism, on the dials of which the painting “The Peasant Woman” by Kazimir Malevich is reproduced, written by the artist in 1931.
Vacheron constantin
The Geneva-based Vacheron Constantin manufactory is also well known for restoring rare watchmaking techniques. In particular, last year's Metiers d'Art Hommage a l'Art de la Danse series was a white gold watch with a diameter of 40 mm with dials coated with enamel "grisey" and Grand Feu on the subjects of paintings by Edgar Degas. But perhaps the most artistically sophisticated Vacheron Constantin collection is the Metiers d'Art Chagall & l'Opera de Paris series, inspired by the famous ceiling of the Garnier Opera House, created by 77-year-old Marc Chagall commissioned by the Charles de Gaulle government. Chagall's plafond is dedicated to world-famous composers and ballet and opera masterpieces staged to their music.
In 2007, Vacheron Constantin launched a project based on the painting of the ceiling, within which 15 models, each in a single copy, will be released over the course of several years. The murals on the dial are made by the famous enamel artist Anita Porsche, who created, for example, the legendary collectible dials Patek Philippe. The first model was introduced in 2010 and was a miniature copy of the central part of the Chagall fresco, the remaining 14 models are devoted to fragments of productions of famous composers: Adam, Mussorgsky, Mozart, Wagner, Berlioz, Rameau, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Verdi, Beethoven, Gluck and Bizet.
So, the second model, Hommage to P. I. Tchaïkovski, released in 2011, depicts a fragment of the ballet Swan Lake, and the third release is Hommage to W.A. Mozart, as the name suggests, is dedicated to the opera The Magic Flute. All watches are presented in yellow gold case with a diameter of 40 mm, inside of which an automatic caliber 2460 SC is installed with a 40-hour power reserve, marked with the "Geneva mark".
Jacob & Co
Sometimes the watch brand does not just release a limited collection, inspired by the work of a famous artist, but literally owes this artist his appearance. So, the famous abstractionist of the early twentieth century, Pete Mondrian, led to the first success of the watch brand Jacob & Co. In 1917, Mondrian created his own theory of painting, called neoplasticism. In accordance with it, only minimal colors could be used: white, gray, black and the most intense tones of red, yellow and blue. For convenience, the artist called his paintings by numbers. In the 60s, based on the painting "Composition No. 10", fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent presented the Mondrian collection (1965), in which dresses were covered with prints from multi-colored squares. And in 2002, the motive for "Composition No. 10" was used by Jacob Arabo to create 5 Time Zones watches of his brand Jacobs & Co. Subsequently, the watch collection expanded, gaining more chic and jewelry forms - in 2012 it was transformed into the new World is Yours Two Faced collection, where the 47 mm case with a quartz movement, showing the time in five time zones, is decorated on the dial with a geometric card lined with multi-colored precious stones, and the Mondrian pattern on the back cover.
It is not at all necessary to belong to the watchmaking elite in order to be an exponent of art as such. What brilliantly demonstrates the Swatch brand, known for its art series, which are in great demand among collectors. Swatch was one of the first to come up with projects with artists. In 1985, Nicholas G. Hayek invited the French avant-garde artist Kiki Picasso to create a series of models for the summer collection. The Kiki Picasso line was limited to 120 copies. Subsequently, a whole line of "club" watches grew out of it. In 2014, a series of Sliding Doors was made by British artist Alexander Gorlitsky. He adorned the dials and straps with a geometric pattern inspired by motifs of Indian architecture.
Quinting
Expressions in watchmaking deserve a common street art - graffiti. In 2012, the Quinting brand, known for creating watches with an absolutely transparent dial (using a patented technology that combines classical mechanics and microengineering), introduced the Street Art collection. In it, sapphire crystal dials are painted with colored enamel on subjects associated with cities, their districts and streets, for which the fame of street art centers has entrenched in the world. In the first issue, four models were presented: based on graffiti of 6th Avenue and the Bronx in New York, Kanabier Boulevard in Marseille and Nanjing Street in Shanghai (this model was also encrusted with 60 diamonds). Later, the collection was replenished with models in honor of London's Oxford Street, Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington and Binjiang Dao Street in Tianjin. Each of the models is released in a 43.8 mm steel case with the patented Quinting Tech 5 caliber, an original design is attached to it, which served as an inspiration for the dial.
Greubel forsey
The founders of the independent atelier of complex mechanics Robert Grubel and Stephen Forsi believe that the traditional values of watchmaking (high-quality movement, rich finishes, a prestigious brand) are increasingly being replaced by the values of true art, which implies freedom of creativity and expression. The masters even launched at the beginning of 2015 the traveling exhibition Time Art Gallery, in which the watches are presented along with a dozen works by famous contemporary artists. Naturally, Greubel Forsey also creates joint projects with creative people. In 2013, the first issue of the Art Piece series saw the light, in which a clockwork with a tourbillon tilted 30 degrees was complemented by a micro-sculpture of Willard Wigan. Two years later, a special version appeared called Robert Filliou Art Piece. It is dedicated to the French neo-Dada artist Robert Filiu, who died in 1989. In the case of 43.5 mm in white gold, another Wigan sculpture is also hidden - a miniature bowler hat - inspired by one of Filiu's most famous works, “Couvre-Chef (s) -D'oeuvre (s)”. The dial is adorned with the artist's signature seal, which could be seen in many of his works: "Well done; poorly done; not done."
