Warhol Watches: Time Your 15 Minutes...

There’s rarely a piece of Warhol that I don’t fall instantly in love with & the new collection of watches by Seiko Instruments is not the exception. In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve been motivated to buy fashion on sight the way I was when I first saw this collection of 25 Pop Art Inspired timepieces. The comparison to the Artist Inspired Swatch Watch phenomenon of the late 80’s is the obvious connection one makes, but these pieces are in a different category altogether. There is more here than simply throwing some artwork on the face of a wristwatch. These pieces look & feel like a fine watch collection inspired by Warhol rather than a cookie cutter license deal using the model of the former.

The artwork isn’t just the more recognizable (aka predictable) soup cans & Brillo boxes, but rather adapts some of Warhol’s lesser known pieces such as his “America’s Most Wanted Series” from the 1964 World’s Fair American Pavilion & his paint by number series from his early career. The designers even borrowed some of Andy’s earliest known images of contour drawings of cats, shoes & lips. As to why he didn’t adapt the obvious imagery of Marilyn Monroe, $ Signs or Giant Cow Heads, Seiko Creative Director Stuart Cameron replies, “With over 10,000 pieces of artwork that Andy Warhol created in his lifetime, we have the opportunity to not just design watches that showcase his better known artwork. It is important for us to not only appreciate the work he did, but also take on the enormity of representing Andy Warhol as an artist who not only revolutionized the art world, but also had a significant impact on how many see the world. He took images that we saw every day and perhaps took for granted and he re-presented them to us in a unique and bold new form. Our challenge is to now do this with our watches with his lesser known artwork, and in some cases his more recognized images.”

When asked which celebrities, if any, are clients, Cameron stated, “I'm not aware of any but for us, all our customers are famous. At least for 15 minutes.”

These timepieces truly are fun & priced to allow the customer to buy multiples if they so choose (how Warhol!). The range starts at only $35.00 for a plastic cased, clear polyurethane strap & buckle & goes up to $150.00 for a stainless steel body with leather strap. Watches can be bought at a long list of boutique stores as well as art museum stores across the country (MOMA for one) or at www.amazon.com , www.zappos.com or direct from the company at www.15minutesof.com where the full collection can be purchased.

-Scott French