Like street art, when tattooing is performed at a certain level, it becomes purely and simply art. This is the case of Xoil, whom I met in 2014. He had just finished the customisation of a car, a world in which he seemed to be an outsider and yet fully belonged, having applied the full scope of his talent to it. He was in his bubble, almost anachronistic, with his ability to reinterpret his art in a modern world. Xoil takes his inspiration from an older aesthetic and gives it a determinedly contemporary feel. That is also what we do in watchmaking. The Tattoo-DNA by Xoil project is a natural result of our union.

SKIN-DEEP AESTHETICS

Xoil has applied his art on watch straps as an extension of his world. Inspired by nineteenth century imagery, the artist has created five worlds, or systems, based on the themes of Belief, Balance, Feeling, Perception and Emotion, in which legendary animals and mythological figures are thrown alongside anatomical plates and esoteric symbols. Each of these worlds is tattooed onto a board of five leather straps, with the illustrations overlapping from one bracelet to another. The 25 pieces adorning the Tattoo-DNA by Xoil collection are therefore unique and part of a harmonious whole guaranteed by the distinctive style of the artist and his very graphic tattoos which spread across the entire body, beyond the conventional areas.

BREAKING WITH CONVENTION... AND DIALS

The enamel dial of the new 44mm case timepiece echoes the many dials accumulated by Xoil, a fervent collector of curiosities. “As this is a highly classical aspect of watchmaking, very different from our identity, we didn’t want to approach it without making it our own,” explains Manuel Emch. “Many dials in Xoil’s collection were damaged and split. We decided to use them for inspiration and break our own, as we have always broken watchmaking conventions. It was the perfect continuation.”

The dial of the new Tattoo-DNA by Xoil has therefore been cut out with a water jet to reveal two separate and opposing parts. A Grand Feu enamel dial, decorated with Roman numerals and crafted in the watchmaking tradition, leaves room for a contemporary and skeletonised movement. Designed by RJ-Romain Jerome, the movement with right-angled bridges reveals the balance wheel at 6 o’clock, like a beating heart beneath tattooed skin.

The skeletonised small seconds ring, off-centred at 9 o’clock, was integrated into the dial to link the two worlds. And to accentuate the duality of the timepiece, RJ-Romain Jerome modernised the blue hands by reproducing the needles Xoil uses for his tattoos.

To finish the timepiece, RJ-Romain Jerome’s four characteristic paws secure the case, complete with hollowed lugs where the strap tattooed by Xoil takes its place.

The Tattoo-DNA by Xoil collection is limited to 25 unique pieces, each delivered with a certificate signed and numbered by the artist.