When all eyes were focused on the novelties from the big brands at Watches & Wonders, designer Fiona Krüger was quietly previewing a mysterious clock that questions the nature of time itself. Part haute horlogerie, part objet d’art, the Forget Time clock was developed in collaboration with Denis Flageollet’s clockmaking workshop at the De Bethune manufacture.

The concept for the Forget Time clock was inspired by the work of Dr Carlo Rovelli, an Italian theoretical physicist who has written several books about the nature of time. The clock and its movement exist concealed within a wooden cube that’s been embellished with wood marquetry. The mysterious looking box opens at the touch of a button to reveal the clock within.

Initial thoughts

We’re nearly halfway through 2025, and one of this year’s trends is becoming clear: clocks are having a moment. In just the past month, the Breguet Sympathique No. 1 sold for more than US$6 million, while the almost mythical Cartier Portico Clock No. 3, which recently emerged for the first time in decades, hammered for north of US$4 million. Even Patek Philippe introduced a million-dollar desk clock. And with a certain brand turning 250 years old this year, we might not be done with clocks yet.

In this context, the launch of the Forget Time feels opportune, though Dr Rovelli would probably argue this feeling is due to the limits of my own human perception. Such is the inspiration for the clock, which was designed by Ms Kruger and brought to life with the help of Denis Flageollet, who oversaw the design and manufacture of the movement, and Hawthorne Fine Boxes, an English maker of high-end, veneered boxes that was responsible for the exterior.

At first glance, the box, when closed, is a compact and unassuming 192 mm square. But up close the box is simply stunning. Composed of hundreds of pieces of wood and inlaid mother-of-pearl, the design is a visual representation of Dr Rovelli’s theories, distilled through the artistic vision of Ms Krüger.

The front of the box features a fixed key for winding the seven-day movement within, which can be revealed with a single press of a discreet button. Doing so causes the box to split down the middle, sliding apart to reveal the hand-finished constant force movement and the rotating glass rings that indicate the hours and minutes.

It’s easy to feel jaded about pricing in the watch industry these days, but after going hands-on with the Forget Time in Geneva, I was pleasantly surprised by the asking price of CHF49,000. While clocks are bulky and less convenient to collect than wristwatches, the extent of handcraft involved in the Forget Time makes it a good value, all things considered. But the Forget Time is an objet d’art first and a clock second, so buyers will likely be compelled by its aesthetic and emotional resonance, rather than any accounting of labour hours.

Philosophy in marquetry

Quoting Dr Rovelli, “Time flows at a different speed depending on the place, the past and future differ far less than we think, and even the notion of the present vanishes into the infinite universe.” Ms Krüger drew inspiration from these theories to create a design that is meant to evoke photons drifting through space, emanating outward from a central point.

The visual concept was brought to life in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, where Hawthorne Fine Boxes has specialised in marquetry and box-making since 2002. The Forget Time is the work of artisan Emeline Dépail, and exhibits spectacular finesse.

From a visual standpoint, the box is highly textural, but the marquetry work is so fine, the polishing so precise, and the varnishing so complete that there is no discernible interruption when you run a finger across the surface.

And there are some truly lavish details, like the large mother-of-pearl disc, itself made up of numerous fragments, that drips over the edge of the box, like the moon setting over the horizon.

A worthy movement

Ms Kruger’s background is in art and design, so she turned to De Bethune co-founder Denis Flageollet to produce the clock movement. Clocks are a passion for Mr Flageollet, who established a clockmaking workshop inside De Bethune more than a decade ago. 

Mr Flageollet explained, “I have never ceased working on clocks because they open up a much vaster space than a wristwatch and offer me great freedom of mechanical and artistic expression.” 

The clock bears the hallmarks of De Bethune in both its technical functionality, which includes a constant force mechanism, and its finishing, which is haute horlogerie through-and-through.

The movement is wound by a fixed key at the base of the movement, turning the ratchet wheel directly. The power flows upward from the large barrel to the escapement, which is suspended by a full balance bridge and is oriented to face the viewer. An interesting detail is the curb-pin regulator, which is not mounted to the balance bridge as is typical, but is instead carried by its own finger bridge.

The movement plates are chamfered by hand and given a gratté finish of systematic, overlapping ‘scratches’ created by a scraping tool. In wristwatch movements, gratté can look messy, but on the expansive canvas of the Forget Time’s movement it offers a shimmering contrast with the straight-grained surfaces of the ornamental ‘wings’ flanking the movement on either side.

Key facts and price

Fiona Krüger Mystery Box Forget Time

Dimensions: 192 mm x 192 mm x 192 mm (closed); 192 mm x 192 mm x 280 mm (open)
Weight: Unknown
Material: Steel, brass, mother-of-pearl, wood

Movement: FK:DF:MBT
Functions: Hours and minutes
Frequency: 18,000 beats per hour (2.5 Hz)
Winding: Hand wound
Power reserve: 7 days

Limited edition: 20 pieces
Availability: Directly from Fiona Krüger
Price: CHF49,000 excluding taxes

For more, visit fionakruger.com.