Blackbird Watch Manual Vol.7

For the seventh volume of Blackbird Watch Manual, we stepped away from the workbench and drafting table to take a look at the world around us and the nature themes that have been so inspirational for generations. It has been a favourite of the esteemed maison of Van Cleef & Arpels, who takes it to an entirely new level with their latest Poetic Complication, the Lady Arpels Heures Florales, which takes the observation by well-known botanist Carl von Linné that flowers open and close and regular times throughout the day and turns it into a magical story of mechanical and artistic wizardry.

Of course, nature has clearly contributed to the development of watchmaking in the first place, and we see how the landscape influences even the modern maisons such as Audemars Piguet and Grand Seiko.

Beyond watchmaking, we look at how nature has influenced the worlds of art, through the paintings of Wu Guanzhong, and architecture, with Tadao Ando’s creations. Preserving this natural beauty around us has led to Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative, and the development of Extreme E, which brings a renewed awareness of the environment and how even an activity like motorsports can take place while still fully respecting and caring for the planet. This is also a mission that’s close to Nimsdai Purja, who, with the support of Montblanc and its latest 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen, has set a path for maintaining the beauty and purity of the highest peaks in the world.