When creativity meets watch making, it always spells double joy – like the triumph of science and art. The sheer thrill of wrapping a piece of art around your wrist that also houses a killer movement is what draws art and watch lovers alike to pick up exclusive limited edition pieces. This year's Basel extravaganza too saw the inspiration of art, in small and large measures, gracing the dials of time pieces.

Some pieces that stood out include Jaquet Droz's Petite Heure Minute Relief that uses figurative motifs executed in relief in painted yellow gold and geometric patterning, borrowed from ancestral tradition. The golden birds stand out from the black onyx dial in true relief effect. It shows even better on the ivory Grand Feu enamelled dial. The brand has also used the Paillonné enamelling technique. The gleam of the gold, deposited in micro-particles, heightens the lustre of the blue and the density of the red in the transparent glaze of the enamel. Also interesting is the Art Deco inspiration for its Petite Heure Minute Art Deco piece, which uses Ramolaye technique to sculpt the mother-of-pearl dial.

On the other hand, DeWitt's Golden Afternoon is a continuation of the Pre-Raphaelites celebration of womanhood and their “honest artistic expression, with abundant details, intense colours and complex compositions”. The dials in delicate mother-of-pearl become an artist's canvas with puffy clouds and water lily diamonds ‘to form a painting in which reflection is reality'.

Another piece that fascinated us is Ulysse Nardin's Alexander the Great Minute Repeater Westminster Carillon Tourbillon Jaquemarts. The figurines on the dial depict the warrior in armour and engaged in battle. The five hand-crafted figures are prominent against the charcoal background of the manmade diamond dial, taking the association of art and horology to a distinguished level.

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