L’Epée 1839 is Switzerland’s last remaining specialist in the production of high-end clocks. In June this year, the company was acquired by LVMH - a move described by the group as proof of its determination to preserve and develop historic savoir-faire, and to ensure that it is passed on and cultivated over time.
This savoir-faire hasn’t escaped Chanel’s Watchmaking Creation Studio, which teamed up with L’Epée 1839 to produce the exceptional Lion Astroclock: part of the Interstellar capsule collection whose inspirations are science fiction, space and time travel. Led by CEO Arnaud Nicolas, the clockmaker immediately brought its creativity and expertise to bear on the project. Founded 185 years ago by Auguste L'Epée, in Sainte-Suzanne near Besançon, the company has moved with the times and its clockmakers work hand-in-hand with the design studio and engineers.
The Lion Astroclock, which stands some thirty centimetres high and measures some twenty centimetres wide, is as much a feat of horological engineering as it is an avant-garde kinetic sculpture. Its creation is akin to that of a grand complication watch, taking shape first as a drawing which L’Epée 1839, having studied Chanel’s precise specifications, presented to its Watchmaking Creation Studio. Once approved, this drawing was sent to the design engineers who produced a three-dimensional model. Special tools were created for the machines that would collaborate with the clockmakers to create each component, which were then washed, inspected, polished and satin-brushed. Countless stages were required prior to final assembly, which was executed from start to finish by a single watchmaker. For a truly stunning result.
This numbered and limited edition of just five pieces for the entire world, in black-coated brass, presents a rotating glass sphere, beneath which hours and minutes are shown in typical Chanel fashion: the hour hand is a comet in white gold while the minute hand is set with diamonds to form the constellation of Leo, Gabrielle Chanel’s star sign. This planetarium-style display is powered by an exquisitely finished, manual-winding mechanical movement. Guarding the base is a facetted black lion, a symbol of strength and majesty.
The Lion Astroclock could not be further removed from the classic carriage clock that sits among the chintz and tweed of an English country house, or on the pristine desk of a provincial lawyer. Once again, L’Epée 1839 demonstrates its immense creativity, its expertise and, most of all, its extraordinary talent for capturing the essence of a grand house in a unique object, whether that is a 1950s New York cab in duck-egg blue for Tiffany & Co. or a hot-air balloon for Louis Vuitton.
