Timewise, a wristwatch featuring a modernist rendering of an owl by legendary illustrator Clifford Richards, has been re-released in color and is now part of the permanent collection at Mr. Jones Watches.
Clifford Richards For Mr. Jones Watches
Clifford Richards is a UK designer / illustrator best known for his pop art like images and packaging from the 60s and 70s, many of which feature birds and animals in vibrant colors.
MJW commissioned Clifford because of the bold and distinctive characters that have been a feature of his work all the way back to the 1960s. As the Victoria and Albert Museum note, “Richards designed some of the most memorable packaging and printed ephemera of the 1960s. Vibrant, witty and fun, they are an exuberant expression of the Pop Art decade.”
Timewise features an owl’s head which slowly rotates and points to the hours. The minutes are marked by the passage of a tiny mouse around the edge of the dial.
The owl and the mouse perform their watchful dance – neither one ever quite able to escape the other.
MJW visited Clifford at his studio in Cirencester and created a short video with him about the design which you can see below.
Clifford explains the thinking behind Timewise, “I’ve always loved to apply graphics to objects and designing this watch was a perfect opportunity – and owls seem to pop up regularly in my designs!”
Specifications:
Case: Stainless steel
Strap: brown leather
Width (3 o’clock to 9 o’clock): 37mm
Height (from lug to lug): 46mm
Mechanism: Single jewel quartz mechanism
Waterproof: 5ATM
Guarantee: 12 months
Price (subject to change): £160.00 ($195)
Buy it here
More About the artist:
Clifford Richards studied book illustration at the South East Essex School of Art in the early 1960s and found his way into advertising. That was when he began to develop his paper products – a collection of flat-packed, self-assembled cardboard gift boxes which was soon followed with a range of slot-together animals (‘Slottizoo’) and politicians (Slottiwhozoo).
These products were quite unlike anything around at the time and perfectly captured the mood of ‘Swinging London’ in the sixties with its Pop-Art influences.
Encouraged by the commercial success of his products he left advertising to set up his own graphic design business, which also enabled him to develop products for companies like Paperchase and Bloomingdales, as well as his own design projects.
Throughout his long and varied career he has continued to develop ideas along with design consultancy and today concentrates on product development along with his own graphic projects.
**There are a few signed copies of Clifford Richards’ Barn Owls print remaining from an edition of 75. Those are available for purchase here.