In order to raise money for the charitable organization Make-A-Wish Switzerland, Chronoswiss has created a special model which is made in just a single copy. The watch in question is called Sirius Lion Heart. It comes in a golden housing and displays the skilful work of several different traditional artistic disciplines. Its face shows off a lovely dial with hand-created cloissone enamel and guilloched sections, which depicts a lion and the flag of Switzerland. The rear side of the red gold case of the watch on the other hand features additional manually created exceptional details. Namely, the transparent section at the back reveals a skeletonized and carefully decorated manual-wound mechanical movement. The watch will be sold at the auction which will be organized next month by a prestigious auction house Antiquorum. Needless to say, all the proceeds from the one-of-a-kind piece will go to charity.
Chronoswiss Sirius Lion Heart Watch Dial
Make-A-Wish is a widely known organization that allows terminally ill children to have their wishes come true. It is present in several countries, while the Swiss branch is relatively recent since it was formed in 2008. The importance of the organization’s work was recognized by the Swiss watchmaker which was previously involved in several other similar actions. Probably the most prominent of these was the last edition of the Only Watch auction which was, just like the upcoming sale of the new unique piece, organized by Antiquorum.
Cloisonne Enamel and Guilloche Embelishments
As it has been pointed out, the watch dubbed Sirius Lion Heart showcases traditional decorative techniques. For starters, its face is graced with a lovely and refined dial. The dial is crafted from solid chunk of 18 K white gold. Some of the parts of the dial that are used as a background for the depicted scene are embellished with guilloched accents. Additionally, there are charming motifs of a lion and the flag of Switzerland that were created with the cloissone enamel technique. This set of procedures uses several smaller sections which are encircled with metal to create the desired scene. In this instance, the metal used to encircle these sections is a delicate gold wire that was bent by hand. Each of the chambers is than covered with several layers of enamel which are all treated with heat so that the end result would be a colorful scene which uses the play of light for artistic purposes. While the choice of the flag is quite obvious for a company whose name is Chronoswiss, the selection of the lion motif should be additionally explained. It actually has a double meaning. The first of these is poetic and refers to the bravery of the ill children, as does the name of the watch. On the other hand, the motif is also entangled with the company itself, since the represented lion is based on a statue that stands near the watchmaker’s facilities in Lucerne.
Chronoswiss Sirius Lion Heart Watch
Filigree Skeletonied and Decorated by Hand
More examples of skillful manual decorations are visible once you turn over the timekeeper. Its movement is filigree skeletonized and made with embellished floral motifs. Moreover, it is also decorated with the use of a historic rose machine. Other visible decorations are polished lever and escape wheel, as well as flame-blued and polished screws.
The base for these decorations is ETA 6498 hand-wound mechanical movement with 17 jewels. The caliber is with the diameter of 16 ½ lignes (36.6mm) and the thickness of 4.5mm. It features Glucydur balance, Nivarox balance spring, Incablock shock resistance protection and fine adjustment feature. The movement operates at the frequency of 18,000 vph and includes a power storage that lasts for about 46 hours.
The unique Chronoswiss timepiece with the reference number CH-6721RE-3 is made with an 18 K red gold case which consists of 21 sections and features a mixture of polished and satin finishes. Furthermore, it has a fixed bezel, a knurled case-band and an oversized onion-shaped crown made of the same material. The case is 44 mm wide and 11.1 mm thick. Both front and the rear sides are made with sapphire crystals with one-sided anti-reflective treatments. Supported water resistance measures to 30 meters. For the wristlet, Chronoswiss selected a brown colored Louisiana crocodile strap which fastens with a pin buckle. As it was announced, the watch will be auctioned sometimes in the second half of October in Geneva.
