Signals & Stats : Daily Signals

A matter of time

By Josh Walker 19 : 01 : 2017 Luxury : Design : Watches

Geneva – École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) and Vacheron Constantin have collaborated to present an exhibition on the themes of astrology and telling the time.

Students created six objects that provide an in-depth understanding of celestial mechanics
As part of their research, they spent a week at the Vacheron Constantin headquarters

The Art of Celestial Mechanics by ECAL and Vacheron Constantin, Geneva

Running from 16 to 20 January, the collaboration between the university and the luxury brand is a part of the 27th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva.

The work was created by students of the Master of Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship, and draws inspiration from ancestral instruments and their relationship with the Earth and the Sun.

To provide the students with an in-depth understanding of celestial mechanics, they were invited to the Vacheron Constantin headquarters for a week-long introduction. The six final objects presented in the exhibition are studies of different ways of telling the time, illustrating the position of stars and identifying the exact time the sun rises and sets.

The project follows an earlier collaboration between the two, in which students designed 12 products that were contemporary interpretations of timekeeping.

The Big Picture

With luxury brands looking for new opportunities to grow, creative collaborations with universities offer an effective way for brands to promote themselves. For more on the changing luxury sector, see our Luxury Futures 2016 Market report.