When it comes to old watches – and all the components that make up the movements powering this marvelous micro-machines, you?ve got a few choices. You can break them down to use for repair of other movements, you could melt them down and recycle them into something new, or you can make art. Berd Vay?e opted for that third option, and have created a number of intriguing options. The most recent of these, the Berd Vay’e Gravity, is one of the most appealing designs I?ve seen from them.
On it?s surface, it sounds sort of boring – you?ve got a sphere made up of watch movement parts (in this case, 2000 – 2500 of them) set inside a lucite cube. That simple text description shortchanges what these artisans have actually done, however. Here, you?re starting with a sphere of lucite which is built up slowly to ensure no air bubbles, onto which those movement pieces are placed – by hand – for the precise look. In some regards, you could almost stop here. But they don?t of course.
That first spherical sculpture is then built into a cube – again of lucite – optically clear and perfect, and protecting this inner sculpture quite elegantly. At the end of the work – which takes three to four days – you?ve got a 9.5? (on all sides) cube through which to admire the work from any angle.
Given the amount of work involved here – and the limited nature (it?s a 999 piece run) – you?re not going to be surprised to hear that the Berd Vay’e Gravity goes for $7,500. Definitely no impulse buy, but if you?re looking for some way to express your love of watches (without actually buying another watch) this is a route to go.
Me, I just like the simplicity and juxtaposition of a sphere set inside of a cube. Of course, I would love them to develop this further and do something like a luminous core, or a lower-power LED light powered by an indication source, to let the light shine out from inside – it just feels like that would be a sight to behold in the evening. Who knows, maybe we?ll see something like that in a future iteration if they?re taking suggestions. For now, we?ll be satisfied with the cool crystalline lucite holding those gears frozen in time. berdvaye.com
