BASELWORLD 2018 REVISITED:

Alexander Shorokhoff’s Los Craneos: Two Skulls, Two Time Zones, and a Tribute to Frida Kahlo


Who says the watch industry doesn’t bring varied cultures together? With the Los Craneos timepiece from Alexander Shorokhoff, we have a tribute to a Mexican artistic icon, designed by a Russian watchmaker, and made in Germany using two Swiss movements.

Alexander Shorokhoff Los Craneos - front
The Alexander Shorokhoff Los Craneos is limited to 47 pieces.

The Moscow-born Shorokhoff, who founded his eponymous independent watch brand in Bavaria in 2003, has long been known for creating timepieces influenced by artists and authors of his native land: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Peter Tchaikovsky, and Wassily Kandinsky are among the historical luminaries who have provided inspiration for previous models. The spark for the Los Craneos watch came when Shorokhoff visited Mexico in 2017 and discovered the work of Frida Kahlo, who depicted the symbols of indigenous Mexican culture in her work, including the skulls (“los craneos” means “the skulls” in Spanish) that have long served as symbols of the struggle between life and death. For this “double time” watch, Shorokhoff placed two silvered, engraved  skulls side by side on a black dial — each depicting a separate time zone on its hands. One the left-side skull, a date window corresponding to the time zone is included, while the right-side skull adds a running seconds hand.

Alexander Shorokhoff Los Craneos dial CU
Each skull depicts one independently set time zone.

Inside the 46.5-mm stainless steel case are two self-winding ETA 2671.As calibers, each of them devoted to one of the two depicted time zones, meaning both time zones can be independently set, by the crowns near 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock. The sides of the case are brushed, while the bezel sports a polished finish; the vaulted sapphire crystal has a nonreflective coating on its top surface. Shorokhoff has hand-engraved and refined the movements inside the watch, which each hold power reserves of 42 hours; his handiwork can be admired through a sapphire pane in the caseback. The watch comes on a black ostrich leather strap and is limited to 47 pieces — one for each year that Kahlo lived. The price in euros is 2,799.

 

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  1. Sylvio F. Bertoli

    What a horrible thing. I guess not even Count Dracula would wear one of these.

    Reply
  2. Gaby Plesnik

    OMG!! Frida is my IDOL! Her whole life was very hard (also because of Diego). But this watch is my BIGGEST wish.

    Reply
    • AveryTolar

      Being a fan of Frida as well, I have to wonder how she would have viewed this. I think she would have liked the dial but not much else. I usually like Shorokhoff’s designs, but I feel like Frida would have wanted a bit more color on the watch (as I do).

      Reply
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