Self-painted dial 1951
My architectural training in Manchester must have imbued me with its strong Bauhaus principles in my approach to form, decoration and simplicity.
In reviewing my design work for this portfolio I have been impressed by my constant striving for simplicity and this has become most obvious in my choice of watches – always of an analogue nature taking reductio ad absurdum to its limits. Digital 24 hour watches have never interested me because they require a mental calculation to translate to the 12 hour clock I was brought up on and the position of the hands are a simple indicator of the time to a degree of accuracy which is quite adequate for our purpose.
When in Geneva in 1965 I took the opportunity to search for a plain dial watch and after visits to many watch shops I found this Jean Perret gold watch for the very low price of £9stg.
It lasted me for many years and always surprised other people as to how I was able to tell the time.
It is just after twenty-five minutes past twelve.
Somewhere around 2000 my Perret watch became irreparably damaged and surprisingly there were quite a few watches in the Canberra shops with no cardinal points.
I finally found this battery powered Calvin Klein watch for $350 which not only keeps very good time but has a simple, elegant look.
It has a black dial and stainless steel hands in a stainless steel housing..
The ck acts as 12 and I have no trouble in telling the time – it is just after quarter to eleven which is suitable accuracy for daily living.
~ 2000
My bedside alarm clock for which I made a cardboard dial and black card hands just glued on to the existing hands.
The small red hand was red card also .and is accurate enough for alarm purposes.
‘In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.’
Henry Longfellow