No, today we will not analyze the artistic value of the works of Honore de Balzac, although many scenes from this collection could decorate the sinful subject of our conversation.
Hours, when they become a manifestation of vanity, thereby, by the will of the owner, embark on a sinful path. But there are also watches whose creators are no less guilty of mortal sin than their customers. And what a sin! Yes, we are talking about lust, the undisguised search for carnal pleasures. For a person, this was considered the shortest path to the underworld, but watchmakers saw this as a way to "liberate the artistic imagination."
Well, when the watch dial reveals the classical nude to the eyes of highly artistic performance, but when fellatio, all kinds of mutual caresses, sodomy, heaps of legs, breasts and buttocks are casually exposed to parade of relaxed wrists, something needs to be done about it. Or maybe not - just in this way the owner of chronometric erotica and porn gives you a sign that he does not mind talking.
By the way, the English phrase "conversation pieces" - "clock for conversations" - just refers to this feature of these works of watchmaking art: to remove the stiffness of the interlocutors and untie their tongues. Get ready to exchange jokes and stories from the life of "one friend / acquaintance", and it is up to you where and how you want to continue communication.
Introduced in the 18th century, watches with erotic "complications" were a response to the widespread fascination of the European elite with artistic erotica. Equipped with mechanisms set in motion at certain intervals or by pressing a button, such pocket watches with a minute rehearsal were mini-theaters, on the dial stages of which almost living jacquemart figures performed. Connected to the wheel system, they moved until the main spring was finished.
In the simplest "porn-watches" sinful delights were painted with varnish or enamel on the dials or on the covers, in the most complex, real mechanical performances were played out. Since moral dogma forbade advertising the intimate aspects of life, the artists used interchangeable covers or double dials. At the beginning of the 19th century, the church forbade the production and sale of such watches. The clergy hunted them not only for moral reasons, but also because the heroes of piquant scenes were often cheerful monks and nuns.
Chronometers with naked nature were also confiscated by the gendarmes and destroyed at the place of seizure, so that no one else could accidentally see the obscene. Particularly skillfully executed and structurally complex specimens often managed to avoid execution and safely survive difficult times in private collections. The passion for collecting "indecent" watches is inherent in many celebrities, among whom, for example, was Henry Ford, and from the living singer Elton John ...
Over time, chronometric erotica moved from pockets to wrists, and then somehow faded away. I recently came across a frivolous story about a 1950 Cuervo y Sobrinos watch that was auctioned off, but it wasn't until the early 1990s that Blancpain and Gerald Genta really revived interest in this forgotten genre of watchmaking. Other manufacturers followed suit, and today erotic watches are in the collections of many influential manufactories, although few talk about it openly.
But some are not shy: remember Ulysse Nardin, including the 2019 Classico collection, on the dials of 10 models of which the drawings of the Italian master of erotic illustration, Milo Manara, were transferred. And the Genevan workshop of Sven Andersen (one of the founders of the Academy of Independent Watchmakers AHCI) annually releases several copies with frivolous plots on the dials.
Andersen is known among fans of high chronometry as an excellent professional with an excellent sense of humor. His watches are animated by characteristic characters, and their number is not always limited to two. Different brands depict moments of passion in different ways: for the same Andersen, the image is applied in broad strokes, almost grotesque, without emphasis on nuances and details, while someone, on the contrary, writes out all the subtle little things with enamel or an engraving engraver.
Making erotic watches is always a journey into the country of exotic images and an attempt to fulfill no less exotic desires of customers who often want to see themselves in one of the voluptuous heroes. Such requests, by the way, are not something unusual in the modern practice of watch houses.
We live in an exhibitionist society. Erotic games of fictitious characters were depicted on antique clocks. Today, many put their personal lives on display. In this regard, a pornographic picture on the arm is the same as a thong on the hips. They allow you to show what should remain hidden for the most part.
But there is a unique know-how hidden in chronometric erotica. Antique stationary clocks were often completed with movable automatons, which made their simple movements to a melodic chime. Accordingly, in relation to pocket watches, these automatons had to be reduced as much as possible and adapted to the performance of characteristic movements.
Carving miniature figurines, decorating them with engraving and enamel was available only to selected artisans. Erotic watches are the essence and quintessence of watch traditions, but at the same time a very specific, marginal quintessence, interesting to a rather narrow circle of lovers and collectors.
In this regard, should the clock remain unchanged and canonical, not subject to the trends of the time? Perhaps, but modern manufacturers do not seem to agree with this statement, because they are willing to experiment with "slippery" topics. Today, erotica is becoming more and more deeply embedded in public life, and watch companies must adapt to these changes so as not to become boring. After all, porn performances can be viewed on the Internet, but try to create this on the scale of the dial - it's worth a lot.
