1970s

EKATERINA ISTOMINA

Baume & Mercier / Promesse collection

Extremely Piaget

Vacheron Constantin, "1972"

Patek Philippe Ladies Calatrava Rose Gold

Victor Mayer

Cartier / Les Heures Fabuleuses Elephant Pocket Watch

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Patek Philippe Nautilus

Audemars Piguet / ROYAL OAK FOR LADIES

Baume & Mercier / Promesse collection

Extremely Piaget

Vacheron Constantin, "1972"

Patek Philippe Ladies Calatrava Rose Gold

Victor Mayer

Cartier / Les Heures Fabuleuses Elephant Pocket Watch

This decade, which saw the expansion of cheap Asian quartz into old mechanical watchmaking Europe, turned out to be unusually rich in objects of outstanding watch design. Among the first models that defined the style of the 1970s was the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, conceived by the great designer Gerald Genta in 1972. This watch, made of democratic cold steel with a characteristic case, the bezel of which was “screwed on” with eight screws, is still a true watch icon.

What is the artistic power of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak? In a completely new vision of functionalism, which appeared back in the 1920s. The New Functionalism of the 1970s came on the heels of the Cosmism and Futurism of the 1960s, “fantasy” styles that left a significant imprint on subsequent design. Watch objects of the 1970s are, without a doubt, objects of earthly purpose, but they seem to hide within themselves some kind of unearthly, fantastic illusion, a dream.

This hallucinogenic illusion from the 1970s is associated not only with space, but with other worlds. Take the other great model of that decade, the Nautilus Patek Philippe, a watch also designed by Gerald Genta (1976). Like Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak, Patek Philippe's Nautilus was made of steel, the shape of its case reminiscent of a porthole through which one can see mysterious underwater worlds. Moreover, both models were not experimental or limited from the very beginning: the functionalism of the 1970s had industrial significance.

Another famous model, released, by the way, in the same year as the Royal Oak Audemars Piguet, 1972, is the Vacheron Constantin “1972”. These watches, like the Royal Oak and Nautilus, still exist safely in the line of the Geneva manufactory. Model "1972" is a true example of technical design of the 1970s, where beauty was achieved not by the presence of diamonds, but by form. The hippie subculture also left its mark on the watches of this decade: the appearance of semi-precious or semi-precious stones, as well as pendant watches, is a consequence of the ideology of “flower children”.

ON THE BORDER OF FICTION