This Halloween, Swiss watch brand ArtyA presents the Spider watch that contains the corpse of a real spider. Eerily displayed in the dial, this taboo concept is brought to life (and death) by the imaginative Yvan Arpa. The fearsome collection of Halloween Watches follows with dials thrusting blood, skulls, and screaming faces.

Each Artya Halloween watch is subjected to the same lighting deformation before being prepared for construction and dial design. Each Artya piece unique is a luxury quality and Swiss-made with the heart of a watchmaker and the spirit of an artist. Only unique pieces 1/1.

Technical details

Movement
Entirely manufactured and assembled by master watchmakers in Switzerland, the self-winding mechanical movement’s balance oscillates at 28,800 vibrations per hour.

Case
Engraved, moulded and put through a series of severe batterings, the case is crafted in stainless steel grade 316.
Satin-finished or clad in a black PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating, the case is also available in a thermal processed version in which it undergoes an electric charge of 100,000 volts, 200,000 volts, 500,000 volts and even 1,000,000 volts.
Water-resistant up to 50 meters

Dial
Each dial is a unique work of art. Hand decorated according to 17 specific artistic techniques up to now unexploited in the watchmaking field. They combine collage, application of dyes and pigments, forging, etc…

Strap
The hand-sewn strap is made of high-tech rubber combined with processed “Alzavel waterproof” calfskin or with “Crazy frog” tanned toad skin.

Warranty
24 months

ARTYA’s Tesla Squelette Quadri-Rotor watches represent the amalgamation of the creative imaginations of Yvan Arpa and his two teams. The first team is comprised of finest master watchmakers and the second team consists of contemporary artists.

Firstly, the Team of master watchmakers has meticulously blanked 3 oscillating weights ballasted by pieces of copper wire, each one lovingly wound by hand like an electrical coil, in order to increase the inertia of the main oscillating weight to which they are attached.

Then they painstakingly shaped the hands, twisting the copper wire to resemble a form reminiscent of the first electrical elements. After that, they minutely decorated the movement 2671 in accordance with fine watchmaking codes (circular graining and Côtes de Genève).

The Contemporary Art team has radically changed the look of a conventional watch case through the use of lightning, which, by means of thermal combustion, has brought about a unique transformation of colour and form. The miniature dials are then coated with filaments of gold leaf combined with pigments in a manual process unique in the field of watchmaking.

The space between the movement and the case is a genuine example of skeleton decoration in which ARTYA’s master jeweller-watchmakers explore 3 themes:

• The Quadri rotor électrique, a nod to electricity with its diodes, elements and other coils, powerfully evocative of the accoutrements required to tame the power of lightning.
• The Quadri rotor à filaments, a homage to the copper wires rampant throughout the world of electricity.
• The Quadri rotor bijoux, in which precious or semi-precious stones, seemingly suspended, appear to float amid the skeleton-work like a constellation in the heavens, thus harnessing the full power of light to which they are subjected.

Technical details

Model: Tesla Squelette Quadri-Rotor 1/1 Unique Piece

Movement
Self-winding movement entirely manufactured in Switzerland
Power reserve: 42 hours
Jewelling: 25 jewels

Case
316 steel Silver-coloured
“Coup de foudre” collection: cases engraved, mutilated, tortured, “lightning-struck”; 100,000 volts, 200,000 volts, 500,000 volts or 1,000,000 volts
Diameter Ø47mm
Crystal Sapphire
Back Open, fitted with a sapphire crystal
Water resistance 50 metres

Bracelet
“Alzavel waterproof” treated leather and hand-sewn high-tech rubber, or “crazy frog” tanned cane toad
Buckle: Treated steel pin buckle

Guarantee
24 months

Founded by Yvan Arpa, Swiss luxury watch brand Artya introduced the “Artpiece 1/1” and the “Coup de foudre” collections at the opening of the Geneva Time Exhibition from 17th to 22nd January 2010.

As a vibrant tribute to the Gilbert & George spirit, Artya conceives a contemporary work of art, a true allegory for the creative process that has inspired and guided this maverick collection.

At the crossroads where the sanctified traditions of fine craftsmanship encounter the bold novelty of contemporary art and where the creative talent of the artist forges with the watchmaker’s dexterity to craft a unique masterpiece, a matchless work of art is magically born: “Artpiece 1/1”, an exceptional timepiece, part of the first Artya collection of 360 unique pieces 1/1. “Coup de foudre” represents a second collection featuring watchcases literally struck by lightning.

To create these timepieces, Yvan Arpa called upon a painter that he knows well and has been close to for two decades, Dominique Arpa-Cirkpa, his spouse. He entrusted her with the dials of the Artpiece 1/1 collection.

These dials embody aspects of miniaturized paintings. As a boundless expression of the intricate precision that commands watchmaking, they turn into true works of art reigning supreme on the wrist of the aesthete, the enthusiast or the collector.

Artpiece 1/1 – 360 unique pieces

Each piece in the “Artpiece 1/1” collection is unique. Created by the artist, crafted by the watchmaker, these one-of-kind artistic creations are each distinctly made; none can be doubled or replaced.

“Coup de foudre”

Obeying the artist’s whim and imagination, the watchcase from the “Coup de foudre” collection are struck by lightning and undergoes thermal combustion, moulding, engraving and various drastic processes that are handcrafted in the Artya workshops.

Technical details

Movement
Entirely manufactured and assembled by master watchmakers in Switzerland, the self-winding mechanical movement’s balance oscillates at 28,800 vibrations per hour
Endowed with incredible precision, the movement is fitted with noncircular square-shaped gears around the works of Mr. Pascal Winkler, an eminent HES Professor of microtechnical engineering at the HEArc located in Le Locle, Switzerland

Case
Engraved, moulded and put through a series of severe batterings, the case is crafted in stainless steel grade 316
Artpiece 1/1: Satin-finished black PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition)
Coup de foudre: Embossed, defaced, tortured and struck by lightning i.e.100,000 volts, 200,000 volts, 500,000 volts and even 1,000,000 volts
Water-resistant up to 50 meters

Dial
Each dial is a unique work of art. Hand decorated according to 17 specific artistic techniques up to now unexploited in the watchmaking field. They combine collage, application of dyes and pigments, forging, etc.

Strap
The hand-sewn strap is made of high-tech rubber combined with processed “Alzavel waterproof” calfskin or with “Crazy frog” tanned toad skin.

Warranty
24 months