ALTO’s Debut Timepiece Is Where Culture, Arts and Horology Intersects
Introducing the Art 01 watch.
ALTO is a newly launched independent watch brand that aims to fill a gap in the market, offering art-focused and avant-garde timepieces at a considerably more attainable price point. The brand’s inauguration is now materialized through the official unveiling of its debut timekeeper, the ART 01, a watch that embodies the brand’s “art on the wrist” ethos.
The brand name is an acronym for “Art and Limited Time Objects,” which stands as an encapsulation of founder Thibaud Guittard’s aspirations. As a passionate collector and a watch industry veteran, he was determined to create a brand that intersects art, design, cars, music as well as cinema through creative and collaborative timepieces. “I was looking for a watch with a complete departure from style, with a strong emotional attraction. With both a high-performance haute horology movement, absolute comfort when worn, and a totally radical design,” says Guittard.
The resulting time-teller features an angular and distinctly octagonal case crafted from Grade 5 titanium, complete with a hand-rubbed satin finish. Guittard spent two years searching for a designer who would bring his vision to life. Then he met Barth Nussbaumer, an independent designer who finally understood Guittard’s idea and became the person to conceptualize the design for the ART 01.
Drawing cues from Greek sculptures and architecture, the dial boasts a matte black lacquered brass materiality, while its louvred apertures present a poetic dialogue between light and shadow — an homage to light, another core artistic inspiration for the timepiece.
The timepiece is matched with an equally artistic A01 movement, a specially developed automatic micro-rotor caliber by Nussbaumer and Cercle des Horlogers in La Chaux-de-Fonds. A noteworthy technical feature, the seconds hand powers the watch through a counter-clockwise winding movement as opposed to the traditional clockwise direction. The caliber’s unique and elegant architecture can be fully admired through the watch’s transparent sapphire caseback.
To complete the launch, Guittard tapped director, photographer and writer Mathieu César to produce a video campaign that translates the spirit of ALTO into powerful and retro-futuristic visuals. Watch the behind-the-scenes video below.
The ART 01 timepiece is produced in a limited run of 25 numbered examples, each priced at 18,450 CHF (around $20,286 USD). Visit ALTO’s official website for more details regarding the watch’s availability.
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