Sundial watches began with a simple conversation that took place, in passing, between a watch designer and his photographer friend. One a craftsman, the other an artist – but both, in different ways, fascinated by time and all its nuances.
The photographer spent his time in search of shots that inspire, invoke and inform. Whether shooting a dramatic landscape or creating a poignant portrait, he was driven to capture the essence of his subject. In this quest, light was his greatest ally.
As they spoke about their shared passion, the watch designer was struck by the links between light and timekeeping. He looked at the way light casts a shadow on a simple sun dial to ‘create time’. He found it compelling that, although sophisticated technology drives our world, it is still the simple predictability of the sun passing overhead that creates time and order in our days. Inspired by this, he set about producing a state-of- the-art timepiece that incorporates modern watch-making technology and the simple purity of light.
He began to think about a watch that would unlock the energy stored in light, to give the wearer effortless reliability with quartz precision. To complete its perfection, the watch would be so beautifully designed that it would represent the synergy of art and science, like photography itself. A watch that would be a joy to own, to wear, to hold and to see.
This watch was the very first Sundial – beautifully crafted and finished, with the ability to endlessly harvest energy from light. The watchmaker gifted the watch to his photographer friend and thanked him for the inspiration – the compelling, inimitable power of light.
