Old-school timekeeping just got more extravagant with these mantelpiece-worthy clocks
Watch brands sometimes create truly exceptional, often one-off pieces to remind their followers they’re as much artists as they are manufactures. Clocks are one of the mediums they use to do just that. A few spectacular models have come out recently, one being the Sherman by MB&F.
The components of the affable robot’s movement double as body parts: the mainspring barrel bridge extends to support his tracks, his eyes are bolt heads supporting the regulator, and plates and bridges make up his skeleton and body.
Jaeger-LeCoultre, meanwhile, looks up again to the cosmos for its Atmos Marqueterie Céleste clock, with a body dressed in blue straw marquetry representing the sky. Each straw is dried, dyed, cut, flattened and glued to cover the clock’s wooden panel, which is rendered in 3D to highlight the luminous nature of the straw. The Atmos features a moon phase guaranteed to stay accurate for 3,861 years without intervention.
Parmigiani draws on its immense experience in restoring historical clocks and automatons to produce the Hippologia, a magnum opus aimed at surpassing its previous masterpieces. The 2,200-part automaton clock features a thoroughbred running alongside her foal; their bodies are crafted in gold, and the heads, tails and hooves are cast in silver. They move within a Lalique glass cabinet.
To celebrate its 260th birthday, Vacheron Constantin is creating 12 unique crystal table clocks: the Métiers d’Art Arca collection. The first, which debuted earlier this year, is endowed with a crystal body. This extraordinary clock is driven by a movement that’s equipped with a constant-force mechanism, which is designed to ensure a stable and consistent flow of energy within the movement.
See our top picks below:
Crystal clear
Selected for its purity, rock crystal makes up the body of Vacheron Constantin’s first Métiers d’Art Arca clock. Its silver base is decorated with guilloche and grand feu enamelling
Sculptural stunner
Part artwork and part horological wonder, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos Marqueterie Céleste clock’s open-worked dial is presented in a mother-of-pearl ring, with a moon phase using a lapis lazuli disc for the sky
Mane event
Three mechanisms drive Parmigiani’s Hippologia: the automaton itself, another to display the time, and a third to trigger the automaton. A diamond-set window shows the time
This article was originally published in Hong Kong Tatler's May 2016 issue