Georges Meyer 14K White Gold Rare Concept Art Deco Watch. Diamonds along edge. Small damage on glass on front near top.

Size: 2 1/3 x 1 3/4 in.

Gross Weight: 29.6 g. 19.0 dwt.

Art Deco, short for the French Arts Decoratifs (“Decorative Arts”), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris around the end of World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s, ending roughly around the beginning of World War II. It combined the styles of early 20th century Modernist avant-garde with the fine craftsmanship and materials of French historic design, sometimes with motifs taken from non-Western cultures. Influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism, the bright colors of Fauvism, and the exoticized styles of art from Asia and the Middle East, it came to symbolize a hopefulness in the future of social and technological progress, and introduced new materials into art and construction including chrome, stainless steel, and plastic. In 1909 Georges Meyer opened Fabrique Utinam in Besancon, and shortly afterwards opened a new shop in Paris under the name UTI. His quality and ahead-of-its-time style generated so much notoriety that Van Cleef & Arpels, a French luxury jewelry company founded in 1896, began to commission him to create new pieces. By the 1920s they were regularly selling his Art Deco inspired works using their own name, though they still bore his hallmark (a G M with crossed hammers between them), and he was able to open another shop in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland, where he specialized in pocket watches, alarm clocks, and wrist watches. During World War II his symbol became less and less apparent, disappearing from works after the 1950s. This beautiful analog watch has no numbers and seems to float within a series of rings, an homage to the planet Saturn, a favorite subject of the Art Deco period after the 1933 World’s Fair. The lack of wording or the VCA logo on this piece suggests that it is likely a concept watch he built for them on commission, making it an extremely unique find.