SJX
[Purist]
8540
The completed Peter Speake-Marin custom watch "Majestic Monkey"
Some weeks ago I posted images of the Majestic Monkey dial as it was being created by maki-e master Yamazaki Mushu, click here to see the thread.
This is the preliminary drawing for the watch:
And here is the centre portion of the dial decorated with maki-e which took 2 months to complete:
Here is the completed masterpiece:
For those who are curious as to the origins of the design, here is what the owner had to say.
The monkey motif was selected because his son was born in the Chinese year of the Monkey. As for the rational behind the unusual choice of numerals: "I don't want to clutter the watch with too many numbers on the dial, the basic Shimoda has too many in my opinion. Most watches have 12, 3, 6 and 9." So in order to make the watch unique, 2, 4, 8 and 10 were used instead, and in Chinese characters.
Some further words from the owner: "I wanted the dial with out any numbers initially, and I chose one hand [the Shimoda] to make the maki-e stand out. The makie must be the centre of the watch. But I was also thinking of how to infuse a Chinese theme, hence a little bit of numbering [in Chinese characters]. I know the maki-e is going to be made in Japan, so I don't want too strong a Japanese influence. I asked PSM to change the second marker from a diamond to something else. I left it to him, I believe he has a good taste."
Congratulations to the lucky owner and thanks for allowing me to share this with the forum.
- SJX
This message has been edited by SJX on 2008-10-24 03:20:37
