Catharsis from luxury Swiss watchmaker JC Biver, is a remarkable creation that pushes traditional watchmaking boundaries. The concept for Catharsis originated from an artist friend of Jean-Claude Biver and his son Pierre, who expressed a desire for a minute repeater devoid of hands and indexes. “I want time to be MINE,” the friend exclaimed. This notion beautifully encapsulates the intricate relationship between a watch and its owner. The stunning Catharisis was made for Only Watch, a charity which raises money to fund medical research through auctions of unique timepieces.
Only Watch was created in 2005 by Luc Pettavino and under H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco’s high patronage in order to raise funds for research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) by auctioning one-off timepieces. The auction is set to run in November of this year.
A minute repeater carillon tourbillon, Catharsis’ uniqueness lies in its ability to tell time without requiring a glance. It replaces the conventional time display with a true work of art that elevates the essence of timekeeping.
The starry sky above, crafted from silver obsidian, embodies ideas and beliefs revered for millennia—dynamic, optimistic, and highly stimulating. With opal stars and a meteorite moon, this celestial vista exudes a profound sense of poetry as it hovers above the seascape that graces the lower part of the dial.
A mesmerizing composition of 89 sapphires, skillfully set with deliberate randomness, emulates the natural ebb and flow of waves. Time is revealed solely through the hour hand discreetly positioned at the rear of the watch, meticulously flame-blued by hand in JC Biver’s workshops located in the brand’s ancestral farmhouse nestled between Geneva and Lausanne.
With over 50 years of experience in the industry, Jean-Claude Biver and his son have created an exclusive brand free from economic constraints. Collaborating with top specialists in every aspect of watchmaking, they have birthed museum-quality timepieces of extraordinary prestige.
Catharsis itself is a distillation of watchmaking culture aimed at the most ardent watch lover. Each element tells a story, creating a bridge between the past, the present and the future. It is both a collector’s item and an art object and even its smallest parts, including those that are hidden from the eye, are decorated by hand. It is these tiny details that set JC Biver watches apart.
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