Talking Time

Talking Time
Magazine View

“Skulls are a human way of relating to time and they’re also a universal symbol which anyone can relate to. I lived in Mexico for three years as a child, and The Day of the Dead festival is such a vivid memory of mine.”

Fiona is referring to her first branded watch resembling the Mexican Sugar Skulls, based on time and mortality. She sits up and opens her etching folder to present a series of detailed skull pictures, resembling that of Da Vinci’s. It’s a combination of art, engineering, and the innovation of a scientist.


Historical references are a big inspiration for Fiona, as she enthusiastically explains, “The first clocks were in shapes of things that people would have recognized, like a skull, beetle, a cross, or an animal.” Fiona takes the concept of recognition, and with pure creativity, turns it into something everyone can relate to: a watch.

Fiona’s background in fine art was followed by a Masters in Design for the Luxury Industry at ECAL in Switzerland. Her studies and skill then opened a door enabling her to collaborate with some of the greatest, creative haute horology brands, like Speake-Marin, Febargé and a co-creation with Swiss clock manufacturer L’EPEE 1839.

Collaborating with professional watchmakers is really important to Fiona. “Watchmaking traditionally had lots of different manufacturers and each one was a specialist in their field, like the gear chase maker or someone who did the movement, that’s how it used to be. Then with the growth of brands, big groups brought everyone in house. I’m going back to the traditional way of watchmaking.”

These limited edition pieces are hand-made in Switzerland. Locally, they are available exclusively at Provident Jewelry. Left: “Skull” Right: “Petit Skull” (Blue)

Fiona’s collaborations adapt each specific skill of the individual watch component expert, and she then puts that into her designs. She is also very aware of the people who put the watch together. “Each watch is different as they are handmade and the person putting them together will have their personality at some point poured into the watch. We only make forty watches a year so the person making it really likes that. They don't bore of having to make a production of 1000 plus.”

Fiona’s face is determined and manner animated when she states; “Collaboration is so important to me; using a chain of experts without which, there would not be any innovation.”  

Fiona believes with everything being digital today, it makes a handmade watch extremely special because they become a cultural touchstone. “Winding the watch up and watching it come to life, there is something quite childlike to that, so I think that is the appeal. It’s a very simple beautiful movement. When it’s working, it looks like its alive. It’s something people can relate to, and it’s tangible. My approach to watchmaking, in general, is that they are anchored in universal themes.” Fiona smiles infectiously, and it’s impossible not to be captivated with her enthusiasm and passion for the watch.

Fiona’s new series titled Chaos, is a representation of time itself. “Visually, it’s the idea of an explosion. It’s like a snapshot of a dynamic moment in time.” It’s important for Fiona to design the watch around a concept that all can relate to, even if they are not into watches. Feminine and masculine are removed and the watches become non-gender specific. Fiona also relates to this when posed with the question about being a woman in a male-dominated watch industry.

“This has never been an issue for me, its a very classic industry but ours is an avant-garde brand. I use the classic industry as an inspiration, so there is always a link back, but it’s not a crutch, more of a reference.”

The watch is a combination of experimental and traditional watchmaking, joining in an explosion of organized chaos, with visible gear trains and winding barrels, peaking through the watch’s face. “I don’t see a case, movement, dial, and hands, I see patterns.”

The Chaos watch truly is a work of art, but is there something extra special about this time-piece? Fiona» sits up and with a coy smile and states, “we have produced our own movement with the help of Agenhor. There are only a handful of brands in the world that have done that, so I’m really happy and honored to have had this rare opportunity.”

Retailing at $29,200, it is not just a watch, it’s a unique, mechanical piece of art.

Fiona’s talent and unusual combination of art and mechanics, led her to look for the perfect area and jeweler in the U.S. to sell her watches. Like everything that Fiona is involved with, she does her research.

Fiona expresses her design ideas through a series of detailed etchings which have an almost Da Vinci-esque quality; ABOVE: Mechanical Entropy” from the Chaos Collection, available locally at Provident Jewelry.

“It’s easy to spot the retailers that have a passion for craftsmanship and design.” Provident Jewelry, a family-run business here in South Florida, carries innovative brands, and helps to support them. Questioned on why Florida, Fiona states, “I see people in South Florida as being confident and cosmopolitan. It is a melting pot of cultures that are not afraid to be different. Nick Linca, a Managing Partner of Provident Jewelry in Jupiter, has an eye for creativity, so I thought my brand was perfect for the people here and Provident Jewelry.”

Quizzing Fiona on the future of watch making, she responds with laid-back confidence, “I feel that the watch industry is one of the creative industries that’s in its own little bubble. There is no other creative industry where you get such a high level of skill, over such varied techniques.”

Research has shown that the Millennial buyers would rather buy a high-end, solid timepiece, than a cheap disposable one.

“In my mum’s generation, a brand’s tagline would evoke a feeling. The millennial generation is immune to this, and that’s a shift from big brands that have a cultural reference, like Rolex. Then you will have your unique specialist brands, I hope, like ours, that are a cultural reference, but from an artistic view. They no longer have to show the brand, but instead, they would rather be individual. It’s about the story, the quality, or something new.”

Fiona loves the idea of the story and the process behind her watches, “I would love to give each watch personally to its buyer and tell its story, so I have tried to replicate this through the packaging.”

Fiona’s watches are a being sold all over the world, but she doesn’t always know to who they go to. “A majority of my watches are sold through retailers, who keep the buyers’ identities private. The first two editions are completely sold out, and we only know a few of these people, from artists to a scientist. Our watches are designed around a concept that’s universal and anyone can identify with.”

Are passion, innovation and the watch eternal? Only time will tell…  •

Magazine View
By: Danielle Macdonald on Nov 05, 2018
Tags: Fashion, Provident Jewelry, November/December 2018, Fiona Krüger
Issue: November/December2018
Get More: Fashion