The Silent Thief

A magnificent watch to stir your imagination.

The Silent Thief watch was designed by British Artist, Andy Wilx.

The name of the watch is both a play on the thieving nature of the magpie and time as an ever-present, silent thief.

The bird rolls his eye and watches us all the time - waiting for his moment to catch us unaware and strike!

The hours and minutes are displayed on the intricately patterned discs, the design creates a kaleidoscope of colour and pattern as the discs turn.

The Silent Thief has been gilded using pure palladium, which creates a beautiful shimmer on the watch face. 

It is also powered by a stunning Swiss-made automatic mechanical movement, which is visible through the glass case back.

Andy explains his inspiration for the design:

“I’m intrigued by the idea of taking something as beautiful as a bird and making it more beautiful with gold and jewels. By giving the bird a simple piece of jewellery you instantly create a narrative:

A robin perched on a fence, is just that; but a robin wearing a necklace perched on a fence is the beginning of a story. The bird is no longer part of the scenery but becomes an actor, centre-stage.

This isn’t to anthropomorphise the bird as much as to give the viewer an intriguing reference and provoke curiosity and stir our imagination.

The design for this watch is part of a series of works that I’ve created, which collectively form the Adorned Series. These works are all thematically linked by the idea of adornment - that is to make more beautiful or attractive.”

Our small team printed the individual colours in the design one by one, applied the metals by hand, before cleaning and backing them with a varnish for protection, then each watch was assembled, all in our London workshop.