SOON by Oliver Gamiette
Back in 2015-2016, I attempted to be a blogger for watches/lifestyle and it was called “the Collector’s Diary”. My goal through this blog was to talk about watches made in India, stories related to them, and expand to the jewelry & Accessory business to help an NGO working with blind and autistic children to raise funds. Thanks to my friends then, it was a great learning and fun experience, and find some incredible pieces and stories I came across.
Horology is an untapped market in India has always been one of my key interests. It still is! These tiny machines gutting the radiuses down to 0.5mm by the sheer strength of materials and living hardcore wars and traveling times to revive is something that grips my mind. Have you seen those restoration videos of old Breitling and Rolex?
How can anyone be not amazed by it?!
During my design education at DSK International school of design back in India, I came across Oliver Gammiette. One such talented and visionary designer from Peugeot, released this book SOON, where he has described his incredible relationship with watches as a designer.
“I love the intimate relationship that exists between the mechanism of the watch and its design. I love when the two become inseparable” he quotes.
I live by this quote. Slowly building my way to be a collector, this book grips my attention every time I am in a search of originality and authenticity for inspiration. Every chapter is a story of how these spectacular machines have come by. Inspired by the act of Invasion, Mutation, and Ultimates, all machines are inspired by an act, of how materials have been married and how the shape has a story. Every timepiece is a marriage of ahead-of-time materials and forms while bringing the true nature of elegance and power. In these 34 concepts he has designed, my personal favorites are Celerity, Venus, and Infinity. In these concepts designed for men, these are the 3 concepts that come of as feminine, relatable to me. Starting with Celerity, the form and the material choices are inspired by the act of invading the space, which in itself is not new but this shape is on point to be as realistic as we can imagine a spaceship to be. Carefully thought details like lugs and sapphire like blue to the crown display the idea of the intense heat it has received by re-entry into the atmosphere. This concept also gives a glimpse of how an actual spaceship would look and work like and evoke this “out of the world” feel. One of his quotes “Sometimes very simple drawings, very lightly sketches contain the spark of interesting design.” explains his thought process for Venus concept. By keeping the rotating disc mechanism, he focused on making a new face to display the time. Infinity is probably my favorite amongst the 3, cause as Oliver says, it resonates with the wearer who isn’t afraid of being late! (chuckling) I am not making any confessions here but….! This minimalistic piece has an infinite loop with a liquid digital insert and a brushed metal insert that is cast in one piece.
Oliver’s journey as a designer started by being a 3D modeler/visualizer. His curiosity brought him back to his childhood fascinations and his creativity gave a vision to these experiments. He has inspired me in many ways and continues to whenever I get back reading this book. Maybe someday, when I feel ready and not so afraid, I might put out my version of timepieces which he might read? who knows!
You can grab a copy for yourself on Amazon.