Luxury watch collection from Chopard | XP Urushi

The luxury Swiss watchmaker Chopard presents a unique collection of watches called XP Urushi. Kiichiro Masumura, a Japanese artist, has supervised the creation of nine unique dials based techniques Urushi. The Urushi is the ancestral Japanese art of lacquering. The varnish is made from the sap of the tree Urushi, a tree which is mostly found in Japan or China. The harvesting of the resin can be done only once a year and in very small quantities. Three to five years after harvest, the resin is processed to make highly resistant honey textured lacquer. Applied in extremely thin layers sequentially. The Maki-e is a specific Urushi technique that consists of spraying lacquer with metal powder to accentuate the silhouette. The gold dust is applied using bamboo tubes and small brushes made from rat hair, for extremely fine lines. This art requires extreme expertise and only a few Urushi Masters including Kiichiro Masumura, still practice it today with craftsmanship.

The Chopard presents a collection of nine different techniques, which were supervised by Kiichiro Masumura, designed, painted and decorated with glitter from the company Yamada Heiando. These works represent the five basic elements of the universe, according to ancient Chinese philosophy of natural science and a illustrates the universe itself. The five legendary creatures, the dragon with a blue horn, the phoenix, the qilin in the moonlight, the tiger bent and genbu respectively cause the wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The final three tables feature a peacock, a red fish and a jungle. Each meticulously painted unique model reveals a wealth of original details imbued with a deep sense of poetry.

By Nicole P.