artya

Artya Farfalla Watch Has Real Butterfly Wings In It

Like all Artya watches, this new Farfalla collection aims to be different, and each piece is one-of-a-kind. "Farfalla" means butterfly in Italian, and that is exactly what this watch is all about. Look at the dial a second time and you'll realize that it is made up of different butterfly wings. Maybe they will offer a do-it-yourself model of aspiring lepidopterists? The clever part of the design is that at first glance you aren't sure what you are looking at. Artya does a good job of applying decor between the wings so that it all blends together as though it were a single motif.

I don't believe any animals were harmed in the making of the watch (beforehand, I don't really know). In addition to the butterfly dials, the straps as seen here are toad skin. Artya applied various 'torture devices" to make its steel watch cases look more organic. One case here is struck with high levels of electricity, while another is all cut up. Inside the watches are Swiss automatic mechanical movements. Look for these soon - or Artya can make you one with your own personal collection of discarded insect parts.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com

Tags: artya, butterfly, farfalla, papillon, watch

Artya Halloween Spider Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Aiming to shock and be provacative, artful Swiss watch maker of (only) unique timepieces has made a few watches for Halloween. A few of them contain actual spiders in the dials. Not living spiders, but eerie enough. The typical look of Artya's "tortured" watch cases add to the fearfulness of these watches. Artya prefers "defacing" its cases with electro shocks. You can see the large spider body on the dial. The brand chose thin hands for the dial that are reminiscent of arachnid legs. The decomposing organic look of the watch adds to the holiday creepiness factor. Plus, the strap is made from toad skin. Case is steel (about 45mm wide I think), and inside is a Swiss automatic movement.

In addition to this Halloween Spider watch, the brand also has a few other piece uniques for the Halloween holiday includes some with dials featuring scary skulls, and screaming faces. Priced at 3,900 Swiss Francs.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: artya, halloween, spider, Swiss, watch

Artya Tesla Squelette Quadri-Rotor Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Artya has been back at the benches and watch torture machines making new artistic novelties for the world to enjoy. The new collection takes their fascination with electronic componentry further by thoroughly mixing them in with mechanical movements. The result are a few new totally unique watches that are also, piece uniques (meaning that only one of each will ever be produced). Even an artist can't ever replicate their own art exactly...

The watches feature the "tesla shocked" cases that Artya is known for, as well as the signature toad skin strap that Yvan Arpa (founder and owner of Artya) likes to use. Each case is 47mm wide in steel, and chemically colored. The resulting case and dials look like Christmas ornaments at Dr. Demento's house. The cases get the way they are by literally being shocked with lightning (produced by the Tesla coils).

As you can see, the dials look like someone rummaged through parts at a local Radio Shack that was closing down. Though I don't think that franchise made it to Geneva. All sorts of wires, capacitators, coils, etc.. are used to create the colorful, artistic look. Either you hate it or you love it, but the watches are extremely unique and certainly make a statement. The movements are Swiss ETA automatics that have been skeletonized and decorated in that... unique manner. The Artya Tesla Squelette Quadri-Rotor watches are a creative furtherance of the Artya philosophy and aesthetic.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: Artya, quadri-rotor, Squelette, watch

Artya For One Of A Kind Luxury Art Watch Creations

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Art

While at the Geneva Time Exhibition 2010 recently I got to meet with one of my modern watch making heroes, Yvan Arpa. I have discussed his exploits during his time at Romain Jerome, and his new project is Artya. In addition, he will be designing a line of watches for Volna. Artya is interesting concept that could only come from a mind like Arpa's. An artist himself, he sees a large niche for watches made by talented people who consider themselves artists above only watch makers. Arpa is also interested in exclusivity. For that reason, each and every Artya watch will be totally unique - as well as relatively affordable. In a time when a totally unique watch costs over $100,000, how is it possible that Artya watches will mostly cost under $10,000?

It has to do with Arpa's vision for how the watches are made. Instead of making totally unique cases in the manufacturing process, Artya creates unique cases more organically. The workshop's process involves a tesla coil. Making artificial lightning that "tortures" the watches. The result is mostly cases that are too destroyed, but in the experimentation comes pieces that are interesting in style and suitable for the necessary level of water resistance.

Gallery: Artya Watches