1970s-insired warped watches in asymmetric cases have been trending since Cartier’s Crash re-emerged as an auction room darling in the early 2020s and lit up social media on the wrists of — among others — Hollywood’s golden couple, Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet.
An emerging group of independent watch designers are running with the style.
Toledano & Chan’s brutalist B/1 was one of the great breakthrough watches of last year; Sylvain Berneron’s Mirage drew praise for a watch without a single straight line or right angle; and Anoma delivered a beautiful example in the form of its A1 collection.
Another newcomer this year is Nectere, a microbrand whose first collection, Order From Chaos, is being crowd funded on Kickstarter right now ahead of an official release on April 18.
Nectere is the brainchild of Hong Kong-based watch collectors James Wong, and Tony Yip, who list their passions as art deco design, nature, philosophy, analogue photography, and watches.
Three styles in the first Order from Chaos collection draw on the natural world with green, sand and grey dials used for watches named The Forest, The Dune and The Mist.
They are said to be inspired by the butterfly effect — where tiny actions set off a chain reaction that can ripple out across the world.
“We hope to create an art piece that serves as a physical embodiment of our seemingly chaotic lives, and a daily reminder of our actions – the butterfly effect of life and decisions. It’s less about keeping time and more about reflecting on where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we’re going – a thread through time,” Nectare’s founders suggest.
Their slim three-dimensional cases measure 38mm by 40.5mm by 8.5mm and have been crafted in the form of pebble-smooth triangles that layer towards oddly off-centred dials with Art Deco engravings darting in all directions from a small seconds sub dial positioned at around 7 o’clock.
They are powered by a Chinese-made Seagull ST17 hand wound movement, which is presented via a partially-open case back.
Each of the three watches are limited to 175 units.
Pre-launch on Kickstarter, the watches can be bought for $475 but will jump to $720 after the crowdfunding campaign.