Who among us hasn’t liked the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright? Whether it’s Falling Water in Southwestern Pennsylvania, or the homes of the midwest, one of Wright’s guiding principles was to try and make architecture that complements and extends the surroundings of the land it sits on. How then do we explain something like the Guggenheim museum in New York?
The Guggenheim gave Wright the liberty to experiment with an organic style in a cityscape setting. Wright worked for 15 years, through 700 sketches, and six sets of working drawings to arrive at the design. The idea of a continuous ramp around the periphery was unusual for a museum. Honestly, it still is. Instead of going from room to room, looking at art and walking out, the Guggenheim is a long strip that winds its way around, on a winding ramp. The museum is a stacked set of ribbons that scale up towards the top.
Here, Mido uses an almost lugless case to pay homage to the architectural elements of the Guggenheim. This is an entirely different Multifort from the usual watch. Here, the dial is eggshell white, with curved inset arches around the hour indices that recall the curved shape of the Guggenheim exterior. The case is different, too. Instead of a round case with smooth sides and lugs that extend gently from the sides of the case, the sides are almost ribbed, with lugs that are recessed into the side of the mid-case. It resembles the exterior of the museum as well, with ribbons of polished and brushed surfaces. The white dial recalls the color and texture of the museum. The rehaut is engraved “INSPIRED BY ARCHITECTURE”.
The movement is one of my recent favorites: the Caliber 80 Si. This is an ETA design, with a slightly slower beat and silicon balance spring. An 80 hour power reserve may not mean much to you if the watch is constantly on your wrist, but it’s another one of the details that makes this one so superb. Diamond-cut hands, a date window at 3, and long satin silver indices make this a watch that looks easy to enjoy.
This edition is limited to 500 pieces, and will be launched on 26 October at the Guggenheim museum in New York City.
