ONLY WATCH 2019 –
Christophe Claret reaffirms its support for the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy (AMM)
For the fourth consecutive year, Christophe Claret is proudly taking its place alongside the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy (AMM) and donating a timepiece to Only Watch for its eighth edition: Maestro Corail, a formidable timepiece by nature.
This altruistic momentum has driven Christophe Claret to take an authentic artistic approach in giving life to the Maestro Corail watch. Inspired by the Maestro Mamba watch that is part of the collection, this timepiece is unique, resulting from a blend of fine craftsmanship and aesthetic creativity.
Christophe Claret is a born provocateur, now venturing into the perilous wilds of the tropical forests by placing the voluptuous undulations of a coral snake at the heart of the Maestro watch. This brightly colored, swift and incomparably aggressive snake appears ready to strike anyone who comes within reach of its toxic venom. Wrapped around the movement, its undulating hand-engraved body creates a powerful contrast between the tangy blue and orange brilliancy of its scales and the matt black shade of the movement. Surging from the intricacies of the movement, between the hours and minutes hands, the MEMO function indicator and the sprung balance, the coral snake defies all challengers with its piercing eyes. A threatening and disturbing vision enveloping the horological mechanism with a dangerous aura of mystery.
Technical forest
The Maestro watch was a natural choice to accommodate the rippling coils of the coral snake. This watch appeals through both its shape and its proportions, including the pure and powerful lines of its 42 mm black PVD-treated titanium case topped by an impressive sapphire crystal dome. A boldly contemporary model intended for trendsetters and influencers, this model offers a spectacular view of the movement and the snake’s sinuous body, which may be admired from every angle and along every sleek scale. It is also ideal because of its hand-wound movement, whose skillfully arranged components are displayed in all their glorious technical profusion, vividly reflecting that of a luxuriant forest.
The overall construction is revealed through a multi-dimensional architecture. Like all timepieces by Christophe Claret, the Maestro showcases a wealth of details mingling technical and aesthetic elements in an exceptionally coherent manner. Brand enthusiasts will recognize the watchmaker’s inimitable touch in the famous Charles X stepped and skeletonized bridges – with 26 interior angles – that have become a signature of the Maison. The skeleton-working of the bridge supporting the escapement represents a clever blend of classicism and modernity that affords a chance to appreciate all its subtle features.
The visual adventure through the intricacies of the movement continues with two series-coupled barrels ensuring optimal efficiency and majestically positioned at 12 o’clock. Here too, the bridges are skeletonized to provide an exemplary view of the blade spring of the first barrel and thus enable the wearer of the watch to gauge the state of the seven-day power reserve.
A return to fundamentals
In terms of horological complications, the Maestro Corail once again illustrates the creative audacity cultivated by Christophe Claret. Witness the patented large date display at 5 o’clock, composed of two cones – one for the tens on the upper part and the second for the units – and performing a semi-instantaneous jump between midnight and twenty past midnight. As if to echo the 3D effect of this voluminous date display, the Maestro’s characteristic MEMO function appears between 3 and 4 o’clock. Inspired by the expression “tie a knot in your handkerchief” to help one remember something important, the MEMO is an ingenious mechanical reminder intended for absent-minded individuals as well as fans of technical gadgets. Whatever daily objective the owner of the Maestro has set himself, the MEMO is there to remind him of his commitments. In the initial position, meaning when the owner must do something, an orange sapphire appears at 6 o’clock on the side face of the MEMO. Once the objective has been met, a simple press on the pusher at 2 o’clock pivots the MEMO function, which will display a blue sapphire on its side face at 6 o’clock, like the gem set at its top. The MEMO will return to its initial position each night in a twenty-minute process driven by a semi-instantaneous jump system.
Whether it is a cue to pay a daily compliment to a loved one, to meditate for ten minutes a day, to do a good deed, to avoid a trap or avert a danger: there are any numbers of good reasons to activate the MEMO. But one thing is for sure: with death lurking in the black eyes of this snake that is as aggressive as it is venomous, and when the possibility of its mortal sting thus accompanies every minute, hour and day, the Maestro Corail provides a constant reminder of fate and the fragile nature of time.
With more than 40 million euros raised in seven editions, Only Watch – under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert of Monaco and at the initiative of Luc Pettavino, President of the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy – is organizing its eighth edition. The auction will be held for the third year running in Geneva, on Saturday November 9th 2019. Prior to that, from September 25th to 28th 2019, the Monaco Yacht Show will host the first stage of a promotional world tour of the collection. The funds collected will be entirely donated to scientific and medical research on neuromuscular diseases in general and on Duchenne muscular dystrophy in particular.
