Often existing parallel to one another, every so often the world of horology and jewellery collide to create truly exceptional pieces of wearable (and functional) art. The epitome of this statement lies in the collaboration between Omega and Andrew Grima which took place at the end of the 1960’s. This proved to be a collaboration for the history books, as Grima’s artistic vision created two collections of Avant-Garde timepieces that pushed the boundaries of design and remain highly sort after.
Andrew Grima had taken the jewellery world by storm with his bold and highly stylised designs that would become so quintessentially Grima. Grima was a high-end London jeweller who, along with many industry accolades, was jeweller to stars such as Jacqueline Onassis and members of the Royal Family. His talent, craftsmanship and unique designs caught the eye of Omega’s Director of Production, Robert Forster, who was ready to debut the Omega brand to a wider audience. With total artistic freedom granted over the collections, Grima utilised his bold design aesthetic with his knowledge of precious gemstones, to create a truly one-of-a-kind collection of timepieces.
“With Omega taking care of the movement inside, he eschewed brand logos and watch numerals in favour of flamboyant modern cuffs and jagged gold pendants that did not resemble anything like a wristwatch” (Garrahan, 2022).
The collection entitled About Time featured 55 timepieces imagined with textured metals, faceted gemstone crystal and captivating styles. Grima stipulated that timepieces from this range were not to carry the names of either the Grima or Omega brands. These pieces contained plain dials with no numerals or index markers. The vision for these timepieces were to be incredible pieces of jewellery that ‘just happened to tell the time’. The textured metals, sculptural designs and inclusion of precious gemstones made them like no other timepieces ever created.
The iconic designs of Grima’s About Time series were also brought to market in the Time in Style series of watches. “The Time in Style series of watches were more affordable and marketed through De Ville, Constellation and Jeux d’Or ranges. Unlike the original Grima series, the Time in Style watches did in fact have Omega on the dials, more conventional dial layout including hour markers” (Bulang & Sons, 2023). This series made the genius of Grima’s designs available to a wider market and more practical as everyday timepieces. “Time in Style pieces have become highly sought after by collectors of both Omega watches and Grima jewellery, which itself is incredibly collectible now” (Bulang & Sons, 2023).
To this day, the collaboration of timepieces created by Andrew Grima and Omega remain as an iconic fusion of the jewellery and horology worlds. The craftsmanship, quality and creative design is of such a high standard that we may never see another collaboration quite like it. These pieces are incredible insights into the heyday of vintage jewellery and watch design, and remain highly collectable.
Sources:
Buglan & Sons (2023) 'The Andrew Grima Omega years'; Buglan & Sons, The Andrew Grima Omega Years – Bulang and Sons
Garrahan, Rachael (2022) 'An epic watch collaboration that was out of this world'; British Vogue, A Watch Collaboration That Was Out Of This World | British Vogue
Richon, Marco (2007 ) 'Omega: a journey through time'; Gassman Bienne, page 408
