ive years ago, a new watchmaking gallery concept arrived in Monaco, at the initiative of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. It brought together eight houses, united by their shared values of independence, originality, and craftsmanship – and places passion and innovation at the heart of a new horological experience. Five years later, Art in Time is representing a curated selection of 16 distinguished wrist watch brands and 7 brands crafting rare objects.

“We are delighted with the results of our first five years in Monaco”, explains Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. “They exceed our expectations and reinforce the idea that such a place must exist in order to represent independent watchmakers with due dignity.”

Art in Time is based on a unique concept in watchmaking: bringing together niche brands based on their common values rather than their types of watch, ranges, or similar styles. In addition to these values, the houses in question all share the same founding inspiration, characterised by independence, creativity, and exclusivity. Brought together for the first time under the banner of Art in Time by their shared passion for craftsmanship, each of these watchmaking houses has its own well-defined identity, under the leadership of genuine entrepreneurs whose contemporary creations are strictly confined to select limited editions. Every year, these rare watches emerge from the workshops of the maisons in question – themselves among the most innovative and outstanding in the world of Fine Watchmaking.

Typically, the singular nature of the pieces resides in a renewed approach to the way the time is displayed, the construction of the movement, or a ground-breaking design for the case, setting them apart from more conventional timepieces.

Throughout both his personal and professional career, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele has developed a large number of initiatives closely related to the theme of time and the preservation of watchmaking heritage. One such example is the L.U.CEUM at Fleurier. Its name draws inspiration from L.U.C. (Louis-Ulysse Chopard) and the Latin word lyceum, meaning a place of learning – the vocation of this venue for sharing watchmaking heritage with others. The rebirth of Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud in 2013, also under the personal leadership of Mr Scheufele, marked another milestone in the quest to restore watchmaking heritage to its rightful place. The timepieces created because of this dynamic embody Scheufele’s passion for the work of Ferdinand Berthoud – and his audacious ambition of bringing it back to life and giving it the visibility, it deserves today.

In this exclusive space, just a few exceptional timepieces will be on showcase in a refined, minimalist setting. The brands’ names and logos will blend into surroundings devoid of any superfluous furnishings, thus ensuring the timepieces remain the focus of attention, with nothing to distract the gaze of lovers of beautiful things. This uniform presentation is the key to a visual harmony that allows each watch to emerge quite naturally. The displays themselves have been designed so that they all disappear in favour of each watchmaking creation.

The vocation of Art in Time is to offer only quintessential watchmaking art. Such an undertaking is as ambitious as it is conceptual; it could also include other art forms in relation to time. And to date, it is the only venue in the world to offer a selection of timepieces of this standard all in one place.

Since its inception, Mr Scheufele has aimed for the Art in Time concept to be deeply rooted in the local community network. As a result, we reached out to several of our partners to create unique pieces or special limited-edition series, with a percentage of the proceeds donated to a local charity. Each piece was purchased by Art in TimeE and sold in store to a collector of our choosing, followed by a donation made in the name of the gallery and the associated manufacture. Urwerk was the first to be part of our charity program with the T8 raptors benefiting the Monaco Red Cross then Ressence created a Type 3 MC for the Prince’s Albert II foundation and a limited edition of 12 pieces Type 5 AIT benefiting the Pelagos Sanctuary. Bovet 1822 followed the initiative with Amadeo Fleurier Métiers d’Art representing a miniature painting of a Horse benefiting the Prince’s Albert II foundation. Finally, Moritz Grossmann crafted a vibrant pink guilloche dial on a Benu Date benefiting the Princess Grace’s Foundation for its 60th anniversary.

To celebrate this achievement and the gallery’s fifth anniversary, Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud and Art in Time are presenting an exclusive series of five Chronomètre FB 3SPC timepieces in sandblasted titanium. Winner of the Chronometry Prize at the 2023 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, the FB 3 collection remains the only one to date powered by a mechanical movement with a cylindrical balance-spring chronometer-certified by the COSC.

In addition to its original sandblasted titanium case, this anniversary series is also distinguished by its colour combination: its finely sandblasted, white rhodium-plated movement matches the white dial and inner bezel ring, complete with blue numerals and minutes track. The only things that stand out from this composition are the gear train and the escapement with its cylindrical balance-spring at 9 o’clock. Representing a horological challenge in terms of both design and precision timing, this escapement has an average rate variation of between -1 and +3 seconds per day. This is 2.5 times more accurate than the variation accepted by the COSC, the highly selective test to which these movements are subjected.

These five examples of the Chronomètre FB 3SPC.4 are adorned with three interchangeable straps – in blue rubber, blue alligator leather and grey alligator leather – secured by pin buckles also made of sandblasted titanium. The back of each case bears three engravings: ‘Art in Time’, ‘5th Anniversary’ and ‘One of Five’. “We are delighted to be able to offer this special edition of the FB 3SPC Chronometer at Art in Time”, adds watch gallery director Yohann Martinez. “Its very light case, rubber strap and exclusive colours bring a modern touch to this collection, renowned for its traditional approach to chronometry.”

Art in Time represents the following brands:

AKRIVIA, BOVET 1822, CHOPARD L.U.C, DE BETHUNE, FERDINAND BERTHOUD, GREUBEL FORSEY, H.MOSER & CIE, LAURENT FERRIER, LUDOVIC BALLOUARD, MB&F, MORITZ GROSSMANN, PETERMANN BEDAT, RESSENCE, SYLVAIN PINAUD, TRILOBE URWERK, ABRASAX, AROUNDFIVE, BUBEN & ZORWEG, FLORIAN SCHLUMPF, HUMANS SINCE 1982, L’EPÉE 1839, MARC NEWSON HOURGLASSES, REUGE