Vieren enlists 5 artists to reimagine its first watch with their own piece unique

Zach Blass

• Vieren celebrates its 5th anniversary with its new “One-Of-One V Collection” with 5 piece uniques.
• The collection enlists five world-renowned artists to put their stamp on the first Vieren model: the OG Automatic Matte White.
• Each unique piece can be purchased individually, or all five can be bought at once as a box set (depending on availability).

Many of us love watchmaking due to the intersection of art, design, science, and engineering. It is a perpetual marvel how objects so small, with components millimetres or microns in size, all come together to create a lasting timekeeper – both precise and beautiful. Watch brands, understandably, love to celebrate an anniversary or milestone, and the young watch brand Vieren is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a new “One-of-One V Collection” that revisits its first-ever model, the OG Automatic Matte White, and hands the design over to five world-renowned artists to put their stamp on the ripe canvas.

“For our fifth anniversary, we set out to create a one-of-a-kind collection and enlist global talent across disciplines to mark this milestone with us,” says Jess Chow, Vieren Founder & CEO. “At Vieren, we endeavour to push our creative boundaries in every special edition, and it was inspiring to invite our partners to translate their artistry onto a miniature canvas and reimagine the very first timepiece that launched our journey. As a design-forward brand, we wanted to capture the very essence of a wearable work of art.”

Each of the five pieces is one-of-one, known as “piece uniques” within the watch world. The five artists, James Goldcrown, Roberta Boffo, Cosmodernism, Kelly Violet, and Sébastien Preschoux, were each tasked with bringing their artistic vision to life on the dial. Admittedly, I am ashamed to admit I am not cool enough to be familiar with the five artists’ work until now.

To bring you all up to speed as well, working from left to right in the image above, according to Vieren, Roberta Boffo fuses fashion and fine art in intricate monochrome works, balancing simplicity and complexity. Cosmodernism is known for retro-futurist visuals merged with surrealism, creating dynamic, movement-inspired designs. James Goldcrown is an international street artist known for his iconic Bleeding Hearts, which symbolise love and connection. Sébastien Preschoux is known for exploring geometric optical illusions and precision through meditative hand-drawn designs. Last but not least, Kelly Violet is a blackwork tattoo artist whose meticulous linework and haunting florals evoke dark romanticism.

The throughline between each of the artists’ submissions is a monochromatic colour palette, each interpreting their signature lines, shapes, and textures within this consistent parameter. The result is five different dials with works I could easily see hanging in a museum, albeit on a much bigger canvas. That is what makes this V Collection project so cool. Each watch is basically a stainless steel frame you hang a museum-quality artwork on your wrist with, and, oh yeah, it also tells the time.

Each case is what I would call wrist-friendly, measuring 27mm in width, 9.2mm thick, and 41.5mm lug-to-lug. The 30-metre water-resistant case is paired with a brick-like seven-row stainless steel bracelet that is secured to the wrist via a butterfly folding clasp. Exhibited inside is a trusted ETA 2671 automatic movement with 44 hours of power reserve.

First and foremost, I am glad Vieren had the foresight to eliminate the date complication that was present on the OG Automatic Matte White from the dial. To have a circular date aperture behaving like a nipple blemish to any of these five artworks would have been criminal.

Second, I am surprised, but certainly not mad, that the price of each piece unique has been set at US$9,000 (or US$42,500 if you are eager to buy them all before anyone else can to have the full box set). I say this within the context of the brand, as Vieren’s Gold Waves 5-piece limited edition was also priced at US$9K, but did not have the added expense of enlisting world-renowned artists to collaborate.

Some will look at this watch and wonder how something ETA-driven like this could command such a price, but I will give Vieren credit where it is due in that its eye for detail does elevate the experience once holding it in hand. Having tried on past models with the seven-row bracelet, the articulation of the links gives it a silky quality and as each link flexes, the hidden brushed perimeters offer intriguing visual contrast.

You will also notice that each of the artists utilises the full space beneath the sapphire crystal, the lines of their artwork continuing onto the inner rehaut around the dial. With all of this in mind, the case to possibly spend US$9K on one of these watches is not rooted in horological excellence necessarily, but it is an intriguing offer to purchase a unique piece of art by celebrated artists and artworks that you can take with you during the day on your wrist. It does not need to live on a wall in your house. That is the element you will need to quickly ponder before the five pieces are sold out. And with these pieces priced below US$10K, when other big-name brands produce similar projects and charge far, far more, you may need to act fast if you are interested.

Vieren One-Of-One V Collection pricing and availability

The Vieren One-Of-One V Collection is available now on a first come, first serve basis. Each piece unique can be purchased individually, or if all five pieces are available at the time of inquiry the full box set can be purchased. Price: US$9,000 (individually), US$42,500 (box set)

Brand	Vieren
Model	V Collection
Case Dimensions	27mm (W) x 9.2mm (T) x 41.5mm (LTL)
Case Material	Stainless steel
Water Resistance	30 metres
Crystal(s)	Sapphire front and back
Dial	JAMES GOLDCROWN, Los Angeles, USA, International street artist known for his iconic Bleeding Hearts, symbolising love and connection ROBERTA BOFFO, Treviso, Italy, Fuses fashion and fine art in intricate monochrome works, balancing simplicity and complexity COSMODERNISM, Katowice, Poland, Retro-futurist visuals merged with surrealism, creating dynamic, movement-inspired designs KELLY VIOLET, London, England, Blackwork tattoo artist whose meticulous linework and haunting florals evoke dark romanticism SÉBASTIEN PRESCHOUX, Paris, France, Explores geometric optical illusions and precision through meditative hand-drawn designs
Strap	Stainless steel seven-row bracelet, butterfly folding clasp
Movement	ETA 2671, automatic
Power Reserve	44 hours
Functions	Hours, minutes, seconds
Availability	First come first serve, availble as a set or individually. Each piece is unique
Price	US$9,000 (individually) US$42,500 (box set)