Inspiration: Ephemeral Beauty of the Magnolia Blossom
Krayon’s Anywhere Magnolia draws its poetic inspiration from the magnolia tree standing directly opposite the brand’s Neuchâtel manufacture. Each early April, the tree blooms for only a handful of weeks; spring rain sends delicate petals drifting gently earthwards, set against the deep‑blue expanse of Lake Neuchâtel. This fleeting, bittersweet moment‑‑where fragile floral beauty exists for just days‑‑is frozen forever onto the watch dial via master miniature painting. The timepiece captures not merely the visual charm of magnolia bloom, but the profound preciousness of impermanence.
The Magnolia Tree in front of the Krayon Manufacture.
Petals as Complication: Art Integrated With Mechanical Function
Far more than decorative ornament, the hand‑painted magnolia petals form a working element of Krayon’s signature Anywhere sunrise‑sunset complication. Set upon a profound black onyx dial, an upward‑facing petal denotes sunrise, while a downward‑facing petal marks sunset. The two petals orbit across the dial in response to changing months and dates, tracing shifting daylight hours. The sector between them visualises total daily daylight duration, with a sun‑shaped indicator tracking time on the peripheral 24‑hour scale. At 6 o’clock, date, month and user‑selected geographic location feed data to calculate accurate local sunrise and sunset times. A subtle painted “Y”, assembled from three magnolia petals, conceals Krayon’s logo within the artwork itself.
Fifteen Unique Moments, Fifteen Platinum Pieces
Limited to only 15 examples in PT950 platinum, no two Anywhere Magnolia dials are identical. Each dial bears minutely different placements of hand‑painted fallen magnolia petals, capturing a distinct, singular instant after spring rain. Every watch becomes an unrepeatable fragment of nature, preserving one ephemeral snapshot of the same blooming tree. This individuality elevates each piece beyond a numbered limited edition, granting every collector a one‑of‑a‑kind artistic horological object.
Krayon’s Métiers d’Art Philosophy
Founded in Neuchâtel by engineers Rémi Maillat and Fei Hou, Krayon consistently positions artistic craft as an intrinsic component of watch identity rather than superficial embellishment. Following celebrated prior art editions including the Monet‑inspired Only Watch creation, Azur, Arborea and gem‑set Parhelion, Anywhere Magnolia continues this path using the ancient discipline of miniature painting. The collection pays homage to master artisans sustaining rare hand‑craft traditions, merging mechanical ingenuity, natural poetry and decorative art within one wearable time‑keeping instrument.
Technical Specifications
Movement:
Caliber C030
Diameter: 35.40 mm
Thickness: 5.00 mm
Patented functional architecture
Functions:
Hours and minutes
Sunrise and sunset times
24-hour display
Simple calendar
Month
Specifications:
Power reserve: 72 hours
Frequency: 3 Hz
Manual winding with stopwork
55 jewels
432 components
Displays:
Central hour and minute display
The sun as the hour indicator on the 24-hour dial
Sunrise time is indicated by the position of the magnolia petal on the left disc, while
sunset time is indicated by the magnolia petal on the right disc.
Date at 6 o’clock