Based out of New York City, Mark Chamberlain has worked on projects big and small that include interiors, decorative flooring, watercolors and more. Mark’s rich use of color and texture lends itself well to such a challenging project.
“The process moved along very organically, and I actually painted about 100 watches to get to the final set of 50. They’re so small, there wasn’t a lot of room for error.”
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Watch dials, also known as the face of a watch, are small metal plates typically painted in large bulk quantities. They are extremely thin and delicate and require precise attention to detail. In order to make these truly custom pieces, Mark painted each one of the 50 dials by hand, and in layers.
“I did all the backgrounds at once, all the Indigo at once, misted all of the ‘galaxies’ at one time, then once they were dry I started on the stars. I worked on the project off-and-on over a few months.”
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The biggest challenge of a project like this? “Being precise and loose at the same time,” Mark said. “And not losing perspective.”
After we received the dials from Mark Chamberlain, our team in Detroit began skillfully assembling each watch. The result is a remarkably unique, colorful and rare timepiece.
More information about the Shinola American Flag Dial timepiece can be found here.
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