BCHH
80
A bespoke watch with an embroidered silk dial
Hi friends!
So some time ago I commissioned a group of embroidery artists to create a silk dial of Suzhou embroidery (suxiu) out of my own personal design for installation into a piece unique watch. The design was to be painstakingly hand-stitched in silk in the traditional centuries-old method, made even more difficult given the small size of the dial. Typical Suzhou embroidery art pieces are quite large and rectangular.
So some time ago I commissioned a group of embroidery artists to create a silk dial of Suzhou embroidery (suxiu) out of my own personal design for installation into a piece unique watch. The design was to be painstakingly hand-stitched in silk in the traditional centuries-old method, made even more difficult given the small size of the dial. Typical Suzhou embroidery art pieces are quite large and rectangular.
A set of three dials has just been finished, and now all that's left is to decide which of the three I like most, to install in the finished watch. I think that the painting, entitled "pear and flowers with double swallows" or ??????was nicely translated into dial form by the embroidery artists.
The final watch will be slightly different from the render - it'll be cased in steel to be more affordable, have blued steel hands, and my seal will be silk-screened under the watch crystal. The movement top plate will also be engraved with my monogram.
Notice the filigree details of the three dials, and how they all consistently adhere to the given design, while having just an iota of individualism, indicative of their hand-stitched nature.
The final watch will be slightly different from the render - it'll be cased in steel to be more affordable, have blued steel hands, and my seal will be silk-screened under the watch crystal. The movement top plate will also be engraved with my monogram.
Notice the filigree details of the three dials, and how they all consistently adhere to the given design, while having just an iota of individualism, indicative of their hand-stitched nature.
Which one of the three would you choose? 
This watch should be finished by Watches&wonders at the end of this month, and I'll be breaking it in there!
My next piece will be a similar piece unique, but this time in cloisonné enamel, with the same painting. Will make a good comparison!
The preliminary render
Dial 1
Dial 2
Dial 3
Notice the 0.04mm gold wire - the most intricately done cloisonné in the world
A bespoke watch with an embroidered silk dial
Hi friends! So some time ago I commissioned a group of embroidery artists to create a silk dial of Suzhou embroidery (suxiu) out of my own personal design for installation into a piece unique watch. The design was to be painstakingly hand-stitched in silk...
congrats BCHIH - with the design, the final product will be a very equisite piece!!
Based on the photos, I prefer number 1 given the vibrancy of the colors. Perhaps it is due to lighting, clarity level and angle of the photo, number 1 does seem to have stronger yellow lines outlining the flowers and these brighter lines bring more life t...
Thanks guys!
Thanks 21EP, Amanico and GLau! I decided to go with dial number 3, agreeing that the eyes of the swallows look brighter and sharper in that dial. The brighter looks of Dial 1 is due to the photography; it looks similar to the other two. Haha, I do prefer ...
One step nearer to completion...
Another two weeks! Now to decide.. blue or brown alligator strap? ...
Brown strap for me.
All 3 are awesome. Simply beautiful. But I will choose no.1 piece due to its more lively and brighter colour. Are both side of the dials identical? This is the speciality of suxiu. Regards Ling
Thanks Ling
I think no 1 looks livelier because of the photography. In person I think they're the same, and I chose no 3. Nope, only the dial side is embroidered. It wouldn't make much sense to embroider the underneath, especially when it has to be mated to the sterl...
Hi BCHIH, in terms of the strap, IMO...
the blue strap matches the white case and blue hands very well, while the brown strap complements the colors in the embroidery dial better. I would suggest to use the blue strap as version one of this watch, and use brown strap (with another piece of embr...
Great idea GLau! Good thing these watches are affordable enough!
I agree totally with you. I think that's a great idea to use both dials in different metals. Thankfully these watches are affordable enough (I paid around 5k each)! By the way, I saw an enamel dragon dial just like the one in your Nardin being done. It lo...
Hi BCHIH, to take my suggetion further, I would recommend that...
... you have all three metals, white, rose and yellow and use all three embroidery pieces !! Do you have photos for the dragon dial ??
Thanks GLau, but
I'm not sure I'm that enamoured with the dial to have all three in three different watches! ;) After all I'm going to get 3 more enamel watches - cloisonné, micro carving, and micro painting (what the Swiss call the Geneva technique). Along with this Suzh...
The finished masterpiece!
So after several months from conception of my bespoke design, to the completion of the intricately hand-stitched embroidered dial, my Suzhou embroidery watch is finally finished! Enjoy the scans and let me know what you think of the watch! ...
Nice embrodiary !! Glad it all worked out
With white metal, I prefer the blue strap (in your earlier post) Enjoy !! When do we get to see the other enamel dials ??
