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Inverted and Vitruvian Man Authorization
From 599€
From 549€
Green granite, like the Tomb of the Invalides
From 599€
From 599€
Collaboration with the Sarton family
From 1,799€
Inverted and Vitruvian Man Authorization
From 499€
Our collection of tribute watches in the Visionaries universe at Col&McArthur brings together watches conceived as narratives to be worn. Swiss quartz or automatic movements, authentic and verifiable fragments, from the green Vosges granite of the Napoléon 1821 to the route of the first circumnavigation on the dial of the Magellan 1521, by way of the Cross of Lorraine of the Charles De Gaulle 1970. Models on brown leather, black leather or stainless steel, from €549 to €1,899 depending on the model and finish.
This page sets out the criteria that guide a choice, the mechanisms behind the quality of each timepiece, the history of the historical figures on which they rest, and the complete selection. All of it in service of the mission we hold dear: to pass on History through our timepieces, and to honour the figures whose work has crossed the centuries.
Choosing a watch means choosing the narrative one will wear on the wrist. Four elements guide that choice: the figure honoured, the artefact or the licence on which it rests, the movement and the technical specifications.
THE FIGURE
Each watch in the Visionaries universe is born of a life and a date. Leonardo da Vinci, who died at the Clos Lucé in 1519. Magellan, lost in the Philippines before his circumnavigation was complete. Napoléon, whose remains took nineteen years to bring home. Charles de Gaulle, buried as a private man in his village. Hubert Sarton, the Liège watchmaker credited with the creation of the automatic movement. These are the paths the dial gives one to wear.
The artefact or the licence
These collections could not exist without the agreements on which they rest. The Vitruvian Man is reproduced under official licence from the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, where the drawing is held. The Sarton 1748 came into being alongside the watchmaker's descendants, who wished to pay tribute to their forebear. Or consider, for example, the Napoléon 1821 with its Vosges granite dial.
THE MOVEMENT
Swiss quartz, precise and discreet, or the mechanics of an automatic movement that draws its energy from the wrist. Both calibres serve the same narrative, and each piece is assembled in our workshops to spend the years at your side. The movement depends on the collection: the Napoléon 1821, the Leonardo 1519 and the Charles De Gaulle 1970 exist in both versions, the automatic runs being the most restricted.
THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Other elements guide your choice: the strap, from brown leather that takes on a patina to stainless steel with its more assertive drape, by way of the Milanese mesh. The case, in 316L steel, the standard of the watchmaking sector. And the diameter, from the compact format to the more assertive pieces, according to the wrist, with for instance the 36 mm version of the Leonardo 1519.
THE FIGURE
Each watch in the Visionaries universe is born of a life and a date. Leonardo da Vinci, who died at the Clos Lucé in 1519. Magellan, lost in the Philippines before his circumnavigation was complete. Napoléon, whose remains took nineteen years to bring home. Charles de Gaulle, buried as a private man in his village. Hubert Sarton, the Liège watchmaker credited with the creation of the automatic movement. These are the paths the dial gives one to wear.
The artefact or the licence
These collections could not exist without the agreements on which they rest. The Vitruvian Man is reproduced under official licence from the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, where the drawing is held. The Sarton 1748 came into being alongside the watchmaker's descendants, who wished to pay tribute to their forebear. Or consider, for example, the Napoléon 1821 with its Vosges granite dial.
THE MOVEMENT
Swiss quartz, precise and discreet, or the mechanics of an automatic movement that draws its energy from the wrist. Both calibres serve the same narrative, and each piece is assembled in our workshops to spend the years at your side. The movement depends on the collection: the Napoléon 1821, the Leonardo 1519 and the Charles De Gaulle 1970 exist in both versions, the automatic runs being the most restricted.
THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Other elements guide your choice: the strap, from brown leather that takes on a patina to stainless steel with its more assertive drape, by way of the Milanese mesh. The case, in 316L steel, the standard of the watchmaking sector. And the diameter, from the compact format to the more assertive pieces, according to the wrist, with for instance the 36 mm version of the Leonardo 1519.
Leonardo da Vinci died on 2 May 1519 at the manor of Clos Lucé, in Amboise, having spent his last three years in France at the invitation of François I, who had granted him a pension and the title of first painter, engineer and architect to the king.
He leaves a strikingly slender painted body of work, some fifteen pictures only, and thousands of sheets covered in notes and drawings: anatomy, hydraulics, the flight of birds, machines of war. Few of these enquiries were published in his lifetime, and many remained without direct posterity. Therein may lie his singularity: having searched well beyond what his age was able to receive.
| Model | Event commemorated | Movement | Artefact | Materials | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leonardo 1519 Watch
|
In tribute to Leonardo da Vinci | Swiss quartz / Swiss automatic |
The Vitruvian Man, under official licence
|
316L stainless steel | Quartz: numbered / Automatic: 1,519 pieces |
MAGELLAN 1521 Watch
|
The first circumnavigation and the death of Magellan | Swiss quartz |
The route and the map of the expedition
|
316L stainless steel | Limited to 1,521 pieces |
SARTON 1748 Watch
|
In tribute to the inventor of the automatic movement | Swiss automatic |
In partnership with the Sarton family
|
316L stainless steel | Limited to 275 pieces |
Napoleon 1821 Watch
|
In tribute to Napoléon Bonaparte | Swiss quartz / Swiss automatic |
Vosges granite
|
316L stainless steel | Quartz: 1,821 pieces / Automatic: 500 pieces |
Charles De Gaulle watch, 1970
|
In tribute to Charles de Gaulle | Swiss quartz / Swiss automatic |
The Cross of Lorraine
|
316L stainless steel | Quartz: 1,970 pieces / Automatic: 500 pieces |
Each tribute model in the Visionaries universe carries the trace of a figure, whether it holds to a material, a drawing or a licence obtained from those who are its keepers.
The watch runs backwards. Its hands climb the dial in the reverse direction, an echo of the mirror writing with which Leonardo da Vinci covered his notebooks. At the centre stands the Vitruvian Man, reproduced under official licence from the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, where the drawing is held. The collection exists in Swiss quartz from €599, in automatic from €999, and in a Lady version at €499, with bronze or silver finishes.
The dial carries the map of the first circumnavigation, the route followed by the crew between 1519 and 1522. Magellan met his death in the Philippines in 1521: it was Juan Sebastián Elcano who would bring the Victoria back to Seville the following year, with eighteen survivors. Offered in quartz, on a brown leather strap from €549 or in stainless steel at €639.
This collection came into being alongside the descendants of Hubert Sarton, who wished to pay tribute to their forebear. The design of the watch draws on the clocks the Liège watchmaker made in his day, he whose 1778 paper describes a watch wound automatically by a rotor. A limited edition, offered at €1,799, in blue, green or brown.
Born of the bicentenary of the emperor's death, this collection borrows from the green granite on which his tomb rests at Les Invalides. Napoléon died at Saint Helena on 5 May 1821; nineteen years would pass before France obtained the return of his remains. Available in Swiss quartz from €599, or in automatic from €1,899, on black leather or stainless steel.
The watch runs backwards. Its hands climb the dial in the reverse direction, an echo of the mirror writing with which Leonardo da Vinci covered his notebooks. At the centre stands the Vitruvian Man, reproduced under official licence from the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, where the drawing is held. The collection exists in Swiss quartz from €599, in automatic from €999, and in a Lady version at €499, with bronze or silver finishes.
The dial carries the map of the first circumnavigation, the route followed by the crew between 1519 and 1522. Magellan met his death in the Philippines in 1521: it was Juan Sebastián Elcano who would bring the Victoria back to Seville the following year, with eighteen survivors. Offered in quartz, on a brown leather strap from €549 or in stainless steel at €639.
This collection came into being alongside the descendants of Hubert Sarton, who wished to pay tribute to their forebear. The design of the watch draws on the clocks the Liège watchmaker made in his day, he whose 1778 paper describes a watch wound automatically by a rotor. A limited edition, offered at €1,799, in blue, green or brown.
Born of the bicentenary of the emperor's death, this collection borrows from the green granite on which his tomb rests at Les Invalides. Napoléon died at Saint Helena on 5 May 1821; nineteen years would pass before France obtained the return of his remains. Available in Swiss quartz from €599, or in automatic from €1,899, on black leather or stainless steel.
Each timepiece is born of an assembly carried out in the workshops of the house, founded in 2013. Our watchmakers fit case, movement, hands and dial in Belgium, with the care the narratives they give to wear demand.
That work accounts for the limited quantities of certain collections, as well as for the time each piece requires. A personalised engraving may be added to the back of the case, beside the serial number of the numbered and limited editions. Quality control covers the precision of the finishes and the fidelity of the result to the visuals shown. This rigour, together with a two-year warranty, promises you a piece made to cross the generations.
