Architect Santiago Calatrava has collaborated with Swiss jewelry company Gübelin to develop a limited edition watch. Named the Ipsomatic, the piece is the first watch to be designed by Calatrava and is listed by Gübelin at 34,900 CHF (over 40,000 US Dollars). 

“I was inspired by the idea of time,” Calatrava said about the watch. “Time exists because there is change, change means movement, the eternal essence of time is the dynamic component of its shape.”

According to Gübelin, the watch’s design is informed by the “organic, flowing, and sculptural design” of Calatrava’s architecture. The platinum watch likewise features curved shapes as well as an engraved drawing by Calatrava on the back of the watch depicting two bulls. The hand-drawn sketch was engraved with a four-step laser process with different engraving depths applied to achieve varying shades of color.

“The two bulls represent the positive energy, the force and the permanence in a universe which is constantly changing in time,” Calatrava notes.

Other features of the watch include a limited edition marking “One of 170” on the back, and a ruby embedded on the edge of the clasp. A stylized hourglass is also engraved on the watch’s onion-shaped crown, used to operate and set the functions of the watch.

Calatrava is one of several famous architects to design watches in recent times. Earlier this year, we published a roundup of four such architects-turned-watch designers, namely Frank Gehry, Álvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura, and Rafael Moneo.