SIHH 2012 - Métiers d’Arts

# wtsihh | Sculpting, engraving, guilloché, miniature painting, mother-of-pearl sculpting, straw marquetry, champlevé, grisaille enamel painting and skeletonization: the so-called métiers d’arts enjoyed a strong presence at this year’s SIHH.

WORLDTEMPUS - 25 January 2012

Carlos Torres

Métier d’arts – as these rare crafts are usually called in watchmaking parlance – are the legacy of invaluable know-how developed over centuries. Used in watchmaking for hundreds of years, this is a domain that has slowly been making a comeback since its heydays in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 

A craft can be defined by the combination of three criteria: it implements complex know-how to transform an item; it produces unique items or small series that have an artistic character; and the professional performing the craft completely masters it. The craftsmen that master watchmaking’s métiers d’arts are primarily passionate men and women working to conserve and restore elements of heritage. Artistic fields of the past, and increasingly of the present, the métiers d’arts have an unquestionable future in contemporary watchmaking where it is awakening new passions and vocations. 

The recent SIHH has proved this with important brands like Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, Audemars Piguet and Van Cleef & Arpels presenting whole ranges of unique or limited pieces that encompass a great variety of crafts. From sculpting and engraving on gold and mother-of-pearl, miniature painting, stone setting, straw marquetry, champlevé and grisaille enamel to guilloché to skeletonization, there were pieces to fit every taste. Skeletonized watches in particular were well represented at this year’s Salon de la Haute Horlogerie. Piaget unveiled a remarkable Altiplano model that is now the world’s thinnest self-winding skeletonized watch at only 5.34 mm in height. Inside the slick case, another world record was broken. The finely skeletonized Piaget 1200S caliber is the thinnest self-winding skeletonized movement in the world with an unbelievable 2.4 mm height. Perhaps, however, the most stunning aspect of this watch is the absolutely modern appearance of its skeleton work.

The Piaget Altiplano Skeleton is only 5.34 mm in height © Piaget

 Audemars Piguet also had something to say in the domain of skeletonized watches. The 40th anniversary of the Royal Oak was the perfect occasion to release two attractive open-worked pieces based on the most successful creation of the late Gérald Genta. The Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak and the Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon were both released as limited editions of 40 pieces each. Last but not least, among skeletonized watches, Cartier presented an outstanding pocket watch it dared to call an ode to transparency. Caliber 9436 MC of the Cartier Grande Complication Skeleton pocket watch comprises 457 individual parts and offers a tourbillon, a monopusher chronograph and a perpetual calendar. Only ten pieces will find the way into the hands of a happy few collectors.

Cartier’s Grande Complication Skeleton pocket watch is an ode to transparency © Cartier

A world of artistic crafts

Naturally, Cartier had more to say regarding métier d’arts. The “Maison” decided to unveil four artistic pieces at this year’s SIHH that make use of a set of demanding crafts: a Santos-Dumont XL watch in white gold with a horse motif made of a remarkable mosaic of diminutive gemstones; a large Tortue watch with a cockatoo motif engraved on mother-of-pearl over champlevé enamel; and two Rotonde de Cartier pieces in white gold, one with a koala motif created using straw marquetry technique and the other with an extraordinary grisaille enamel painting depicting a tiger motif.

Grisaille enamel painting with tiger motif © Cartier

Vacheron Constantin had a whole room dedicated to the art of cloisonné enamel. One of the paladins of the métier d’arts in high watchmaking over the last decade, the Geneva manufacture released a set of three pieces called Les Univers Infinis as a tribute to the graphic expression of the concept of tessellations (a kind of paving). The three watches, inspired by the work of the famous Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, each use a different combination of crafts. The Dove Watch makes use of engraving, champlevé enameling, guilloché work and gem setting. The Fish Watch uses guilloché work and cloisonné enameling, while the Shell Watch uses engraving and champlevé enameling.

Métiers d'Art Les Univers Infinis – Dove makes use of engraving, champlevé enameling, guilloché and gem setting © Vacheron Constantin

Finally, Van Cleef & Arpels once again presented an outstanding collection of pieces that continue the Poetic Time collection initiated in 2007 and whose highlight was until now the Pont des Amoureux model released in 2010. Two pieces continue the story initiated five years ago: the lady Arpels Poetic Wish and the Midnight Poetic Wish. Both pieces use a combination of sculpting and engraving on gold, miniature painting, mother-of-pearl sculpting and stone setting to achieve the impressive details one easily sees on the animated dial.

The Lady Arpels Poetic Wish timepiece © Van Cleef & Arpels 

On the left side of the Lady Arpels Poetic Wish timepiece’s dial, the silhouette of a young woman moves slowly to the center of the watch to indicate the exact hour. A second automaton, a mother-of-pearl cloud, moves horizontally toward her. When the two meet, the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral ring out to strike the hour. A kite then appears from behind the cloud and flies across the sky to indicate the minutes, to the rhythm of the musical chiming of the bells. Similarly, on the left side of the Midnight Poetic Wish timepiece’s dial, a young man standing on one of the terraces of Notre Dame Cathedral’s towers steps slowly towards the center of the watch to indicate the exact hour. A second automaton, a mother-of-pearl cloud, moves horizontally towards him. When the two meet, the bells of the cathedral ring out to strike the hour. A diamond shooting star then appears from behind the cloud and flies across the sky to indicate the minutes to the rhythm of the musical chiming of the bells.

The Lady Arpels Midnight Poetic Wish timepiece © Van Cleef & Arpels