Anticipation ran high in Las Vegas as a crowd of nearly 800 gathered in the fabulous Encore Ballroom at the Wynn Las Vegas for the inaugural presentation of the COUTURE Time Jury Prize.
The ceremony was the culmination of COUTURE Time’s all-new juried watchmaking competition, the only contest of its kind in the U.S. Presented as part of the COUTURE Design Awards, the COUTURE Time Jury Prize recognizes exceptional timepieces in different categories and The Jury Prize for Innovation—for outstanding invention or innovation—was presented to Christophe Claret for the 21 Blackjack watch.
To judge the 20 watches entered into the inaugural competition, Jury Prize organizers assembled a distinguished panel of experts representing various facets of the watch industry, including Europa Star’s very own International Editor, Keith Stranberg.
21 BLACKJACK – Miniature Casino
A real miniature casino, the 21 Blackjack matches grand complications with the world of gaming. To transparency, relief, and the passage of time, Christophe Claret adds the sensory effects of blackjack, roulette and dice.
To start there is a dice game. This oldest of all games of chance features a pair of miniature dice, 1.5 mm on each side – and incidentally, perfectly legible – through a side window at the 4 o’clock position on the side of the case. Next comes roulette. On the back of the watch the winding rotor, which serves as the roulette wheel, is visible through a glareproofed sapphire crystal.
Finally there is blackjack, which consists of drawing cards to try to equal 21 points, or come as close as possible without going over. On the lower part of the dial, the player’s four cards appear in windows. On the upper part of the dial are three additional windows for the dealer’s cards.
Each time a shutter opens, whether for the player or the dealer, a gong is struck; the striking mechanism is visible through a side window at 2 o’clock.
Source: Christophe Claret
