REUGE’s Onkõ Piece Interplays on Light, Sound, Wood, and Metal

REUGE’s participation at this year’s Geneva Watch Days comes as a surprise. Earlier in the year, news confirmed that REUGE was acquired by Swiss watch brand, De Bethune. Since then, no further updates have been revealed regarding the potential and future plans of the historical music box manufacturer. To mark the renewal and a new start for REUGE, the company has unveiled Onkõ — a unique piece combining design, music, and mechanics.

Led by De Bethune’s co-founder and master watchmaker, Denis Flageollet wanted to create a stunning piece that enchants and delights its audience. Onkõ was then conceptualized from the desire to create “a dialogue between metal and wood” that also harmoniously instills a musical element.

Arriving in a minimalist lantern-like shape, Onkõ isn’t just a reimagined music box, but also a well-designed piece that interplays light and sound. Its outer shell is crafted from curly European as well as natural American maple woods, which unfurls like a corolla to reveal its enclosed music box mechanic. Fittingly, its name, Onkõ, derives from “音光,” which are Japanese characters for sound and light.

 

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