As numerous architects turn their hands to designing watches, we round up six designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winners including Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry and Álvaro Siza.
LeBond Souto de Moura by Eduardo Souto de Moura
Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura designed a minimalist watch for LeBond that has its face rotated by 30 degrees.
According to the architect, he placed the 12 where the 1 would traditionally be to give a “new spin on familiar things” and create the optimal viewing angle for wearers.
“The 12 is the reference, and we rotate 30 degrees for optimal visibility on the wrist,” said Souto de Moura.
Serpenti Tuboga x Tadao Ando by Tadao Ando
Designed for Bulgari, Tadao Ando’s watch was created as an addition to the jewellery brand’s snake-themed Serpenti range.
“Tadao Ando possesses a rare creativity, inspired by nature and its transient character,” said Bulgari executive director of product creation Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani.
“Aligning with Serpenti felt instinctive. In a metaphor for time and transformation, indeed for the renewal of nature itself: the serpent likewise sheds its skin and emerges anew, its colors transformed.”
Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève Sapphire Frank Gehry by Frank Gehry
The latest watch designed by Frank Gehry was created for luxury brand Louis Vuitton. The transparent timepiece was informed by his architecture, in particular the sail-like forms of the Fondation Louis Vuitton and the Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul buildings.
Its rippling case, dial, crown, lugs and hands were all cut from a single 200-kilogram block of sapphire.
Lebond Siza by Álvaro Siza
Spanish architect Álvaro Siza also took inspiration from one of his buildings for a watch designed for Lebond.
The angular timepiece has a square shape that was informed by the Leça swimming pool complex in Portugal, while the watch’s hands nod to the minimalist restroom signs found in the leisure complex.
Cauny X Siza by Álvaro Siza
Siza also designed a timepiece with Cauny director Filipe Costa Almeida, which he described as a watch that “looks like a watch”.
The watches were constructed with a super-slim casing, steel bezel, sapphire glass for the face and a leather bracelet.
Rafael Moneo x Cauny
Another watch that was directly informed by architecture, this timepiece was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo to reference the clock at Atocha Statio in Madrid.
Both the clock and the watch feature tall and thin Roman numerals “that evoke the ancient sundials and strongly mark the dial”, according to Moneo.
