The two worlds of street art and haute horlogerie are crashing together in a big way. Famed graffiti artist Cyril Kongo and Richard Mille have teamed up for the brand new RM 68-01 Tourbillon Cyril Kongo watch.
By Jordan Smith The two worlds of street art and haute horlogerie are crashing together in a big way. Famed graffiti artist Cyril Kongo and Richard Mille have teamed up for the brand new RM 68-01 Tourbillon Cyril Kongo watch.
The new limited edition piece bares a very personal touch from Kongo. Each watch in the line is taken in hand by Kong and individually painted using micro-spray painting tools. This ensures that each and every piece is a unique work of art.
“I come from graffiti. All my work originates there. It was my school for painting, I learned in the street. I need to remain in touch with that world while at the same time looking at what’s happening elsewhere. Graffiti is a language with its own codes, a form of writing, whether this be on a gigantic wall, on canvas, or any other surface. I am not a painter bound to a single space, nor to any particular surface,” says Kongo.
Kongo further expands on the process of creating the piece: “It took the development of special tools, and over a year of experimentation for me to be capable of painting on a watch some five centimetres (two inches) square. Certain pieces were barely a few millimetres long, some even smaller, and I had to put the lettering directly on them, enough for visual effect but without using much paint so as to avoid throwing off the balance of the movement. It’s
as though, starting from a complete automobile, I had to paint the chassis, the engine, each piston etc.”
Housed within a case comprising an NTPT Carbon caseband with black ceramic bezels, the movement features a flurry of colors and design elements reminiscent of Kongo’s street art.
Limited to 30 pieces worldwide.
