Watchismo Times

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Salvador Dali's "La Prémonition des Tiroirs" Premonition of the Drawers 1973 Table Clock

DALI DIDN'T JUST MELT CLOCKS Y'KNOW...

"The Premonition of the Drawers" created by the great master of surrealism Salvador Dali, in 1973. This is the fifth in a series of eight such complex and vaguely menacing bronze forms based on a 1934 pencil sketch of a semi-reclining female figure with a number of partly open drawers, her throat and neck covered by her long hair. The head consists of an OMEGA electronic watch. The white Roman numeral dial with stick hands (special version) covers a "mouse" sonic resonator calibre 1220 whose case is held at the top by a single screw-in Catalan bean.

Salvador Dali, Paris

Longueur : 39 cm. Hauteur: 28 cm. Largeur : 20.5 cm.

1973

L'horloge est une sculpture en bronze patiné, vert clair, conçue par Salvador Dali d'après un dessin daté de 1934, La prémonition des tiroirs. Réalisé par le sculpteur Onelio Vignando, le bronze a été fondu par la maison Valsuani, à Paris. L'œuvre a été éditée en huit exemplaires, auxquels s'ajoutent quatre épreuves d'artiste, par la galerie André-François Petit à Paris.

Un modèle spécial de montre, munie d'un mouvement électronique à diapason, a été construit par la maison Omega afin d'être inséré dans la sculpture. Notons que le haricot qui la surmonte se dévisse pour permettre de l'enlever.

Dali développa, dans les années 1930, une suite de représentations allégoriques du Temps incluant des horloges et des montres.

D'après "Catalogue d'œuvres choisies"
Catherine Cardinal, Jean-Michel Piguet,
Éditions Institut l'homme et le temps, 1999

Greubel Forsey Macro Watch Videos, Prix Gaïa Awards, and Groundbreaking New Architecture

While Greubel Forsey is on the heels of winning one of the most prestigious horological awards, the "Esprit d'Entreprise" at the 2009 Prix Gaïa evening at the MIH Museum (La Chaux du Fonds), I decided to share some of Ian Skellern's (Underthedial) amazing macro videos of the Quadruple Tourbillon à Différentiel Sphérique and Tourbillon 24 Secondes Incliné.

Quadruple Tourbillon à Différentiel Sphérique

Video-->Link

Tourbillon 24 Secondes Incliné

Video-->Link

In addition, Greubel Forsey just announced their new headquarters, also in La Chaux du Fonds. Symbolizing their impact on the horologogical landscape, their new building designed by Pierre Studer appears to have risen from the Earth (or fallen from my first impression). "Its original shape reflects a geological fold as seen in the topography of the Jura mountains, further enhanced by a ‘green’ or garden roof."

To me, I see a powerful new company so heavy in talent, the ground is unable to support them...

More about the MIH Gaïa Prize ;
The Gaïa Prize was created in 1993 by the Musée international d’horlogerie with an aim to honour prominent figures who have contributed and who contribute to the reputation of watchmaking – through its history, its technology and its industry. The only one of its kind, this Prize has the particularity of honouring the best of the best.

Greubel Forsey Website

Related Posts at The Watchismo Times;
All Greubel Forsey Stories
All Haute Horology Stories

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-Today

Antiquorum has offered a wide array of antique erotic automaton pocket dating from past three centuries. If you haven't seen these before, you might be shocked at how graphic these animated depictions were for the time. For additional examples, see my previous post on the subject here--> "Debbie Does Switzerland - Victorian Porn"

"Outside the Abbey Walls" (above)

Outside the Abbey Walls Swiss, No. 1339. Made circa 1910. Fine and amusing, large, 18K pink gold and enamel, hunting-cased, keyless minute-repeating pocket watch with chronograph and painted on enamel concealed erotic automaton.

C. Four-body, “bassine et filet”, engine-turned covers with polished borders, the front cover with a black champleve enamel monogram, polished band, gold hinged cuvette with painted on enamel erotic scene depicting two monks enjoying local hospitality in the woods. D. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute track and Arabic five minute numerals, outermost fifths of a second divisions, subsidiary seconds. Gold stone-set hands. M. 49 mm (21'''), rhodium plated, fausses cotes decoration, 21 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, cut-bimetallic compensation balance with blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating on gongs activated by a slide in the band. Diam. 61 mm.

Detail of "Outside the Abbey Walls"

Auctioned for 25,000 Swiss Francs

Close-up of Automaton Erotic Scene at 6 o'clock

And of course, the tradition continues to this day, watchmakers create these erotic scenes on the "backsides" of the watches allowing only the wearer to know what carnal mechanics are occurring "under his dial"

N° 01, "Sailing Dream" by Antoine Preziuso

"Sailing Dream" No. 01 of a limited edition series of 30 examples. Made in 1997. Very fine and rare, tonneau shaped, center seconds, water-resistant, 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch with 42-hour autonomy and three color gold erotic automaton scene with an 18K yellow gold Antoine Peziuso buckle. Accompanied by a luxury fitted box.

C. Two-body, massive, polished, transparent case back secured by 8 screws, sapphire crystal. D. Satiné silver with painted radial Roman numerals, outer minute/seconds divisions; on the other side: a multicolor gold erotic scene animated by means of a mechanism hidden in the band and motioned by the winding-crown. Blued steel "feuille" hands. M. Cal. Based ETA 2801, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 17 jewels, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring. The erotic automata and the engraved background are in 18K yellow, pink and white gold. Dial, case and movement signed. Dim. 34 x 41 mm. Thickness 10 mm.

Close-up of "Sailing Dream"

Sold in 2007 for 15,600 Swiss Francs

And if you thought this was a perverted subculture of watchmakers, think again, the most respected watchmaker of all time, Abraham Louis Bréguet, watchmaker to Louis XVI and Queen, Marie-Antoinette also produced their own erotica-horologica, like this past auction below, by the way, it sold for 1,500,000 Swiss Francs (about a million dollars at the time in 1990):

Swiss, bearing the signature Breguet A Paris, circa 1825. Fine 18 ct. pink gold quarter-repeating watch with erotic automaton.And here is one upcoming auction for a simple pocket watch with a little hidden door revealing the happy couple. It will be held October 3rd in Geneva Switzerland and the entire catalog can be seen here--> Antiquorum Auction Link

via Antiquorum

Be Sure to Read All My Related Erotic Watch Posts at The Watchismo Times;
Debbie Does Switzerland - Victorian Porn
Sexy 1890 Daguerreotype Photo Pocket Watch
Time to F%&K - 1970s Erotic Watches

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Watch Lets Crowds Monitor Air Quality in Paris

The Green Watch

The project « green watch / Citypulse » was conceived under the programm Cities 2.0 of Fing (Fondation internet nouvelle génération). The aim is to multiply by 1000 the number of environmental sensors in the city, while encouraging people’s implication in measuring environmental indices, thus associating them directly to building a sustainable city.

The green watch comprizes a watch and two environmental sensors (ozone, noise). Data are regularly broadcasted via a mobile phone to an open platform called Citypulse which receives, stores and makes measure data available and anonymous. Data can then be used freely in order to be shown on maps, used in models, etc..

30 prototypes of the green watch will be tested in May 2009 by residents of the 2nd arrondissement of Paris (Digital District) and also during Futur en Seine, by highschool students of Montreuil (Maison Populaire), by researchers in the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie and by visitors of the wikiplaza, place de la Bastille. Maps made from data collected by these beta-testers will be available on the website

Air quality is a matter of urgent concern to residents of most large cities, and Paris is no exception. There are currently only 10 public sensors monitoring that important variable in the City of Lights, however, so a new initiative now aims to equip everyday citizens with a special device that can measure and report air-quality data regularly for collective use.

The Green Watch, or Montre Verte, is a specially equipped device worn on the wrist that includes not just a time piece but also a GPS chip, a Bluetooth chip, and ozone and noise sensors. At scheduled times—or on request of the wearer—the watch measures and saves air-quality and noise data, describing them in qualitative terms such as "good" or "bad." Those values are then returned to the user via the screen of his or her mobile phone in the image of an eye, where the colour of the eye's pupil indicates air quality while that of the iris represents noise. Finally, via the mobile phone, the watch sends the data to an open platform called Citypulse, either in real time via the mobile carrier or by synchronization when the user hooks the watch up to his or her computer. All measures are time-stamped, geolocated and saved; from there, they become available to anyone who wants to use them—and who has committed to an ethical charter. Potential uses include public matters such as mapping and citizen warnings, as well as business applications, such as services for people who suffer from asthma.

The Green Watch program is part of the Cities 2.0 program developed by FING, or the Fondation Internet Nouvelle Génération, as a way to increase the number of environmental sensors in Paris while also motivating citizens to take steps toward sustainability. Data from beta tests performed in May, with sponsorship from the Région Île-de-France and the Futur en Seine event, are currently available on the project's website. One to emulate—or sponsor—in a less-than-entirely-sustainable city near you...?

Website: www.lamontreverte.org
Contact: lamontreverte@fing.org

September, 23-25, 2009 : The Green Watch will be demonstrated and experienced by visitors of Picnic in Amsterdam 23 – 25 Sept 2009. Besides, Daniel Kaplan will speak during the Ecomap lab on the 25th September : the theme is : “how to map the environment (eg. energy, waste & mobility), aggregate the data and visualize it to promote behavioral change and reduce CO2 footprints”.

PICNIC is a unique festival and an inspiring conference complimented by a set of networking events and hands-on technology experiences for top creatives and innovation professionals in business, technology, new media, entertainment, science and the arts.

via Springwise (Thank you Patrick!)

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The HourGrass - Living Grass Wall Clock

DIY Grass Clock
(via Yanko Design)

Researching for this article I came across the Treehugger post on Ustatic’s Wall Grass Concept. You must understand this concept before you can digest the Hour///Gras Living Wall Clock. Based on Ustatic’s theory that growing grass at home is beneficial, this concept clock encourages you to grow either grass or other suitable plants in a stainless steel and glass body frame and hang it on a wall. The hour and minute hand pass over the patch of grass and trim it via their sharpened edges and help maintain a pre-set level of grass-blade length.

In case you sow wheat grass, you can consume the trimmings but for any other plant, just dispose of the clippings which pass through the grates at the bottom of the encasement into a slide-out container. On maintenance point of view, a watering basin is located at the top right corner of the frame and Ventilation grills run along the top of the structure.

Point is…do you need a grass patch in your home? If you do, then are you willing to do the labor? The only benefit I see of this clock is if you’re going to grow wheat grass (or similar); my parents swear by the benefits of consuming it.

Designer: J Yu

via Yanko

Sèvres Vase Clock - Knocks On Any Vase You Own For The Time

The Sèvres Vase Clock, a prototype by Georgios Maridakis, indicates the hour with an audible knock. Just place the vase of your choice on the brass and wood stand and the hammer will strike the vase each hour.

Each vase makes a different sound, but adding different amounts of water for different pitches and notes takes it one step further. The modern take on a grandfather clock is a subtle, unobtrusive way to indicate time—we'd add a few flowers too.

Designer Georgios Maridakis is currently finishing a stint at the Royal College of Art in London. Visit his site for more info on this and other projects.

Black & White Segment Digital Clock - Conceptual Design With Display Switching Colors From Day to Night

Digital clock: only figures, no case, only the necessary – only accurate time. Each figure has self-contained power supply and independent control, it can be fixed to any surface autonomously. A light sensor will switch the clock to an invert mode: the figures are white in the dark time of day and black at daytime.

Design: Vadim Kibardin

Size of one figure: 60 mm x 110 mm x 10mm

Colour: translucent white

Materials: polycarbonate, luminous part of figure - Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED)

Power-supply: lithium-ion accumulators

Control (choice of mode and time settings): touch-sensitive

From Kibardindesign.com

Kibardin Design's Black and White clock has four OLED digits equipped with light sensors, ensuring an appropriate color is always used. Kibardin is looking for a manufacturer.

via BoingBoing

Related posts at The Watchismo Times:
All Clock Stories

All Digital Clock & Watch Stories

Visual Voltage Displays Your Energy Usage Around the Clock

Sweden's Energy Aware Clock hangs on the wall and depicts a permanent visualization of your energy use. Every hour, it chimes to remind you to feel guilty about the size of your residence.

link - DesignBoom via BoingBoing via DVICE

Friday, September 18, 2009

Watch Your Black - Sarpaneva Watches Introduces Moonphase iPhone Application

Sarpaneva Black Moon iPhone Application

Extending the award-winning communication design concept, Sarpaneva Watches announces the Sarpaneva Black Moon application for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices, available now for free download at iTunes App Store.

Sarpaneva Korona K3 Black Moon is the first mechanical wristwatch to indicate the invisible and ever mysterious new moon. A moon phase during which Lilith, the seductive temptress of an ancient legend, preys on unwitting men. Now, the same function has been replicated on a mobile device to keep the holder vigilant of this hidden phenomenon.

Stepan Sarpaneva: "I am pleased how the Black Moon concept has attracted people the world over." Now Sarpaneva enthusiasts and watch owners can enjoy it on their mobile devices as well. Rather than content ourselves with just replicating the watch design, we decided to implement the wristwatch's unique moon phase functionality in a mobile application. We can now view the moon in much greater size and detail.

It is a friendly reminder of when Lilith is on the loose – and a handy tool to adjust your watch with.

Implemented by the Helsinki-based software development studio MK&C, the application also includes an option to subscribe the Sarpaneva Black Moon calendar for iCal, which informs about the days of the new moon.

Sarpaneva Watches

All Sarpaneva watches are designed and handcrafted by Stepan Sarpaneva himself. Born in 1970 to a Finnish family with a long heritage of craftsmanship, Stepan Sarpaneva's ambition is to create unique design, fusing timeless elegance with Scandinavian simplicity. Based in Helsinki, Finland, Sarpaneva Watches manufactures mechanical timepieces of outstanding quality, created in the spirit of the traditional watchmaker's art.