When Su embroidery, an intangible cultural heritage, meets century-old watchmaking craftsmanship, what kind of artistic sparks will emerge? On the occasion of the brand’s 70th anniversary, Shanghai Watch launched the modern Magnolia series embroidery watch inspired by Wen Zhengming’s “Magnolia” in the Ming Dynasty. It condenses the poetic aesthetics of Jiangnan talents into a 36 mm square inch, creating a timepiece artwork exclusive to Oriental women.
The magnolia flower blooming on the dial comes from the 30 hours of meticulous work of the Suzhou embroiderer. The three-dimensional embroidery presented with 0.03 mm silk thread perfectly reproduces the essence of Gu embroidery in the Ming Dynasty of “using the needle as the pen and the thread as the ink”. The veins of the petals are clearly visible, and against the black satin background, it looks like an original ink painting on the wrist. In order to highlight the main body of the embroidery, the designer boldly abandoned the traditional time scale and used willow leaf-shaped hollow hands. Even the brand LOGO is cleverly hidden on the inside of the sapphire mirror, creating a model of minimalist aesthetics.
The design of the lugs is a stroke of genius – the shape of the cheongsam buckle is a cross-border fusion with the “Heaven and Earth Rod” device for mounting calligraphy and painting. After the stainless steel lug rod is mirror-polished, it looks like the center of an unfolded scroll or the delicate buckle of the cheongsam collar. Paired with a silk cowhide strap, its unique silk luster complements the embroidered magnolia. Against the backdrop of the 9.8mm slim case, it perfectly balances artistry and wearing comfort.
The two new products have their own charm: “Wang Chun Hui” uses silver and white embroidery to interpret the beauty of buds, and is paired with the cold texture of stainless steel to highlight the soft yet strong characteristics of contemporary women; “Welcome to Spring” uses apricot gradient embroidery thread to depict blooming magnolias. The rose gold case and warm and lustrous silk strap illustrate the elegance of Oriental women. Both watches are equipped with ST1812 automatic mechanical movement, and the precision mechanical rhythm of fish scale polishing can be appreciated through the bottom cover.
On the occasion of its 70th anniversary, Shanghai Watch uses intangible cultural heritage skills to communicate with modern watchmaking, and uses an artistic dial surrounded by 52 brilliant zircons to pay tribute to the pioneering spirit of the city of Shanghai. This is not only a carrier of time, but also a wearable work of art handed down from generation to generation, recording the eternal bloom of oriental aesthetics in the long river of time.
