On December 7th 2024, Phillips New York will be holding its second TimeForArt watch auction where 25 exceptional timepieces from the world’s most generous watchmakers will go on sale to support contemporary art and artists. 100% of the proceeds (including Phillips buyer’s premium) will go to the Swiss Institute, a non-profit organization and free-entry contemporary art museum based in New York which supports emerging artists through exhibitions, public programs, artist residencies, education, and community engagement workshops, all of which are offered to the public free of charge.
The inaugural edition in 2022 featured 17 watches and raised $1.2 million for the organization, attesting to the interest in mixing contemporary art and watchmaking. This week, we are going to be taking a look at a selection of the timepieces in the auction catalogue, all of which are one-of-a-kind pieces and works of art in their own right.
It's Chanel TimeForArt
Over the last few years, Chanel has been having fun putting artistic illustrations of its founder Gabrielle Chanel on the dials of its watches. Some of my personal favourites include the Première Charms Couture Watch with its Gabrielle Chanel charm blowing a kiss, then there is the Mademoiselle J12 Couture Watch with her draped across the dial, and the J12 where she indicates the time with her hands.
For this new “TimeForArt” unique piece, Gabrielle Chanel is depicted in a colourful Pop Art style, wearing her much-loved accessories – pearl earrings, layered long necklaces, and her famous cuffs. The image is brought to life using Grand Feu enamel in shades of pink, violet, and blue and has been realized by the Cadraniers de Genève (property of F. P. Journe). This age-old savoir-faire consists of painting the enamel on the dial and then firing it in a kiln at 800 degrees Centigrade. The dial is then fired several times to obtain the desired colour and finish.
The Pop Art image has been designed by the Chanel Watch Design Studio, using both enamel and 12 clichés that are manually pad-printed onto the dial – one for the black outline of Mademoiselle, one for her beige skin, another for her blue hair, and so forth.
The timepiece is housed in a rectangular stainless steel case with a black coating and measures 37 x 28.6 x 8.4 mm. It is adorned with a bezel set with 38-baguette-cut diamonds, and is fitted with a matte black calfskin strap with a satin effect and shiny trim and comes with a black triple folding clasp. In terms of the movement, this unique piece is powered by a manual-winding calibre with a 42-hour power reserve. Other details include a closed case back with the engraving “IT’S CHANEL TIME FOR ART! UNIQUE PIECE”. The estimation for this Chanel Boy.Friend Unique Piece is positioned between $70,000 and $140,000.
The sale will take place on December 7th 2024 at 3 pm at Phillips’s new headquarters on 432 Park Avenue, New York. For more information: timeforart.ch.
