Finally! After years of discussion that clocks should have a place, and some instances of clocks being included in categories that made little sense in 2021, the GPHG has created a category just for mechanical clocks. And, boy, what a complete smorgasbord of mechanical ingenuity! But what to choose?
On activation, the water starts to ripple as if touched by the wind on the Van Cleef & Arpels Fontaine aux Oiseaux. The birds engage in an intricate mating ritual so real that it feels as if each bird has a character of its own. The dragonfly zips across the water as the waterlily opens to reveal an inner life set with precious stones. And that’s not all!
Halloween, a word contracted from “All Hallow’s Eve,” is a predominately American celebration whose traditions come from late nineteenth-century Celtic origins. And along comes a modern mechanical time-telling spider in celebration, the MB&F Arachnophobia: a realistic-looking arachnid made of metal and other materials traditionally used in watchmaking. Look upon it if you dare!
The skull is one of art history’s most referenced objects thanks to its powerful ability to instantly remind us that we are only flesh and bone. Fiona Krüger, specializing in skulls, partnered with L’Epée 1839 to produce Vanitas, a skull-shaped clock based on her Skull Collection with an unexpected function: it yawns as its movement tires.
Marc Newson‘s original Hourglass was one of Joshua Munchow’s favorite objects of the last decade. And now it’s back and as good as ever, only this time the collaboration is with independent boutique brand De Bethune because it is these artisans who possess the unique ability and knowledge to create the color necessary for the new blued nanoballs inside the shaped, tempered glass.
Thomas Brechtel shares his visit with us to see the Meissen collection featuring the art of fine porcelain clocks in Germany, just a few kilometers from Dresden.
Nineteenth-century French horologist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, a man now famous as the father of modern magic, inspired Cartier to begin dabbling in mystery clocks in 1912. And the famous brand has never stopped as an exhibition showing 19 historical mystery clocks so richly illustrated.
Imagine that after discovering and rebuilding the (imaginary) Time Viewer originally constructed by Leonardo da Vinci, an inventor saw the need for a navigational clock for time travelers. Well one inventor, Tom Bales, did just that and acted upon it.
Konstantin Chaykin’s Moscow Comptus Easter Clock masterpiece isn’t designed for the wrist but for the mantel. And it presents further evidence that the man Joshua Munchow dubs the “Wonderboy Russian Watchmaker” is one of the greatest watch- and clockmakers in the game today.
As with the best of traditions, Jaeger-LeCoultre perpetuates the iconic Atmos regardless of consideration for trends. And in 2022, JLC introduces two new models, the Atmos Infinite and the most complicated Atmos to date, the Atmos Hybris Mechanica Caliber 590 (Tellurium).
