Puzzle Pieces: Introducing the Masters of Marquetry in Luxury Watches

As watchmakers seek to stand out through artisanal crafts, many are turning to experts in marquetry to create one-of-a-kind dials. Working with a diverse collection of materials, from wood and feathers to gemstone fragments, these artisans painstakingly build up exquisite collages, writes Rachael Taylor.

Completing a regular jigsaw is task enough for most of us. But what if the pieces you had to put together were nanoscopic in comparison, with no convenient interlocking blanks and tabs and no picture on the box to guide you? This is the challenge for the marquetry artist. The watch world is no stranger to working in microns. Infinitesimal precision is, after all, its passion, so watchmakers no doubt feel an affinity with the marquetry maker. They both work on intricate puzzles, and at some watch maisons the two crafts are being united.

Generally, we might best associate marquetry with wood. By the late 17th century, it was a popular method of decorating furniture, with craftspeople using slivers of wood to create intricate floral patterns. This is a skill that Patek Philippe has returned to. This year, as part of its Rare Handcrafts collection, the watchmaker unveiled a pocket watch titled Portrait of a White Egret (Ref. 995/143G-001). The dial itself was a vibrant blue guilloché, but the outside of the white gold case, which can be snapped shut to hide the time, is a portrait of the namesake bird that has been crafted from 53 pieces of veneer and 400 wooden inlays, cut from 18 species of tree to provide an array of colours, textures and veining. In the same collection, Patek Philippe showcased a more modern take on wood marquetry. This time, artisans used the craft to create dials for a design called Morning on the Beach (Ref. 5089G-129), which was limited to 10 pieces. The dial shows a surfer carrying his board towards the waves, with the artwork – which does seem painterly in its execution – crafted from 175 slivers of 23 different types of wood. 

Watchmaker Louis Moinet chose to use a slightly different material for the marquetry dial of its Around the World in 8 Days Singapore timepiece. “I chose straw marquetry for the Singapore watch due to its vibrant and animated look, which perfectly reflects the flamboyance and diversity of this magnificent town,” says Jean-Marie Schaller, the brand’s founder and creative director.

Straw marquetry is a craft with a long tradition. It requires patience, skill, and a lot of care when handling the material. One of the greatest challenges is finding these skills, as straw marquetry artisans are rare.

Schaller found what he was looking for in the Swiss company GVA Cadrans, which provides specialist skills for jewellers and watchmakers, including grand feu enamel, miniature painting, chasing, and marquetry. Director Frankie Gérard explains how his team crafted the straw marquetry required for the Louis Moinet dial: “First, each rye stalk is dyed red or orange. The selection is a long process because there can be significant variations in shades of this natural material. The stalks are then cut and manually flattened. Each stem is then laid and applied piece by piece to cover the entire dial, a meticulous process where the joins must be perfect – there is no room for error.”

Feathers are another popular material used in marquetry. Brands including Harry Winston, Dior, Piaget, and Corum have all experimented with feather marquetry in the past, cutting up and interlaying the plumage of exotic birds. Bulgari first started working with feather marquetry in the 1970s, and today, it uses naturally shed peacock feathers within its Divas’ Dream Peacock collection. A version of this watch shown during Dubai Watch Week in November uses peacock feathers to create a mosaic pattern, which is fully visible thanks to the absence of watch hands – instead, two floating diamonds tell the time. Another recent Bulgari marquetry launch was the result of a collaboration with Japanese architect Tadao Ando. This time, the Maison used fragments of aventurine, tiger’s eye, and mother of pearl to create dials for its Serpenti models that look like snakeskin. 

“Marquetry demands a skilled hand and unwavering attention to detail,” says Pascal Béchu, managing director of Arnold & Son. The watchmaker used aventurine glass, the mother-of-pearl marquetry, to create evening seascapes on the dials of its Perpetual Moon 38 collection of moon phase timepieces. The moon itself and some of the waves are crafted from shimmering ruthenium crystals. “We handle parts with thicknesses of just a few millimetres, using delicate and brittle materials like glass or mother-of-pearl,” says Béchu. “To achieve a truly remarkable result, it’s vital to not only use noble materials but also to meticulously design the composition of colours in natural materials, which are inherently unique.”

The Piaget Essence of Extraleganza watch, launched this year as part of the brand’s 150thanniversary celebrations, weaves together sections of chrysoprase, malachite, diamonds and gold engraved in the house’s Palace Decor style. Marquetry dials also featured in last year’s Piaget Metaphoria high jewellery collection, in which it presented the Undulata watch with a dial crafted from wood, straw, leather, and parchment (which was awarded the Métiers d’Art Prize at GPHG in November 2023), and the Alitura watch with a mosaic-like dial of black opal, sodalite, chalcedony, pietersite and diamonds. “Each of the 49 pieces of ornamental stone has to be patiently cut and added to the patchwork,” says Stéphanie Sivrière, director of the Piaget design studio for jewellery, high jewellery and watchmaking, of the Alitura watch. “The moment of truth is when you add the hands, as they will apply pressure to the centre, which can break the puzzle. Every single step has its own risk.”

Due to the risky nature of marquetry, Sivrière is a firm believer in calling in the experts. Her go-to for this artisanal skill is Paris-based master Rose Saneuil. “Each time, they work along my vision, and we shape it together into something which is always very surprising,” says Sivrière. “It’s a miniature work that you’re never tired of discovering. The unicity of the materials used is also a strong point for the collectors, who sometimes buy because of the craft or because the piece is signed by Rose Saneuil. Whatever the motive is, it’s a piece of poetry that you can wear on your wrist.”  

Marquetry watch dials – be they handcrafted in straw or stones – are a thing of beauty and a testament to the skill and patience of the craftsperson who laboured to construct these tiny artistic puzzles. And as the poet John Keats once wrote, A thing of beauty is a joy forever.