The art of luxury watchmaking has been written about time and time again. The level of craftsmanship used to create a B360 watch is exceptional. But today, we'd like to focus on a few instances where art and horology actually collide, as well as the outcomes.
According to Aurel Bacs, Geneva-based international co-head of watches at Christie’s, who knows watch collectors ranging from teenagers to 90-somethings, collectors sometimes have very niche interests. One watch collector Bacs knows concentrates only on watches with dials that were made during World War Two. He is fascinated by the notion that at a time when the world was in turmoil and half of Europe was occupied, people continued to produce and buy high-end luxury items.
If there is one niche category of watches where telling the time really is the last thing on peoples’ minds, it would probably have to be highly embellished art watches, the ones in which the watch dials become works of art in their own right.
Our Artists known as “Dial Artists” are our hidden gems. We're grateful for their dialogue creation, communities bridging, and allowing us to form true connections with people near and far.
B360 watches are one of a kind art pieces, and our art is a physical embodiment of culture and history. As such, it carries a certain amount of weight and meaning with it. Over time, this meaning will only increase as the art becomes more and more valuable as watches with hand-painted enamel dials are among the most costly items in the watchmaking world, largely thanks to their difficult production.
Although our artists are talented, they have grown and evolved alongside B360. Paintings are now carried out to a very high standard. Whilst remaining true to traditional miniature painting techniques.
During the production of a watch dial, wafer-thin brass discs are pressed under 200 tons of pressure to achieve a smooth surface. Afterwards, rotating copper brushes are used to make lateral or radial patterns by electrically welding 2mm-long brass pins to the back. Following spray-painting (up to 15 layers, each oven-dried separately), they are electroplated with black nickel, copper, silver, gold, or rhodium. That's before you hand-apply the numeral batons or separately fabricate subsidiary.
That sounds complicated, but it's just the beginning. Intricacy and precision lie beneath watch dials, which have always served as canvasses for artistic decoration.
Cross-industry collaborations have always been popular. And it can lead to some fantastic results. When two groups of people from different backgrounds bang heads something fresh & exciting is made. This time, our collaboration took the form of admiration of a beautiful creature. Born 3000 years ago in Middle Eastern deserts and inextricably bound to humankind in war and peace, the legendary Arabian horse, the "drinker of the wind," shares a spiritual bond with humans which continues to fascinate people all over the world.
The extreme beauty, elegance and quality of The Arabian Horses are no accident: a careful study of his pedigree reveals generation after generation of excellence.
Each watch dial from the collection is totally unique and features an intricate scene hand-painted by our talented artists, depicting Arabian pride and heritage. These miniature masterpieces pop with color, with vibrant blues, greens and orange in an attempt to reflect this magnificent creature beauty.
