Prima: the great return of the small dial
WATCHES WERE INVENTED FOR THEIR USEFULNESS. FOR CENTURIES, THEY STAYED IN A WAISTCOAT POCKET, AT THE END OF A CHAIN, UNTIL THE DAY WOMEN TURNED THEM INTO A JEWEL WORN ON THE WRIST.
In 1810, Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples and sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, commissioned a wristwatch from the watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet. It is considered the first in history. The object no longer simply told the time. It was worn, shown off and chosen.
For men, it takes nearly a century. In 1904, Louis Cartier designs his first wristwatch for his friend, the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. Mid-flight, he wants to read the time without letting go of the controls. The case is square and set on a leather strap. The watch is utilitarian, far from the jewellery codes of the day. It gradually enters the male wardrobe, before establishing itself with the First World War.
But watchmaking never quite left jewellery behind. In the 1920s, Parisian houses compete in inventiveness, hiding dials beneath precious stones, geometric motifs or finely worked bracelets. The watch becomes a piece of jewellery in its own right.
THE WATCH NO LONGER NEEDS TO BE LARGE TO ASSERT ITS CHARACTER.
For several decades, the men’s watch stood out through its size. Cases grew, sometimes to excess, while small formats were gradually associated with the women’s world.
Today, proportions are changing. Square and rectangular watches, with dials sometimes under 25 mm, are back on the wrists of men and women alike.
The great return
of the small dial
From Timothée Chalamet to Tyler, The Creator, by way of Bad Bunny or footballer Jules Koundé, a new generation of male public figures is shaking up the codes of menswear. The watch becomes more precious. It is no longer just a timekeeping instrument, but a style accessory in its own right.
This taste for smaller proportions now reaches beyond watch enthusiasts. Square and rectangular watches are worn like jewellery, alone or stacked. Their geometric lines, often inherited from Art Deco, find a new modernity, at the crossroads of fashion and fine jewellery.
For ten years, LAPS has explored this meeting of watchmaking, design and fashion accessory. With its Prima collection, the Parisian house turns the small square case into a field of expression. Inspired by the lines of Art Deco, the Prima watches play with reliefs, materials and light. Their contained proportions leave full room for the design of the dial, while their geometric lines give them a singular presence on the wrist.
To be worn alone or among other accessories, Prima claims a free elegance, defined neither by gender nor by size. Small in size, singular in allure.