In 2011, the Dutch design studio GRO design ( https://www.grodesign.com/ ) conducted a study entitled "Once Upon a Time," comprising seven unique investigations into the concept of time. As part of this study, I had the opportunity to contribute to the development of two innovative timepiece concepts that offer a fresh perspective on the presentation of time.

Lifetime concept Imagine a watch that keeps its own time, oblivious to requirements for regularity or a need to be read. This concept presents a provocative idea of time by replacing the mechanics of a watch with a growing organic culture.

Trapped in a sealed glass enclosure, a bacterium grows at its own pace and marks time by reproducing itself. Feeding on a culture, and warmed by its host, the speed it spreads is controlled by factors we cannot measure.

This concept takes the abstraction of a time-piece to its extreme. By removing any pretence of accuracy or regularity it enables us to look more holistically at time as the measurement of a life.

Bodyclock Exploring intimacy, the ‘Bodyclock’ concept addresses the physical impact of wearing a watch.

In order to make the watch more seamless and streamlined, the buckle - a necessary but often annoying detail - has been moved from its normal position below the wrist, to be incorporated with the watch face.

The adjustment crown is unobtrusively hidden below the ring when the watch is worn, and the soft polymer strap is tailored to the owner’s exact size by cutting it to length. he largest components are clustered towards the center, allowing the edges of the face and strap to be ultra-fine and an almost seamless extension to the body.