The solid gold bust of Marcus Aurelius was unearthed from the entrails of Aventicum in 1939, the former Roman Swiss capital which is now called Avenches, south of Lake Murten. The Roman emperor’s effigy has been reproduced, miniaturised (3mm tall) and magically captured in the heart of the dial of Christophe Claret’s brand new watch. A carefully installed mirascope on the watch beams the gilded statuette onto the dial which meant the watchmaker had to completely redesign the time display. The hours and minutes are underlined by two markers rather than tracked by hands traditionally placed in the centre. The time functions are brought to life by the self-winding AVE15 calibre housed in a rose gold, white gold or titanium 44mm case coated in anthracite grey PVD. You can gaze at the movement through the caseback as it provides the 72-hour power reserve. Price: 49,000 CHF exc. VAT (rose gold) – 53,000 CHF exc. VAT (white gold)