Styling / Art Direction
Chronographs are stop watches on the wrist. Modern mechanical watch making has taken them beyond functionality and into the realm of status symbol so that a fellow collector can see the tip of a crown or edge of a bezel and know the brand, collection and movement inside the watch.
Until I started writing about watches around seven years ago I had no idea that my Swatch had brothers and sisters this complex and coveted in gold, titanium and brushed steel. Wandering around the watch fairs in Switzerland was a revelation and I began to feel the obsession even if every watch I wanted was about 50,000 Swiss francs beyond my budget.
For this shoot I wanted to recreate the race track. All the intensity, smoke, speed and yearning to win which also often manifests itself in watch making – a very competitive business. I’ve chosen brands I think have some of the most iconic watches on the market, representing speed and accuracy but of course I’ve thrown in a little bit of beauty too in the form of skeleton dials and gold cases.
Watches Defy El Primero 21 chronograph in brushed titanium, Zenith, £9,100
Chronograph in rose gold with ebony-black opaline dial, ref. 5170R-010, Patek Philippe, £58,850
Daytona cosmograph in yellow gold, Rolex, £20,200
Carrera Heuer 01 chronograph with steel case and pink gold bezel and lugs, TAG Heuer, £9,400
Speedmaster Moonwatch co-axial chronograph, Omega, £17,720
RM 11-01 Roberto Mancini chronograph, Richard Mille, £148,500
Creative Team Stylist: Melanie Grant, Photographer: Omer Knaz
Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in October 2017.
