At Col&McArthur, each creation carries a story within it. A key moment in history, the sacrifice of a soldier, the brilliance of human genius, the strength of an artistic stroke or the power to unite through music: so many stories that come to life on the wrist.
To go beyond design and symbolism, we chose to incorporate tangible fragments of the past into several of our collections. From Johnny Hallyday's leather jacket to meteorite dust from space, these rare materials embody a direct link with the legends they evoke.
In this article, discover how these signature elements take shape in our timepieces and the story of their origin.
LUNAR 1969: FROM METEORITE TO FRAGMENT SET AT 12 O'CLOCK
Conceived as a tribute to space exploration and more specifically to the Apollo XI mission, this iconic piece is full of symbolism: the numbers of the Apollo missions engraved on the dial, the 1969 moon landing point marked with precision… and many other details that tell the story.
To transcend this tribute, we made the bold choice to incorporate a fragment of meteorite, positioned at 12 o'clock like a celestial jewel. This is a rare approach: while meteorites are usually used as material for dials, we chose to grant it an almost sacred status, that of a precious stone from space.
This fragment comes from the NWA 11515 meteorite, provided by the British specialist company MSG METEORITES. Thanks to mass spectrometry analysis, its composition has been identified, thus confirming its origin: the Moon.
Discovered in Morocco in 2017, this meteorite is officially listed by The Meteoritical Society. All technical information is available through this source or in our certificate of authenticity.
HALLYDAY 2017: FROM HIS LEATHER JACKET TO OUR COLLECTION
A second significant chapter in our history was being written with the “Hallyday 2017” collection.
The result of a privileged collaboration with the Hallyday family, this creation goes far beyond design: it embodies the unbreakable bond between Johnny and those who loved him.
To make this tribute unforgettable, we wanted to incorporate a real symbol of the artist. An icon: his legendary leather jacket, a true second skin for the rocker.
Signed by Gérard Senée, this piece was presented by his family themselves. It was worn by Johnny when he received one of his many gold records.
An authentic fragment of this mythical leather is encapsulated at 9 o'clock on each watch: a discreet yet powerful presence.
Each copy, numbered and accompanied by its certificate of authenticity, carries within it this certainty: with Hallyday 2017, Johnny is never very far away.
DUNKERQUE 1940: FROM THE SAND OF THE BEACHES TO THE CRYSTALS OF THE DIAL
For the Dunkirk 1940 collection, we opted for a clean, minimalist design. Every detail, however subtle, carries within it the memory of a pivotal moment in our history. The hands, delicately tinted blue and red, pay tribute to those who fought. But it is at the heart of the dial that the most symbolic element is hidden.
Several crystals are subtly embedded in it, fashioned from a very particular type of sand: that of the beaches of Dunkirk.
These same beaches where, in 1940, thousands of soldiers fought and sometimes sacrificed themselves to enable the largest military evacuation operation in history and to change the course of the Second World War.
This sand was transformed into crystal in partnership with the prestigious Val Saint Lambert crystal factory in Belgium, a nod to our own origin.
PEARL 1941: THE ENCAPSULATED WATER OF PEARL HARBOR
To encapsulate water inside a watch.
A bold, almost paradoxical choice, given how wary the watchmaking world has always been of water. And yet… we wanted to cross that boundary to make water a silent witness to history.
Precisely distilled by our team, this water is perfectly purified, without the slightest residue. It is encapsulated between two sapphire crystals, guaranteeing total separation from the movement and preserving the mechanical integrity of the timepiece.
But beyond the technical feat, it is the origin of this water that gives it its full symbolic power. It comes from the bay of the island of Oahu, the site of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the largest offensive ever perpetrated on American soil.
This fragment of ocean completes the DNA of the watch, whose design is inspired by the sonars on board ships of the time, between memory and technology, between silence and resonance.
To discover more about our products and the elements that define them, visit our different worlds.
