In January 2019, Geneva – Milo Manara’s Classico Manufacture Erotic watch series will take you to the mysterious deep underwater world, explore the story between mermaid and human female, and learn about them in the ancient dreamy ocean. love story. Manaha’s paintings show the wonderful encounter between the beautiful human woman and the mysterious mermaid. The series of watches constitute the perfect loop of the plot, each one is unique and presents an independent and timeless moment.
The Ulysse Nardin watch combines micro-painted skills with more than 150 years of watchmaking craft and experience, successfully recreating the moving story of Manara’s pen on the dial of ten watches, which was debuted at the 2019 SIHH. The mermaid and shark swim freely in the clear waters, the underwater world is not bound by time, and the dial tells a unique and touching story between ten human females and the dream mermaid through a masterpiece. Layers of waves seem to make time lost meaning, a beautiful feeling is quietly born between the two beautiful people.
“In the art of the erotic art, ‘eternal’ is a classic theme, and the timepiece accurately and appropriately expresses this theme,” said Milo Manara.
The mermaid and humans know each other under the gaze of distant sharks. Like Ulysses in Homer’s pen, the mermaid depicted by Manara charms the young woman and holds her in her arms. Each scene is fixed into an instant, and time disappears. Under the drive of love, they danced in the deep sea waves.
In an interview with his studio in Valpolicella, Italy, Manara said: “I need to find a theme that connects ten paintings, while ensuring the independence of each piece and ensuring the story that is able to be independent, too. This is not a linear development story, but it shows a common mainline content, interpreted by two characters: one is a timeless girl, and the other is a mermaid.”
Manara was born in northern Italy and has been engaged in illustration business for more than 50 years. He has received orthodox painting education, and has studied the works of Rubens, Caravaggio and De Kirico before he formed his own style of painting. Manara chose a global theme for this collection – the love of the erotic – and created two distinctive characters within their respective time frames.
“Obviously, these women are just a symbol of ideals. If we study the Greek classicism and the Renaissance art style, the image of the protagonist of mythological stories has changed a lot over the centuries. I hope to reinterpret these ideal symbols through my own creations.”
Manara created a total of ten works, and the Ulysse Nardin watch recreated these works using micro-painting techniques. The craftsmen worked in the Ulysse Nardin watch headquarters in Le Rocquer, Switzerland, to reproduce the work of Manara on the dial, which is only one-tenth the size of the original painting. The drawing process on each dials takes about 50 hours. The micro-painting art fully explains the phrase “details determine success or failure”.
The original has created a fascinating sensory world through rich colors. From the deep blue waters to the coral reefs, to the ripples of the water and the mermaid’s lips and jewels, they are all hand-painted by artisans, and their writings are as wide as one eyelash. Therefore, patience is the key. In order to fully demonstrate the scene of the Erotic under Manaha, the craftsman added a layer of lacquer finish to the acrylic paint to highlight the light and shadow effect and noble temperament of his artwork. This Ulysse Nardin Classico Manara Erotic Automatic limited watch is made of glossy stainless steel or 5N rose gold, each with ten sets of materials, amounts to 200.
The watch is equipped with the UN-320 self-winding movement and the silicone technology that the brand has been mastering for decades. The dial only displays hours and minutes to fully display the micro-pattern on the dial. The design of the pointer is slim and exquisite, making the painting an absolute highlight of the dial. The Classico Manara watch has a case size of 40 mm and is equipped with a dark blue alligator strap inspired by Manara. As a special gift from the Ulysse Nardin watch, people who purchase the watch will also receive a numbered painting with the autograph of Milo Manara.
