A customer I had worked with earlier in the life of Persa reached out to me with an idea for his wedding. He wanted a custom mechanical watch to wear with his tuxedo, along with a matching one for his best man.
I was genuinely honoured that he trusted me with it. A wedding watch is something that will always be connected to a specific day, but I also wanted to make sure these were watches they would still want to wear afterwards.
The starting point was fairly simple: stainless steel cases, black leather straps and a design that would work with a classic black tuxedo and white shirt.
Starting with the case
We settled on the case quite quickly. It measures 38mm across and approximately 11mm thick, with a polished finish and a domed sapphire crystal.
The proportions are slim and traditional without making the watch feel too delicate. It also sits comfortably under a shirt cuff, which made it a natural choice for the wedding.
Both watches would use the same case, hands and black leather strap. The main question was what to do with the dial.
Choosing between three black dials
I put together a design document showing three different directions.
The first was a plain black sunburst dial. It was the safest option, but also probably the easiest to wear every day after the wedding.
The second had a textured floral pattern inspired by cherry blossoms. It was more unusual and gave the watch a completely different personality.
The final option was a black dial with a radial fluted pattern running out from the centre. I thought this one suited the occasion best. It still looked clean and formal, but the texture gave it much more depth when it caught the light.
That was the one he chose.
Bringing the design together
Once the dial was chosen, I created a more complete mockup showing the logo placement, hands, case and strap together. We worked through the remaining details, confirmed the final design and then I began ordering everything for the two builds.
As the parts arrived, I sent him photos and videos so he could follow the process. Seeing the two finished dials together for the first time was especially exciting for me. I spend a lot of time getting the design right, and then wait weeks for the dials to actually arrive, so there is always a moment of relief when something that has only existed as a mockup finally becomes real. Seeing a matching pair made it even better.
The final dial looks fairly restrained at first. It is almost entirely black, with polished markers and hands against the fluted texture. Once light hits it, though, the pattern becomes much more visible and the whole dial changes.
That gave the watches enough detail to feel special for the wedding without making them difficult to wear anywhere else.
The finished pair
Both watches were finished on black leather straps to match the groom’s tuxedo and the best man’s suit. We also added personal engravings to the casebacks, although I’ll keep those details private.
The finished watches are essentially identical, which was important to the idea from the beginning. They were made as a pair and connected to the same occasion, but neither one feels like a themed wedding accessory. They are simply two clean, mechanical dress watches that can continue to be worn for years.
The best part was eventually seeing one of them being worn with the tuxedo it had been designed around. After spending so much time looking at mockups, loose parts and workbench photos, it was great to see the watch finally become part of the day.
This was the first time I had been asked to create a pair of watches for a wedding, and it is easily one of the most meaningful projects I have worked on through Atelier Custom.
The wedding gave us the reason to make them. The goal was to build two watches that would still matter long after it was over.
Interested in creating something of your own? Explore Atelier Custom.