Memento Mori… Remember that you must die!
Our time on Earth has a beginning and an end.
Without death, there would be no birth.
T
he art of time cannot escape this sine qua non
of our existence. And since the dawn of
horology, it has reminded us of it. One of
the most famous examples is the watch
in the shape of a skull that Mary Stuart,
haunted by death, ordered in 1560, a time of
religious wars, from the watchmaker Moyse
of Blois. She wore it on a chain around her
neck. But not for long, because in 1587, she
was decapitated on the orders of Elizabeth I.
Mary Stuart’s watch
Today, what was then a metaphysical reminder has turned
into a marketing device. But one so prolific and successful
that it gives pause for thought.
Today, what was then a metaphysical reminder has turned
into a marketing device. But one so prolific and successful
that it gives pause for thought.
Is our troubled time so obsessed with death that we secretly try to conjure it
by displaying it so systematically on our wrists?
BELL & ROSS BR 01 LAUGHING SKULL
Bell & Ross has produced variations on the skull since 2009
and recently took its sneering sardonicism one step further
with its BR 01 Laughing Skull. The watch has an automaton
mechanism built into the new BR-CAL 206 cranium-shaped
movement, the four bridges of which support the crossbones
beneath the skull. When you wind it, the jaws of the skull begin
to move and death bursts into (silent) laughter, reminding
us of the vanity of our existence. From 5,000 to 10,000$
FIONA KRÜGER CELEBRATION SKULL
Fiona Krüger is the grand priestess of skull watches, the
aesthetics of which she has done much to develop with her
watch cases that take the shape of a skull itself. Celebration
Skull’s decorative 3-layer dial and case are hand-painted with
coloured lacquer and Superluminova. Each colour used in
the design of the watch has a specific meaning pertaining to
the Mexican Dia de Los Muertos celebration (she was born in
Mexico), while the Superluminova outline glows in the dark to
reveal an iconic skull symbol. From 20,000 to 50,000$
No one could call this watch beautiful, but is Death beautiful?
Somewhat gross and more than a little rock ‘n roll in style, it
displays the hours, minutes and seconds through three discs
appearing in the aperture above its sunglasses (Death not
being keen on light). Equipped with a Seiko Epson automatic
movement and mounted on a leather strap that looks as if it
came straight out of a mouldering catacomb, this funky take
on mortality is affordable, if not presentable.
From 1,000 to 3,000$
In the HYT Skull 48.8, everything serves to remind us that life
is short and we should make the most of every moment. Is it
more a symbol of life than of death? Just like the fluids which,
driven by two flexible reservoirs, progress through the capillary
to mark the passage of time, without liquid, there is no life!
And no time either: time-keeping was born with the first water
clocks, more than three millennia ago. A water clock 21st
century-style, HYT is thus an instrument of philosophy. All the
more so when it displays a skull with hollowed eye sockets.
From 50,000 to 100,000$
L’EPÉE 1839 VANITAS
Designed in collaboration with Fiona Krüger, manufactured
and assembled by L’Epée 1839, a Swiss manufacture specialising
in high-end clocks, this skull-shaped clock is a reminder
that we should take advantage of every second of our existence.
The hours and minutes are shown by the two hands,
and a power reserve indicator is integrated into the mouth of
the skull. When it runs out of power, it starts to yawn, showing
that it needs rewinding. With a power reserve of 35 days, this
monthly ritual is time to stop for a moment and make the most
of the present. From 20,000 to 50,000$
CORUM COIN WATCH
For Corum, Aleksey Saburov, a Russian engraver now living
in New York, diverts popular imagery to create watchmaking
works of art from authentic American 5-cent pieces in nickel
dating from the early twentieth century, known as “hobo coins”.
These impoverished vagrants used to hand-engrave these
modest coins in the hope of selling them at a price higher
than their face value. The theme of death – hence the skull,
surrounded here by snakes – was a natural choice, given their
extremely vulnerable living conditions.
Today, “hobo coins” have become a luxury. But death is still the
same. From 20,000 to 50,000$
ARTYA MINUTE REPEATER TOURBILLON “DEATH IS CALLING”
A real punk among watchmakers, Yvan Arpa, the founder of
Artya, loves provocation. He has a black belt in karate, has
played Russian roulette and juggled with sticks of dynamite,
and today presents a unique, complicated and extremely
Gothic piece, “Death is Calling”. Each time it chimes, it tells us in
no uncertain terms that time is passing and will one day end.
From 200,000 to 500,000$
ALEXANDER SHOROKHOFF LOS CRANEOS
Dedicated to Frida Kahlo, who had a spectacular but dramatic
life full of pain and passion, “Los Craneos“ is made as a doubletime
watch in order to illustrate the situation of Frida Kahlo
hovering between life and death, a situation that was normal
to her. She nevertheless continued to paint and create her
world famous artworks. Powered by two different movements,
on one time zone is the calendar, on the other time zone is a
central second hand. The artists also lived in two time zones -
real life proceeded normally, while her working hours seemed
to fly by with the speed of light. Death was always near.
From 1,000 to 3000$
All mentioned prices are indicative and correspond to price segment.
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