You may not have heard of Alexandre Meerson, but this boutique brand has made a name for itself creating bespoke watches for the most discerning customers. Now they are announcing the first-ever limited edition with the Alexandre Meerson Altitude Pop’Art Limited-Edition Watches. These pieces will be available with six different dial designs and two different case materials. The straps will be custom-made and personally engraved for each recipient. The story behind the creation of this limited edition is an interesting one; an existing customer requested to have a watch made to celebrate his love of fine art — in particular, his most recent acquisition, Roy Lichenstein’s “Girl in Mirror.” Meerson loved the idea so much that, in addition to fulfilling his customer’s request, he created the first limited edition for the brand that we see here.

The Altitude Pop’Art Limited-Edition Watches will all feature either a 41mm titanium or 4N gold case. As stated earlier, there are six different dial variations: red dots, blue dotes, cirque, solar, ticktock, and zebra. Alexandre Meerson makes use of the caliber AM-4808 by Vaucher. This is a 28 jewel movement with a 50-hour power reserve based around the Vaucher VMF 3002. Meerson offers a wide variety of exotic skins for its straps, and customers will be able to choose the configuration of their straps.

Analysis

The first thing that struck me when I saw the Alexandre Meerson Altitude Pop’Art pieces was the dimension of the dial. The zebra variant is easily my favorite, showing a great amount of depth and texture across the face. All of the dial variants, however, appear like they would play with the light nicely on the wrist.

Fine art is somewhat of a minor area of inspiration for watch brands. We’ve seen a few brands use it, or partner with existing artists, but it’s not always done well. Normally we see pieces inspired by diving or aviation but rarely fine art itself. I think that you need to be delicate when “sampling” from established art archetypes like Lichenstein’s Pop Art influence when making watches. It can, and has, become kitschy at times. However, Alexandre Meerson pulls these off nicely. They sampled small details, nothing overtly identifiable as a famous art piece. Meerson made the dials in such a way that they operate on their own.

Conclusion

I like these watches. I’ll be interested to see if Alexandre Meerson expands on this in the future with more choices and configurations for future editions. I believe this limited edition will be an instant cornerstone to an art/watch collector’s collection if they’re able to sneak into the limited edition. Again, I hope that Alexandre Meerson continues down this road and we’ll have more opportunities to see work like this. The Alexandre Meerson Altitude Pop’Art Limited-Edition Watches are available in a maximum of 100 pieces. Titanium-cased watches will retail for £23,000, and the solid 4N gold cased versions will be £34,500. For additional information, visit meerson.com.