Mar.30, 2014 | By The Luxurist
First published on But I Digress... The Advice and Observations of a Luxurist
"Form ever follows function," wrote the architect and father of the steel-framed high-rise Louis Sullivan in 1896. "This is the law," he affirmed, as if to make certain that his intentions would be clearly understood.
And they were. These few words defined international style in architecture and minimalism in industrial design for the better part of the 20th Century (although not everyone agreed with Sullivan, and his emphatic "ever" is no longer used when the phrase is invoked.)
Flash forward about 50 years to the Museum watch face, one of the archetypal expressions of Sullivan's commandment. Designed by George Horwitt in 1947, the museum dial has no numerals or lines to indicate intervals between the hours. Horwitt reduced the wristwatch face to a pair of elegant white gold hands and one lone dot where the 12 goes, set dramatically against a black background. That's it.
The design has been produced continuously – first by Vacheron & Constantin, then by Movado – since the late 1940s. The timepiece itrself became synonymous with Horwitt's dial and is universally known as The Museum Watch after the Museum of Modern Art added it to its permanent design collection in 1960.
"It's still a stunner and an affordable piece of timeless luxury."
While Horwitt specificed white gold hands and dot againsta black background, today yellow gold is typically used, sometimes with a white or navy blue background in place of black. In any combination it's still a stunner, an affordable piece of timeless luxury that you can use and enjoy every day.