Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura has designed a watch for LeBond with its face rotated by 30 degrees to optimise viewing.
The timepiece has a minimalist design with a circular face and was created for the watch brand LeBond, which described it as “an architect’s take on a driver’s watch”.
To create a “new spin on familiar things” Portuguese architect Souto de Moura rotated the watch’s dial, movement and crown 30 degrees clockwise. According to the architect, placing 12 where the 1 would traditionally be gives the wearer the optimal viewing angle.
“The 12 is the reference, and we rotate 30 degrees for optimal visibility on the wrist,” said Souto de Moura.
As Souto de Moura wanted the watch to be as slim as possible, it has a 38.5-millimetre case made from grade-five titanium. The face of the watch, which has matte black hands, is protected by domed sapphire crystal.
There are two variants of the watch. The first has a matte beige dial and a navy blue leather strap, while the other has a matte grey dial with a black leather strap.
“I want the watch to be and feel as slim as possible,” said Souto de Moura.
“I arrived at the office feeling bored, but when I saw the latest pictures of the watch, I became excited,” he continued.
One of the world’s best-known architects, Souto de Moura won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2011.
His projects include the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego gallery, which is topped by pyramid-like chimneys, the Braga stadium and the Burgo Towers, in front of which the watch was photographed.
Souto de Moura is the latest Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect to design a watch, with fellow laureates Frank Gehry recently creating a transparent watch for luxury brand Louis Vuitton and Tadao Ando designing a serpent-informed watch for Bulgari.
Other watches designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architects include a piece by Rafael Moneo for Cauny and a square watch informed by a swimming pool by Álvaro Siza.
The photography is by Fernando Guerra.
