"The Sunstone" signature design
Today, we're exploring another signature design in our initial lineup of signature creations. For the record, we made 6 total, including the previously shown Flower of Paradise. The name of this design is 'Sunstone', the last design we made in the series. It is testament of the lessons we learned over our previous creations. Those improvements were then applied to the Sunstone. At the moment of this writing, Mauritius is currently under heavy rain and it is affecting everyone. We choose this design specifically to bring a little bit of 'sun' during those rainy days.
The Sunstone is inspired by the African tribalism and the continent as a whole. It does not associate with a specific tribe or culture as it is a vast and diverse subject. Here's an extract from our digital brochure: "The goal was to create a perfect amalgam of the three color themes, Gold, Rose Gold & Silver. The colors associated to the riches of Africa. Tribal engraving adorn the straps with a central tribal mask. The dial follows the same theme but include a highly intricate dial pattern of flower within a sun. The gemstones consist of Sunstone, Mother of Peal, Citrine and Rutilated Quartz to represent the wealth of the African continent, notably the massive reserve of gold and silver" What improvements did we apply to the Sunstone?
1. On its straps, we made something awesome. We engraved the strap with 'two tones'. One, the normal, stable blackish tone makes up for the surrounding pattern of the strap & strap ending (shown in red). Second, a 'colored' tone makes the central mask on the strap (shown in blue). We've tested 'color engraving' since January. Our machine cannot do it normally. However, by 'playing' with the machine settings and the engraving height past a certain threshold, we can achieve a 'colored' tone to the engraving. It is difficult to predict and any slight change can result in significant differences making tough to replicate (later). To ensure we get it right for the Sunstone, we engraved both strap together, at the same time with the same settings. It worked !
2. For the dial, we performed one of the most intricate dial cuts we've ever made. The difficulty lies in the handling. The thin plate can easily deform leaving a permanent mark if not handled properly. Imagine now you weaken it further by taking sections out of it. Also, after the cutting, each sections cut out need to be removed individually by hand ! We made at least 10 of those before we understood the 'order'. Any wrong twist will send you back to square one. Any slight, non-fatal bends (no permanent marks) were taken care of by the vice and it did a great job ! Another design consideration was merging the 'movement' which is golden in color with the design to create a complemented look, we even let the 'movement holder' slide in the design (the white part around the movement). We're working on another design where the golden movement is used not to 'complement' but 'contrast' the design. Here's more shots of the Sunstone in all of its grace
We'll keep it short as we're swamped with work. Thank you for reading this far. We love your weekly motivation and the messages you send us ! If you have any idea for a design or you want us to try something, PM us or drop a comment ! Stay safe out there. Peace, ARH out.
