In contemporary watch collecting, the radical designs of the 1970s are often overlooked in favor of the classic silhouettes of the 1950s and 1960s. And we think that’s a shame.
Back in the Grooviest Decade, industrial designers, fashion houses, and creatives of all stripes were experimenting with Space Age shapes inspired by man’s journey into…well…space! The Moon Landings of 1969 occupied the zeitgeist for decades to come — indeed, if you’re an Omega Speedmaster collector, they still do — and saw the creation of art that departed from the restrained, midcentury norms of the day into something flamboyant, colorful, and fun.
1970s watchmaking proved no exception to this playful experimentation. Pierre Cardin, a then-highly influential figure in womenswear who licensed his eponymous maison’s name to all sorts of products, created a line of 26 androgynous timepieces cased in plastic and steel and powered by hand-wound movements from Jaeger. Unlike contemporary pieces from the likes of Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe — which were often cased in precious metals — these funky watches remain highly affordable.
This particular Pierre Cardin Espace is housed in a square, 37.5mm stainless steel and gold-plated case with a polished, gold-plated bezel, an unsigned crown at 3 o’clock, and an acrylic crystal. It features a brushed, satin silver dial with gold ‘quadrant’ indices and a gold ‘baton’ handset. Powered by the manually wound FHF36 movement from Fabrique d'Horlogerie Fontainemelon, a Swiss ébauché manufacturer that was eventually subsumed into ETA in 1985, it bears the ‘Jaeger’ signature on its caseback, attesting to its French — rather than Swiss — origins.
Paired to an Italian-made, black leather one-piece strap with contrasting top stitching and a stainless steel pin buckle, it’s far and away one of the coolest examples of a two-tone timepiece that’s come across our desks.
Don’t let this one slip away!