he idea was born following a visit to the Brancusi sculpture exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Brancusi collected primitive artefacts because he saw them as one of the earliest and purest forms of human creativity, unburdened by decoration or excess. Standing among them, I was struck by how you could feel every violent incision of the human hand, every brutal scar left thousands of years ago.

The A1 Prehistoric begins with the essential, sculptural form of the A1 and collides it with the force of the human hand. Each stainless-steel case and buckle is hand-chiselled over the course of five hours by Steven Brunel, a traditional French engraver whose work has been displayed at the Louvre. Brunel works from a remote workshop in Mornand-en-Forez, a village of 500 inhabitants in the Loire region of France.

The dial receives the same artisanal treatment. Each line of the sunburst pattern, approximately 600 in total, is individually cut by hand into the brass dial base. It is then finished in a deep anthracite colour, evoking the monochromatic appearance of early human tools made from stone and flint.

The result is an artefact that feels unearthed rather than constructed, with each piece being essentially unique. In every uneven plane and scar, the watch recalls our earliest impulse to shape the world by hand — and invites us to find beauty not in precision, but in the raw, deliberate expression of intent.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Diameter: 39mm x 38mm (wears like 37mm due to the triangular shape and lack of lugs)
• Thickness: 9.45mm (wears thinner due to the bottom 3mm curving inwards)
• Metal: Hand-chiselled 316L stainless steel
• Movement: Swiss automatic Sellita SW100
• Water Resistance: 5 ATM / 50 metres / 164 feet
• Strap: Grey grained Italian leather strap
• Warranty: 2 years
• Price: £2,900 (excluding duties & taxes)
  – Production is limited to 100 pieces in 2026. Delivery is scheduled for October.