De Stijl (“The Style”), arguably the Netherlands’ most influential modern art movement (typified by artists Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondriaan and Gerrit Rietveld), turns 100 this year. To celebrate, Amsterdam’s leading watch retailer, Ace Jewelers, has partnered with Nomos Glashütte on a special limited edition timepiece.
Why Nomos?
Nomos Glashütte’s design agency, Berlinerblau, is inspired by design movements like Deutscher Werkbund and the Bauhaus school, making the company the perfect fit to collaborate on the De Stijl limited edition watch.
“I have been a fan of the De Stijl movement for as long as I can remember,” Alon Ben Joseph, CEO of Ace Jewelers says. “As a child, my favorite painting was Broadway Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondriaan. Collaborating with Nomos on the De Stijl 100th Anniversary limited edition was a natural fit for both the art movement and the brand. Ultimately, we wanted to create a timepiece that is a tribute to De Stijl, and that will still be in style another 100 years from now.”
The Ace x Nomos 100 Years De Stijl Limited Edition watch features a white silver-plated dial in a 38mm stainless steel Orion case. The hour markers are an ode to De Stijl — each features a different length and line weight, as if they were taken straight off Mondriaan’s Composition with Lines or Rietveld’s Red & Blue Chair. The result is an asymmetrical composition of lines, squares and rectangles. Every hour marker is unique, and, according to Ace Jewelers, represents the uniqueness of each passing moment. The time is displayed by deep black pencil hour and minute hands.
While the dial is completely monochrome, De Stijl’s famous primary colors are found in the hand-wound Alpha manufacture movement. It features blued screws, red synthetic rubies and a yellow balance wheel, which can be seen through the sapphire crystal case back. The watch, limited to 100 numbered pieces, comes on a black Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan strap.
The limited edition watch celebrating De Stijl is now available for pre-order at Ace Jewelers boutiques and online via their e-Boutique: www.AceJewelers.com.
Watch Specifications:
Model: Orion 38 De Stijl 1907 – 2017 Limited Edition for Ace Jewelers
Reference number: 384.S4
Limitation: 100 pieces worldwide
Changes made: De Stijl-inspired dial with matching hands, custom engraved case back, individually numbered
Base model: NOMOS Orion 38 – reference 384
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Movement: NOMOS Caliber Alpha*
Diameter: diameter 38mm, height 8.86mm, lug width 19mm
Glass: domed sapphire crystal front & back
Water resistance: 3 ATM/30 meters
Strap: black Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan, available in S, M or L size. Pin buckle.
Movement specifications
Alpha: in-house built NOMOS caliber with manual winding
Diameter: 10 ½ lines (23.3 mm)
Movement height: 2.6 mm
Power reserve: approx. 43 hours
Characteristics: Decentralized seconds, stop-seconds mechanism, Glashütte three-quarter plate, 17 jewels, Glashütte stopwork, Incabloc shock protection, balance spring from Nivarox 1A, adjusted in six positions, tempered blue screws, rhodium-plated movement surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage, ratchet and crown wheel with Glashütte sunburst
