artisans of time
the art of marquetry
when nature becomes art
The marquetry artisan, with a palette of up to 130 species of wood in 60 to 70 natural hues, delicately cuts, assembles, and veneers their pieces into intricate designs. Each grain of wood whispers its purpose to them, guiding their deft and precise hands. Over time, they curate a rich collection of wood, weaving them into creations that blend art and nature in a dance of exquisite detail.
The artist begins with a scale drawing to determine the contours of each piece, down to the tiniest detail.
The specialist’s line drawing is then used as a base to cut out the contours.
Miniature marquetry consists of stacking sheets of veneer into blocks, which are then cut with a fretsaw or a chevalet.
They use their entire palette of wood, mostly in natural colors, which they cut and assemble, glue and paste.
The Minute Repeater “Guitarist” wristwatch features a dial in wood marquetry that required the assembly of 170 tiny veneer parts, Ref. 5278/50R-001 (2024).
The first piece of Patek Philippe marquetry was the Black Crowned Cranes of Kenya pocket watch, Ref. 982/115 (2008).
The second marquetry timepiece produced was the Royal Tiger wristwatch, Ref. 5077P, two years later.
A recent craft in watchmaking
We unveiled our first marquetry-adorned watch in 2008. Mesmerized by a marquetry artisan's skill who had created a box for one of our clients, we challenged her to miniaturize her craft for a watch dial. She triumphed, creating a pocket watch followed by a wristwatch two years later.
Marquetry artisans use precision tools such as scalpels, chisels, and fine-pointed tweezers to assemble intricate patterns from tiny pieces of wood.
The principle is always to cut the veneers according to a drawing and glue them to a base.
The paper cutouts are glued to veneer sheets with thick hot glue, they are then fixed to a gold surface and pressed.
the marquetry-maker’s tools
Marquetry demands exceptional skill, precision, and patience, qualities that take years, even decades, to develop. The meticulous nature of marquetry, involving detailed cutting, assembling, and finishing of tiny wood pieces, makes it a highly labor-intensive craft. This is why today, marquetry-makers working in the watchmaking industry are incredibly scarce and valuable.
leopard pocket watch
Ref. 995/137J-001 depicts an extraordinarily lifelike portrait of a leopard. This unique piece unites wood marquetry, hand-engraving and champlevé enamel.
portrait of a white egret pocket watch
Ref. 995/143G depicts a majestic white egret with extraordinary detail in wood marquetry on the case back.
Bear and Salmon Pocket watch
Ref. 995/144J owes its realistic scene to a work of wood marquetry comprising 315 tiny veneer parts and 75 even tinier inlays.
swan pocket watch
Ref. 995/130G showcases the highly refined technique of micro wood marquetry, it required veneer shaped from 23 species of wood.
