Room for the black square: Arturo Luz designs a Parmigiani Fleurier timepiece
MANILA, Philippines – Two hands, a black square, two intersecting lines and an expanse of white — if you imagined a watch designed by National Artist Arturo Luz to embody that particular aesthetic, you’d hit it right on the wrist.
As early as year 2000, the artist was already talking with good friend and gallery owner Sari Ortiga and his dad Tony Ortiga, the owner of the company La Estrella del Norte, about designing a Luz watch. Luz in hindsight says what a disaster it would’ve been if they’d pushed through. The elder Ortiga thought they were absolutely crazy for even entertaining that idea.
But these guys were ahead of their time. Sari says his dad was the first to launch his own Filipino watch brand in post-war Manila. He named it “Lyric” after watching a movie at Lyric Theater. And every art lover knows how forward-thinking Luz is: just as his peers in the Fifties and Sixties were slathering their canvases with the superfluous, Arturo was already distilling his images and meditating on simple yet transcendent geometric forms. So, Sari knew that eventually Arturo and the Ortiga family would get around to doing it.
And in recent years, through Sari’s nephew John Ortiga of La Estrella and his Swiss connections, Luz was able to revisit that dream.
A high-end Swiss watch brand came into the picture: Parmigiani Fleurier. It was founded in 1996. The brand was established by Michel Parmigiani in the Val de Travers, the birthplace of watchmaking art. Also, a watchmaking center was created around the brand by the Sandoz Family Foundation. Parmigiani draws on a tradition of watchmaking built on technical and artisanal expertise, and on an absolute commitment to quality.
The brand comes from a long line of experts in antique timepiece restoration. Practising this art requires expertise, patience and respect, and Parmigiani is deeply rooted in watchmaking history, where a watch is considered a jewel — and as much a work of art as a timekeeping device. Parmigiani Fleurier designs, manufactures, decorates and assembles all the components of its timepieces, guided by its capacity for innovation and its mastery of each stage of the production process.
Arturo, Sari and the Swiss watch brand team started working. It was fruitless at first. Studies were drawn then scrapped. That was until Sari showed Parmigiani Fleurier executives a reprint of the Arturo Luz book written by Cid Reyes and published by The Crucible Workshop (— yeah, the one with the black square). The Swiss contact told Arturo and Sari, maybe the National Artist could honor Parmigiani Fleurier by “drawing” or executing his design on an iconic timepiece: the Tonda 1950. “I will design on their medium,” agreed Arturo.
(The Tonda is one of the quintessential watches of the brand. This year, Parmigiani Fleurier presented the Tonda Chronor Anniversaire, the first integrated chronograph, which is the grail of an accomplished manufacture and a summit of technical know-how.)
Thus, the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Arturo Luz Series was born. There are only three in existence: one in 18k white gold (with automatic movement and Hermes leather strap), one in rose gold, and another in titanium.
The Luz watch in white gold (yeah, a one-off) by Parmigiani Fleurier will be launched at The Crucible Gallery booth in this year’s Art Fair Philippines, together with the latest edition of the Arturo Luz book as well as rare drawings, fine art, sculptures and paintings by the master.
“Talk about quality, the rarity, the signature brand involved, and the art of Arturo Luz — each watch is literally one -of-a-kind,” explains Sari. “The Crucible’s exhibition at the Art Fair this year focuses on paying tribute to a man with the rarest of visions. A man truly ahead of his time.”
According to brand executives, Parmigiani Fleurier is not done creating, surprising and glorifying watchmaking art.
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Art Fair Philippines 2016 happens from Feb. 18 to 21 at 5/F to 7/F, The Link Carpark, Makati City.
