There are countless examples of architects expanding beyond buildings and architecture to engage with product design. This month alone, for example, our news coverage has included a swirling whisky bottle designed by a Zaha Hadid Architects director, a lighting product range by Snøhetta, and a series of biophilic design products by ecoLogicStudio.

In particular, the fashion industry has played host to several intriguing collaborations with big architectural names. Late last year, Frank Gehry collaborated with Louis Vuitton on a handbag for Art Basel Miami Beach one year after Louis Vuitton’s Peter Marino collaboration while, in 2022, Amale Andraos debuted a jewelry collection for Judith Ripka. To further explore this relationship between architecture, product, and fashion, we have rounded up four recent examples of notable architects engaging in the design of watches.

Frank Gehry for Louis Vuitton: Tambour Moon Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève Sapphire

A collaboration between Frank Gehry and La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the Tambour Moon collection was inspired by Gehry’s design for the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and the Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul. Like their architectural forebearers, the watch is heavily transparent to five uninterrupted views of its inner workings.

“My inspiration comes from the sea, fish, boats, the nautical world because they embody the notion of movement, mobility, speed”, said Gehry about the collection “I like to express movement, inject this energy and dynamic into static materials.”

Álvaro Siza for Lebond Watches: Lebond Siza

Swiss watchmaker, Lebond Watches collaborated with Siza on this piece inspired by the architect’s Leça swimming pool complex. The watch case shape was based on the square main pool, while the hands were adapted from the minimal restroom signs Siza used across several projects. The watch case back displays the exposed movement inside, while the signature ‘A. Siza' floats on a sapphire crystal.

“Space and time move architecture,” Siza said at the time of the watch’s unveiling. “There already exists many beautiful round watches. I want to create something different. It is an elegant and sophisticated watch. It will be my Sunday watch.”

Eduardo Souto de Moura for Lebond Watches: Lebond Souto Moura

Lebond’s collaboration with Souto de Moura builds on the watchmaker's previous work with Alvaro Siza which, according to Lebond, “proved that magic happens when celebrated architects take up their pen and design a watch.” Lebond Souto Moura is the architect’s take on a diver’s watch, where a familiar shape is given a literal twist to change the user’s perception of both the watch and time itself.

“The 12 is the reference, and we rotate 30 degrees for optimal visibility on the wrist,” said Eduardo Souto de Moura about the watch at the time of its design. “I want the watch to be and feel as slim as possible.”

Rafael Moneo for Cauny Watches: The Architects of Time Series

For Swiss watch brand Cauny, Pritzker Prize winner Rafael Moneo paired straight lines and a square design with hands shaded in rosso pompeiano, a specific shade of red. The color was inspired by Goya’s painting Familia de Carlos IV in the Museo del Prado, who collaborated on the special edition, and for which Moneo delivered a renovation.

“Here, as in the museum’s renovation, Moneo seeks to move the past into the present, and does so by adding a surprising color to a classical design,” Cauny says about the watch. “The quality of the materials is also worth mentioning: the movement is extra-thin and quartz, made in Japan, the glass pure sapphire, and the strap is made out of Horween leather, in Chicago, and matches the square language found in the case.”