What I love about the art of painting is the many possibilities that occur to you once you stop taking it as a whole, and decide to isolate its different parts. That is what attracts me with the Watch Museum project, it focuses on the detail only one will see.
I have always been fascinated by visual arts, but what really attracts me in this world is the complexity that comes with it. When I first look at a painting, I tend to lay a careful eye on every detail, to focus on the process of creation, on the painter’s capacity to reproduce without any mistake the proportions of a human body, to create the volume of a castle, to transcript onto the canvas the texture of a velvet gown. When I first discovered The Battle of San Romano painted by Paolo Uccello, at the Uffizi, I was instantly struck by the bright colors that melted together onto this complex canvas. But when I approached, I realized that behind those colors laid a complexity which I did not expect, a complexity which mainly took place within the work on perspective, illustrated by the spears on the floor and the ones held by the riders on their horses. This complexity struck me and I was soon to be fascinated by Uccello’s piece. Beyond the aesthetic work, or the treatment of the colors, it was the mathematical approach of the battle that stuck with me. The lines crossing the canvas in various direction create a complex spider web which relies on the science of perspective and demonstrates the capital matter of mathematics in arts. This intricate composition, once taken out of its whole, completely changes. This figurative art piece transforms into an abstract one, and only you can understand where it belongs, the story it tells. That is where I would pick my detail for my dreamt Watch Museum, in this entanglement of spikes and swords, of horses and men. I like the confusion that comes out of it, how it is impossible to recognize Uccello’s painting with this single detail, but also the way I can see a new abstract painting appearing before my very eyes, and I trust the miniaturist painter’s work. His craftsmanship allows him to capture the essence of the original painting’s colors, to reproduce its nuances, how vivid Uccello’s color palette is, in a way no mechanic system could ever reproduce. The miniaturist painter’s work make of the Watch Museum an art piece in itself. And what I love about the Watch Museum project is how personal it promises to be. It enables you to make a famous art work yours, both by its reproduction and the fact that only you get the key to it. I would love to see this mathematical and enigmatic detail run around the dial, and to know that only I would know what it means and which master piece it belongs to. The Watch Museum is every art lovers’ dream, and I cannot wait to have mine created and change it into a reality.
What I love about this watch is how personal it promises to be. You can choose a detail which means a lot to you, but the dedication you can hide in the dial is what makes me believe that seems to be one of the most personal and lovely present one can offer.
When I discovered Watch Museum a memory instantly came back to my mind. It was almost a decade ago now. My husband was traveling for work, and as I sometimes did I flew along with him. This meeting took us to Firenze, and I remember my impatience, how I wanted to go visit the Uffizi as soon as we landed. We went to the hotel, and I started planning my day, while my husband organized his. I was used to him not coming with me. He rarely takes the time, this is one of his biggest flaw, and such a shame for an art lover like him when we visit an historical town. I was about to leave when he got a call from his assistant informing him that his colleagues could not make it and will only be there the following day. I heard the conversation, and then saw him seats at his desk and starting to work. It must have took me ten minutes to convince him, but I managed to have him calling it a day and coming to the Uffizi with me. We strolled around Florence, slowly making our way to the palace, while trying our best to manage our impatience. For the first time in dozens of work trip, he was able to take his time and finally meet the masterpieces hidden behind its walls. We slowly made our way around the rooms, in awe before so much beauty. After a while, we stumbled upon a legendary art piece of art history, The Spring, by Botticelli. I looked at him observing its every details while we both fell in love with the three graces. We could not look away, and we sat there until the museum closed. We left the place, a sadness in our hearts, forced to put an end to this speechless yet endless conversation.
I already can picture his Watch Museum. On the dial, I would have represented the faces of the three graces, a detail he could not take his eyes of. The miniaturist painter’s work will then be a crucial one. Craftsman of the marveling, he will be the one to bring the painting back to life, to give it all its shapes and colors, for us to look at it and instantly be taken back to this beloved memory. His exquisite hand craft is what makes Watch Museum so special. I recall my husband him walking back to the hotel, asking me why sometimes, in a painting, a face, a look, sticks with you more than any other one will. I had no answer for him, yet I understood. This watch would be a present to remember, to capture a marvelous memory, this painting which still remains special to us today, but also a way to remember to take the time. Hidden in the golden hair of one the grace, I already know what would be my dedication: 180. The minutes we spent in the Uffizi on a memorable day that will forever be remembered, and that I would love to have created by the exceptional watch maker that is Vincent Calabrese.
I have always been passionate by watch making and its complexities. This watch created by Vincent Calabrese fascinates me for its unique concept, the complexity of its mechanism. If the dial is free of any element, the back of the watch reveals its uniqueness.
As far as I can remember, I have always worn a watch. I received my first one as a present from my parents when I started learning how to read the time, and as years went on, I got used to this presence on my wrist, never giving up a traditional watch for new technologies or the ever invasive smartphones. To celebrate my diplomas, my birthdays, I always asked for a new watch. At first I navigated throughout this world without really knowing anything about it, not really paying attention to the watch maker or the watch’s system. Yet at some point I got to look into their mechanisms. The first watch I bought myself, it was in 1989, caught my eye thanks to its design, however I quickly became passionate by its mechanism, a real novelty full of complexities. It was a master piece, the Golden Bridge by Corum. Its movement, both sophisticated and simple, instantly caught my attention, and I discovered that the patent for this specific movement had been registered by an independent watch maker named Vincent Calabrese. Since then, I have been a great admirer of his work.
Over the years, my collection kept getting larger, as my knowledge about watch making did along with it. I am constantly on the hunt for new designs, always more innovative, following with attention the creations of independent watch makers, such as Vincent Calabrese, constantly pushing further the limits of engineering while creating true art pieces. I just discovered the Watch Museum project, and what attracts me most about this new creation is the complexity of its mechanism. I am in awe before the wandering hours system, where the watch hands disappear to leave space to an inventive system, letting he dial spin around on itself in 60 minutes.
As a passionate watch collector, this innovation fascinates me, and I definitely see it becoming one of my most adored piece. Of course I will have to choose a detail to animate the empty dial. I never really enjoyed figurative art, and I can see that the collection is mainly composed of figurative paintings. Nevertheless, when playing around with the configurator, I realized that figuration can easily change into abstraction. The piece that attracts me the most is Van Gogh’s Starry Night. I love the vibrant yellow against dark colors of the sky, and when you take a detail out of its whole you cannot guess that it is coming from one of the most famous painting of modern art history. I just love that idea, the fact that you can create a piece only you will understand, something nobody will be able to tell where it is coming from. My dreamt Watch Museum would then be an enigma to everybody but me, a watch which takes personalization onto another level, and the miniaturist painter’s craft will make it even more unique. Van Gogh’s stars will find back their elevation, and the sky its texture under its skilled hands which will make the watch even more special. In fact, it is an art piece uniting two worlds : a detail taken away from a master piece to be reproduced onto the dial of a watch hiding one of the more complex mechanism known today. This creation is unique in every way. The most personal belonging one can possess, a dream of mine that will soon come to reality.
