Métiers d’art THE GREAT WAVE

Capturing the force and dynamism of the wave in but a few millimeters of space on the face of a watch was an extraordinary challenge for Christophe Bernardot in Blancpain’s métiers d’art studio. More than that, it was an entirely self-imposed challenge. There are two unshakeable philosophical guidelines that shape the projects in the Le Brassus studio. First, completely at odds with business orthodoxy, the artistic themes and projects originate with Bernardot and his team, rather than with an edict or direction from management. Of course, eventually the ideas are presented to Blancpain’s CEO, Marc A. Hayek, for approval, but that takes nothing away from the free thinking and unbounded liberty to generate ideas that has taken root in Le Brassus. Bernardot’s second creative imperative is to disregard the artistic efforts of other watch houses and equally to avoid recreating motifs from the past reposing in watch museums. Where is the creativity in a watch dial that draws from a timepiece of 200 years ago?

Unbound from both management directions and dusty watch history, Bernardot gave his imagination free rein. Having explored both Chinese and Indian themes in recent years he wanted to find a new direction. What came to mind was the intersection between Japanese culture and Blancpain’s devotion to environmental protection of the seas as expressed with its Ocean Commitment. It did not take him long to connect those thoughts to Hokusai’s iconic depiction of the sea.

But how to express the dynamism of the sea on the face of a watch? Bernardot wanted to capture both power and motion and, at the same time, frame the round dial with an image. Should it be an enamel painting? An engraving? He wanted a more forceful depiction which led him to create a three-dimensional white gold engraving of a wave. For still greater visual depth, he endowed it with a patina using the Japanese shakudō techniques which he pioneered at Blancpain with the award-winning Ganesh dials. With multiple treatments of the finely hand carved image, coupled with delicate polishing of some of the areas, Bernardot was able to bring shadow, light and energy to his wave.

The complex wave was done in the form of what watchmakers call an applique, an element that would be attached to the surface of the dial. Finding the right surface material became the second part of his quest. Bernardot wanted to showcase the wave, but not upstage it. Bright or overly smooth finishes risked destroying the spirit of the piece. Examining a wide range of materials, he settled on a stone never before used as the background for a watch dial, Mexican obsidian. Its gray moody color, infused with subtle, extremely fine bright grains, both highlighted the wave and built the atmosphere of a storm. With both the color and texture he wanted, Bernardot had next to confront the challenge of attaching the hand carved wave, which meant drilling fine holes through the stone in order to accept miniscule feet on the backside of the applique. Extreme delicacy of technique was required to avoid cracking or shattering the obsidian stone.

As has been the case with creations from his studio, The Great Wave timepiece that was presented at Basel is a unique piece. There will be others, each one unique with variations in form and color. Indeed, collectors have already begun making requests for bespoke versions adding other elements to the tableau such as small fishermen’s boats and Mount Fuji. Every Great Wave timepiece will be a limited edition of one.

The Great Wave watch opens a new chapter in Blancpain’s métiers d’art collection. Prior to this debut, Blancpain has used its caliber 15B pocket watch movement as the base for these special pieces. For The Great Wave, Blancpain turned to a new variation of the 13R0 movement that debuted in 2006 and which launched Blancpain’s creation of 35 new movements that now power almost all of the collections. Named the 13R3A, the Great Wave movement differs from the 13R0 in its positioning of the power reserve indicator on the back of the watch. It shares, however, the extraordinary eight day power reserve and three main spring barrel architecture of its predecessor. Thus, not only does The Great Wave blaze a new path with its original combination of theme, materials and technique on the dial, it sets itself apart from métiers d’art efforts elsewhere with its technically advanced movement.