Fabio De Sanctis Briefcase Watch

Shaped-watch collecting has a habit of escalating. A rectangle becomes a triangle, a triangle becomes a horseshoe, and eventually an Italian surrealist sculptor hands you an 18k gold briefcase and tells you there is a watch inside.

Welcome to the Fabio De Sanctis Montre Valise.

De Sanctis was a Roman sculptor and architect whose work had incorporated suitcases and their components since the 1970s. In 1993, together with Geneva gallery owner Claude Voutat, he translated that recurring artistic motif into a wristwatch. The project was initially conceived as a series of 25, but only ten examples were ultimately produced between 1993 and 1995. This is number 06.

The closed case measures approximately 36 x 31mm and weighs over 80 grams, although those numbers don't prepare you for seeing it on a wrist. The entire construction resembles a miniature hard-sided briefcase, complete with protective corner fittings, a tiny handle and a hinged gold cover. Press the handle and the briefcase opens, revealing the concealed watch underneath.

There is another trick waiting inside. A small release allows the watch module to swivel outward and stand upright within the open case. Left on a table, it becomes a miniature desk clock. Fold everything back together and the dial disappears completely. It is mechanical theatre on a very small stage.

For all the comedy happening around it, De Sanctis kept the actual watch remarkably simple. The brushed gold dial carries elongated engraved markers, two hands and his name across the center. Inside is the Frédéric Piguet caliber 21, the celebrated ultra-thin manual-wound movement used by some of Switzerland's finest maisons. Putting a movement of this pedigree inside a gold briefcase is precisely the sort of decision that makes the whole project so charming.

The construction is predominantly 18k yellow gold, with pink gold used for elements of the internal spring mechanism. The back of the watch module carries a period monogram along with its individual number, 06. It is currently paired with a custom blue leather strap.

This is where the shaped-watch rabbit hole eventually takes you. Past the familiar Tanks, asymmetrical cases and increasingly exotic silhouettes sits a different category altogether: the object watch, where the case becomes something recognizable from everyday life.

And few examples take the assignment as literally as this one.

Wear it to the meeting. Put it on the table. Sign the deal.

You aren't carrying the briefcase anymore. It's carrying the time.