The colourful circular design of our watch is based on a lustrous printed silk textile from the Wiener Werkstätte (Viennese Workshops) in the Museum's collection. The textile division at the designers' cooperative was begun in 1905, and for nearly thirty years it produced refined and graphically elegant designs, distinctive in their use of flat shapes and bold colours. The workshops employed more than a hundred artisans active across the spectrum of the decorative arts, from jewellery and furniture to graphic design. 18K gold overlay case. Printed plastic band. Quartz movement. Band: adjusts from 5 7/8'' to 7 7/8''L, Case: 1 1/4'' diam.
- 18K gold overlay case
- Printed plastic band
- Quartz movement
- Band: adjusts from 5 7/8'' to 7 7/8'', Case: 1 1/4'' diam.
In 1903, the Wiener Werkstätte, or Viennese Workshops, was founded amid the excitement and vitality of turn-of-the-century Vienna. A designers' cooperative based on the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement, the workshops strove to provide a wide range of well-designed handmade products for a sophisticated audience. Its rectilinear functional style-based on meticulous proportions and restrained detail-was seen as an antidote to excessively ornate traditional forms.