There might not be another name that towers over the world of design in the same way as Frank Lloyd Wright. He’s the rare architect that has come to be a true household name – even folks who don’t consider themselves art historians or architecture buffs are likely to know who he is, and can probably name at least one of his many iconic buildings. Importantly, he not only designed buildings (including private homes and public spaces) but considered every detail pertaining to their interior. Furniture, carpeting, light fixtures, and other details were well thought out in his designs, so it seems fitting that Bulova has partnered with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation on a series of watches that celebrate and emulate those small touches that make Frank Lloyd Wright such an important figure.
This collection celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Frank Lloyd Wright foundation, and features three watches that pay homage to his designs in different ways. First up is the December Gifts limited edition, a gold tone rectangular timepiece featuring a dial design dominated by a series of geometric shapes. December Gifts is something of a Wright deep cut: the design is based on a series of magazine covers Wright made for Liberty magazine in the late 1920s. The stylized representations of holiday gifts, wrapped and bowed, was thought to be too avant-garde for the day, and the drawings were never published. The caseback of the limited edition features an inscription of the “Organic Commandment,” which highlights the importance Wright placed on geometry in his designs, and is foundational to his design philosophy. This quartz watch is limited to 500 pieces, retails for $475, and includes an embossed wooden display box.