Our first live auction of 2026, the PHILLIPS Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII, takes place on 9 & 10 May, at the Hotel President, at Quai Wilson 47, in central Geneva. The auction includes more than 200 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think it's one of the best catalogues we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories featured in the sale over the next month, including the unique Quel Homard Est-Il ? (What's the Time, Mr. Lobster?) wristwatch featured here.
– By Sophie Furley; Images by Danièle D’Angelo
Animals have been gracing the dials of timekeepers for centuries.
Creatures such as birds, butterflies, ducks, and deer have been captured in grand feu enamel on pocket watches since the 17th century. In more recent times, the menagerie has expanded to Chinese Zodiac animals, and ever more exotic species such as panthers, pandas, and howling wolves. Yet it seems safe to say that this is the very first watch to feature a lobster!
The project grew out of a desire to showcase the work of Les Ateliers Blandenier. This Geneva-based watch industry subcontractor was looking to find ways to communicate about all the different métiers d’art it has mastered.
“We wanted to be a little more visible,” explains Christophe Blandenier, Founder of Les Ateliers Blandenier. “The idea was to shine a light on the rare artisanal crafts that we have in-house without compromising the confidentiality that our clients demand. After some reflection, we decided to make a watch.”
All for a Good Cause
From the outset, the project was structured as a charitable initiative under the name PARVIS – an acronym for Partenaires, Art, Rencontres, Vision, Innovation, and Suisse – to promote artistic craftsmanship in the service of philanthropy. All proceeds will benefit Paint a Smile, a charitable foundation that creates mural art for children’s hospitals and clinics.
Since its founding in 2000, Paint a Smile has completed over 215 projects in 18 countries, and the funds raised by this new watch will support new initiatives across Switzerland, bringing moments of color and joy to children when they need them most.
Working alongside communications expert Nicole de Rham, Blandenier rallied more than 80 partners to bring the project to life, beginning with independent watchmaker Ludovic Ballouard, who graciously donated one of his Upside Down timepieces, and Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, who offered to include the watch in the upcoming Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII.
The project also has a Godfather, watch industry legend Jean-Claude Biver, and a Godmother, Carole Hubscher, President of Caran d’Ache.
An Educational Connection
Another aspect that mattered greatly to Blandenier was collaborating with students from different art schools, giving them the opportunity to work on a real-life project.
Art students from Geneva’s higher education schools, including La Haute Ecole d’Art et de Design (HEAD) and the Centre de Formation Professionnelle des Arts, took part in the creative process. Six master’s students from the HEAD’s watch design faculty proposed a selection of dial designs that Blandenier would ultimately bring to life. The brief was to bring the worlds of haute horlogerie and culinary arts together.
“There are so many similarities between these two professions,” notes Blandenier. “I always tell my team they need to find the right gesture, and cooking is full of its own precise gestures. Precision and timing are essential in both professions, and we wanted to explore other worlds and draw these parallels.”
The Winning Design
The winning design was a watch dial imagined by students Iris Grondein and Léa Maniscalco, whose concept depicted a plate of lobsters and lemons. It unanimously impressed the jury with its originality, vibrant colors, and the rich métiers d’art possibilities it offered.
Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down
Independent watchmaker Ludovic Ballouard’s Upside Down timepiece provided the ideal canvas for this playful, unconventional design.
His watches feature 12 hour markers that rotate on small disks. Eleven numbers are literally upside down – giving the watch its name – while the current hour is shown right-side up. The movement delivers a double-jumping hour, with both the new and outgoing hours jumping simultaneously. The minutes are read in the traditional way via a central minute hand. For the lobster design, however, the numerals are replaced by lobster claws, with the claw corresponding to the current hour shown upside down.
The Making of the Dial
Crafting the dial was no easy feat, given the stringent technical requirements of the Upside Down model and its 12 mobile hour markers. And yet, the mechanism opened the door to an additional level of creativity.
“The animation adds so much to the dial; it is a really fun touch,” says Blandenier. The blue background, lemons, and lobsters were created using grand feu enamel, fired in a kiln at temperatures exceeding 800 degrees Celsius. The lobsters were first hand-engraved in white gold before being coated with vivid red enamel. Their legs were then added using the miniature painting technique to achieve a rounded, three-dimensional effect.
The lemons were perhaps the trickiest element to execute, as they were both enameled with a single-haired paintbrush and cut by laser. Cutting enamel via laser was a first for Blandenier, making this dial a true prototype.
“With métiers d’art, there are often two levels of reading,” explains Blandenier. “First, with the naked eye, where you immediately feel the depth and perspective. Then, under a loupe or microscope, a second reading emerges, revealing details invisible to the naked eye and heightening the sense of wonder.”
Under magnification, the tiny lobsters, with their uneven, gleaming shells, look so realistic you could almost believe you were standing in a fish market or at a seaside restaurant.
A Journey of Discovery
When the artisans at Les Ateliers Blandenier started on the dial, all the claws were identical in size. It was Ludovic Ballouard’s brother, who lives by the sea in Brittany, France, and Esteban Valle, Director of Domaine de Châteauvieux, who both pointed out that real lobster claws are asymmetrical, with one claw for pinching and the other for crushing. Last-minute adjustments were swiftly made to the claws, enlarging the right claws to reflect this natural detail.
During discussions with his brother, Ballouard also learned of the existence of rare golden lobsters – estimated at one in 30 million – so he suggested including one of these elusive creatures on the dial as well. The “What’s the Time, Mr. Lobster?” wristwatch is far more than a witty take on the Upside Down; it is a joyful collision of haute horlogerie, culinary arts, education, and philanthropy. From the single-hair brushstrokes of each lemon to the one-in-30-million golden crustacean, every detail speaks to the curiosity and generosity that drove the project.
When the hammer finally falls in Geneva this May, one lucky bidder will walk away with a unique conversation piece on their wrist, while countless children will share in its legacy through the colors it brings to hospital walls across Switzerland.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII catalogue right here.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
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