A grail watch can come in all different shapes and sizes for art lovers, from miniature replicas of works by grand masters to cool modern artist collaborations, all perfectly captured in dials and cases you can't stop looking at. Here's our pick from one of the watch trends of 2022.
Jaeger-LeCoultre is at the forefront of watch art utilising the white gold canvas of their Reverso case back. The daddy of all rectangular wristwatches has a temptingly undecorated back, reversible for all to see through their patented mechanism. What started out as a function to protect the face of the watch from damage through playing polo, has been transformed. It now doubles as a means to display your personal taste or memories. JLC knows this only too well and has this year released a few special edition Reverso references with the hypnotic detail of miniature enamel artworks. The level of craftsmanship is astounding and is usually a personal touch known only to the owner.
Amida Falls is an evocative artwork by Japan’s most famous 19th-century artist Hokusai, famous for his Kanagawa Wave. This is the second time this year the micro-artists at the Jaeger-LeCoultre ateliers have shown us what magic they can perform. And on such a small white gold canvas, the intrinsic detail beggars belief. The dial itself is recognisable Reverso though resplendent in vibrant green with a guilloche pattern. I can only imagine this texture coming into its own slipping out from a knitted merino jumper in the fall. In fact, this is the third in a series on Hokusai from JLC, and I’m not lying when I say I rather fancy the famous The Great Wave off Kanagawa from 2018. With only 10 pieces available, this is personalisation incarnate, and while it may be unattainable for most watch lovers out there, it has the power to transfix you.
Perhaps a set of the three examples of this Japanese homage to Reverso belongs in the National Gallery, even the Louvre? This might seem far-fetched, but in the intersection of art and wristwear, brands have found a new step up the ladder of rarity, where craftsmanship is the ultimate luxury. The same can be said for the series of mindbogglingly intricate dials of the Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art series. These are a collaboration with the Louvre museum teams, further embracing the newfound bond between art and watchmaking. When a new-in-box £40K Patek Philippe Nautilus sells at auction for a dizzying £4m, wouldn’t you rather have a hand-crafted artwork that just happens to tell the time? What will get you every time is the hundreds of hours of hand-finishing that goes into any of these pieces, and yes, the time-telling itself is left almost as an afterthought. Viewed through four rhomboid windows to rotating discs, they become a part of an ultimate expression of Haute Horlogerie, on the dial made of miniature turquoise tiles.
Nothing is hotter in the auction houses this year than Cartier, and for the first time what used to be a more studied luxury choice is now almost as hard to get as a steel Rolex. The undisputed king of quirky-cool is the Dalì-esque Crash with its surrealist case and dial shape. Ironically it was designed not in Paris but in London in 1967, capturing the vibrant energy of our capital. Whether the strong substances of the Swinging Sixties had anything to do with it we’ll never know, but its case remains unique. But Cartier hasn’t stopped at the dizzying shape. Through their Métiers d’Art department, artisans are cross-pollinating jewellery with Horology, and the diamond-swirl pattern off their Crash interpretation is hypnotising. I can well imagine it on the wrist of Harry Styles, in fact, if you’re reading this Harry for god’s sake reach out to Cartier, this is You.
On the Modern end of the art scale, digital art meets pumping sound in the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore. In all-black with a multitude of colours symbolising the LEDs of an equaliser, this is digital art meeting DJ-booth. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that makes this artful interpretation of the Clous de Paris- dial pattern all the more charming. It’s certainly a world away from the boardroom chic of a normal Royal Oak, and ironically probably more easily available.
Here’s a cool, sub-£300 alternative from London brand Mr Jones to get you started. With their acquired taste of existentialist dials that put time itself in the back seat, you might think they’re a new brand. But in fact, Mr Jones have a 15-year anniversary this year. You be hard-pressed to find a higher cheer-up factor than with surrealist designs like A Perfectly Useless Afternoon and Ricochet. You’ll struggle to read the time at first, but this is about a vibe. Their pop art graphics take on a different meaning than making sure you make your dentist appointment, and all for the better.
