Woodblock bund

This A581 is an elegant watch from the 1960s, made by the Shanghai watch company. One of Shanghai’s most iconic views is the Bund, a line of European style merchant buildings that sit on the edge of the Huangpu river, directly opposite the famous Liujiazui skyline containing the pearl tower. This area signifies the longstanding role Shanghai has had in international trade and as a financial centre.

The view in the watch dial is of the Bund around the time the watch would have been made.

The style of the watch is simple and blocky. This is intended to reference one common aesthetic at the time, the woodblock print, where an image was carved into a block of wood in relief and then simple colors were printed using the woodblock. It gives it a very distinctive and geometric feel.