"Signed, to Radhika" from AMALGAM Watches
This signature design is one of our hardest so far, it’s a love story expressed in as an AMALGAM Watch. Started with a gentleman looking for a perfect gift for her special one, the couple visited us one day. They worked out the details such as stones’ choice and they provided a general direction for this design based on our previous work.
On the watch case level, the dial needed to be as ‘bare’ as possible, remove as much as possible. What is known as ‘skeleton’ in the watch industry. Skeleton dial are delicate from start to finish, whether it is cutting, cleaning, and movement placement. We also had to add a circular floral theme around. Things going wrong is easy and it took 7 tries to get the right one. With every failure and blunder, we came closer to our intended standard. Like mentioned before, what makes the dial cutting tricky is that using too high power will cut it well but will deform it due to the heat. Too little power and it will not go through the plate.
As such, a mid-point is sought which results in a complete cut but each removable parts need to be plucked out by hand. To give you an idea about the scale we’re talking about. The smallest space you can measure in this is the space in the hour marking containing five (V) which is less than 1 mm ! (shown in red). Too much force and it’s permanently deformed and too little and it won’t budge. Going a bit off-topic, we made a realization that the ‘middle way’ is usually the right way to go. It stems from the Buddhist teaching of the same name. Though it is a ‘way of life’, you can extrapolate more practical applications, especially in everyday life. Quoting an online definition: “The expression “middle way” refers to the Buddhist understanding of practical life, avoiding the extremes of self-denial and self-indulgence, as well as the view of reality that avoids the extreme positions of eternalism and annihilationism.”
Back to our story, the end result is one of the most gorgeous creations we’ve made so far with a single plate layer. After clicking hands and movement together, one can only be envious of the result. The final flourish is her name, ‘Radhika’, written on the lower part. A name we’ll not be forgetting anytime soon.
For the straps, she wanted something simple but with the same theme, so we went with a rose on both sides. She chose an intricate part of roses and we brought it to life on the straps. Two roses cuddled together on each strap side. Simple and elegant. A future lesson to our designs. When it came to the stones, we used only our premium stones, which carry a higher price tag due to their rarity.
What you get is a surreal look, we used the highest grade labradorite projecting a blueish hue. Labradorite is known for its changing colors, so it is no surprise this gemstone is known as a stone of transformation, enhancing the strength of will and inner worth. Garnet provided the darkening look with a red hue. With associations with the heart, blood, inner fire, and life force, garnets have long been considered symbols of love. Then sunstone is a variety of feldspar that harbors an orange, peachy, and/or reddish color and that often has golden sparkling flakes (often called schiller). Sunstone embodies the generosity and expansiveness of the sun, supporting and motivating creativity, leadership, and vibrant aliveness. Finally the ‘mother of pearl’ comes from the Latin term ‘mater perlarun’. A protection stone, Mother of Pearl brings the gentle healing power of the sea. It is a stress-relieving stone; relaxing, soothing, and calming to the emotions. On the clasp part, we made a special engraving style that creates an outline for the engraving. This is made possible by increasing the height of the engraving point (hence projecting a slightly larger shape). The end result is a beautiful 3D-like effect. A first for us. The theme followed the floral pattern she loves so much.
We wanted to take more pictures in different settings but urgent delivery made that difficult. Needless to say, she loved her timepiece so much! And that’s it for today, thank you for reading this far, stay awesome. Always forward, ARH out. P.S. More pics below, have a great weekend ahead.
