How luxury watch brands are reinventing the art of marquetry, from Hermès to Patek Philippe

Visitors to Patek Philippe’s salon on Geneva’s luxurious Rue du Rhône in April could observe unique timepieces in the making at the brand’s métiers d’art exhibition. Watching the in-house artisan cutting wood with a foot-operated jigsaw into marquetry pieces depicting a Geneva Harbour scene from the 18th century was jaw-dropping – a display of the patience of a saint and the precision of a maestro. The artisan went on to explain that for one dome clock, he had cut 2,191 veneer parts of different colours, textures and veining to build an extremely detailed motif of sea, buildings, boats and birds. Imagine 50 shades of beige combined into one harmonious masterpiece – that is the ref. 21000M-001 Geneva Harbor, Patek Philippe’s first dome table clock made with wood marquetry. First practised in Egypt and Anatolia and distinctively developed by Italian artisans during the Renaissance, the art of marquetry continues to evolve and find new expressions in cutting-edge examples within the watch industry. The practice itself involves preparing and meticulously layering fine veneers and delicate pieces of material to create intricate decorative patterns. A striking example from this year is the Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 Straw Marquetry Edition, which has a straw marquetry dial in vibrant shades of green, framed by a 40mm case in rose gold. It is crafted in-house by an artisan specialising in the 17th-century technique, using rye straw from Burgundy, France. The straw is first dyed to the desired colour, then – using a combination of fingernails, pliers and scalpel – the strands are split, flattened and cut into tiny hexagons. The base of the dial is made of ethical gold and the hexagons are glued one by one to the surface. Subtle variations in thickness, orientation and tone create a vivid, textured pattern, with no two dials identical. Each of the eight limited edition pieces is then finished with a lustrous wood-wax coating that enhances the play of light. The hexagonal motif is no coincidence – it’s a nod to the beehive, a recurring symbol chosen by co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele for the L.U.C collection since 1997. As Scheufele notes, a beehive and a watch manufacturer share intrinsic values: collaboration, precision and industrious craftsmanship. For a more humorous application of the métiers d’art, the Hermès Arceau Rocabar de Rire is a 12-piece limited edition that plays with storytelling in its craftsmanship: the engraved, micro-painted horse on the dial side sticks out its tongue when the pusher at 9 o’clock is pressed. Before going into the marquetry details, consider how steeped this watch is in Hermès history: its vivid dial is framed in the 41mm Arceau case first designed in 1978 by Henri d’Origny. During his six decades working as a designer for Hermès, d’Origny designed many of the maison’s most iconic scarves. The Rocabar de Rire’s motif is made after a recent scarf, designed by Dimitri Rybaltchenko, which draws inspiration for its striped background from the blankets used on racehorses in the 19th century. This is where the dial’s marquetry – made with horsehair – comes in. The rich tones of the horse as well as the striped background are made by dyeing individual strands of hair, which are then painstakingly glued to the brass base. Made in a limited edition of 12 pieces, the Arceau Rocabar de Rire is a watch for those who enjoy both wit and wonder – a timepiece for connoisseurs who like to horse around in the most exclusive ways. Ulysse Nardin’s Blast Free Wheel Marquetry, meanwhile, propels the art into the future. This 45mm watch shows that silicon – a material that the maison pioneered for technical use back in 2001 – can also be an artistic medium. Multicoloured silicon marquetry dials have been used in the Freak collection since 2019, but this blue-toned dial heralds the material’s debut in the Blast collection. The slivers – 103 of them to be exact – have been cut into various geometric shapes, creating a mesmerising tableau for the horological bare-it-all. At its heart is a manually wound movement with a flying tourbillon and the Ulysse Anchor Constant Escapement, which appears to float above the dial’s radiant blues. Through marquetry dials, the watch industry shows that this ancient, handmade technique is not a relic of the past, but rather a living, evolving expression of creativity. And by fusing traditional craftsmanship with modern materials and innovation, marquetry will not only survive but thrive – just like watchmaking itself.

How luxury watch brands are reinventing the art of marquetry, from Hermès to Patek Philippe

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hermès gets cheeky with horsehair, Patek Philippe and Chopard turn to traditional materials, and Ulysse Nardin uses silicon as an artistic medium

Hermès gets cheeky with horsehair, Patek Philippe and Chopard turn to traditional materials, and Ulysse Nardin uses silicon as an artistic medium