How did J. G.
Ballard and Chaumet become nature’s companions in this latest post? Like so many things in life, happenstance. The July 10 issue of The New York Review of Books has a very
personal, perceptive article on J.G. Ballard the acclaimed dystopian English novelist and
short story writer by Zadie Smith. This led me to pick up and re-read one of my
favorite Ballard short stories, The
Garden of Time.
At the heart of the
story are the time flowers growing below the villa terrace of refined
aristocrat, Count Axel. Ballard
describes each time flower as being the
size of a goblet, the opaque outer petals enclosing the crystal heart. Their diamond brilliance contained a thousand
faces, the crystal seeming to drain the air of its light and motion. We learn that as Axel carries each picked
time flower back onto the terrace, it
began to sparkle and deliquesce, the light trapped within the core at last
released. For Ballard, the power of
the time flowers, be they just buds or fully grown is that although they can't stop
human time, depending on their maturity when picked, they can drug the events that are happening at that time into a trance. Time momentarily or slightly longer reverses allowing more time for Alex and his wife to enjoy
the beauty of the life they have created. In this vein, we remember his
statement to his wife: I picked a perfect
flower, my dear, a jewel.
Enter my
timely happenstance. In June 2014, I read one of Nazanin Lankarani’s posts on WorldTempus. In it she interviews Thierry Fritsch, Chaumet’s chief executive about the company's
2013 selection of the hydrangea as its floral muse for its new Hortensia haute joaillerie /time piece collection. Ms. Lankarani quotes Mr. Fritsch as saying “Haute
joaillerie, like haute couture, is a laboratory of style. We have already
created 24 pieces in the Hortensia Haute Joaillerie collection and will
continue to explore this flower’s possibilities.”
After seeing one of the images of the
limited edition Hortensia tourbillon time piece, I could not forget it. I wanted to use it in
the context of an upcoming post. But how? Zadie Smith’s article on Ballard coupled with my subsequent
re-reading of his The Garden of Time gave me that opportunity.
I find Chaumet’s Hortensia watches to be the perfect embodiment of Ballard’s time flowers and their time-arresting power Count Axel was so privileged to have in his garden. What is also intriguing about this particular edition is that it is limited to 12 pieces. Towards the end of Ballard's story, Axel is left with a mere dozen flowers, of which his sequential selection will mark the final, unarrested return to time's forward movement.
I find Chaumet’s Hortensia watches to be the perfect embodiment of Ballard’s time flowers and their time-arresting power Count Axel was so privileged to have in his garden. What is also intriguing about this particular edition is that it is limited to 12 pieces. Towards the end of Ballard's story, Axel is left with a mere dozen flowers, of which his sequential selection will mark the final, unarrested return to time's forward movement.
Chaumet's Hortensia Tourbillon |
Time will
tell if Chaumet’s choice of the hortensia
will continue to be Ballard’s lasting companion as the iconic time flower.
Recommended Reading:
The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Changed Our Lives by Stephen Buchmann. New York: Scribner, 2015.
Recommended Reading:
The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Changed Our Lives by Stephen Buchmann. New York: Scribner, 2015.
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