Introducing: The Streamlined Desder D001 — A Wrist-Worn Sculpture With A Triple-Axis Tourbillon
Let me introduce you to Mo Coppoletta and Luca Soprana, founders of the new watch brand Desder. Italian-born Coppoletta, who’s based in London, is best known as a tattoo artist, designer, and art director. He founded the influential London studio The Family Business in 2003, which became a global reference point for high-end tattooing, before expanding into design with the launch of Coppoletta Designs in 2011. Soprana is an Italian specialist in high-end watchmaking, known for his expertise in cases and components, as well as his work as a consultant and entrepreneur. He founded Soprodal SA, a company dedicated to developing complex cases for luxury and independent brands, and has played a key behind-the-scenes role in technically ambitious projects. The Desder D001 combines both men’s ideas and expertise, resulting in a streamlined watch inspired by the “teardrop” forms of the 1920s and 1930s, housing a complicated triple-axis tourbillon.
You’ve likely heard about Mo Coppoletta because, apart from being a famed tattoo artist, he’s also a respected watch collector and collaborator. Coppoletta has worked with different brands and served as the art director of Gagà Laboratorio. His designs are very recognizable for their dramatic visual language, which draws heavily on ornamental and decorative arts. Luca Soprana operates more in the background. In the past, this master watchmaker held senior roles at suppliers, including ProCadrans within the Richemont group, making him an important yet largely unseen figure. With the Desder D001, both men get equal attention.
The streamlined Desder D001
The Desder D001 shows itself in a shape rooted in Italian automotive history. Not coincidentally, Desder operates out of Modena, in the very heart of Italy’s Motor Valley, a region where engineering excellence, craftsmanship, and high performance come together. The body of the D001 watch is like the body of a car built by one of Italy’s famed coachbuilders. The shape is fluid and streamlined, detailed but not cluttered. The idea behind the case of the D001 is to reflect the visionary spirit that, after the Second World War, transformed Italy into a laboratory of excellence, where imagination, craftsmanship, and ambition created objects that became icons. Quite a few sports cars and motorbikes could serve as examples. These inspiring machines embody dreams, passion, speed, beauty, and technical perfection.
The design of the D001 shows a touch of the teardrop forms of the 1920s and 1930s, in which airflow dictated proportion and volume. Then, Coppoletta added a touch of car design from the 1950s and 1960s. Think of the Ferrari 250 GTO SWB. That V12-powered machine with its flowing bodywork, designed by Pininfarina, built by Scaglietti, and produced between 1962 and 1964, is widely considered to be the Ferrari par excellence. Every line of that car is a dynamic but restrained expression of movement and tension. So, how about the watch?
Bodywork encasing an “engine”
It’s hard to compete with a Ferrari GTO SWB when you’re a car, let alone when you’re a completely different object, like a watch. Indeed, Coppoletta had a hard task on his hands, bringing the visual drama of an iconic sports car to a watch. Still, he did a very good job. The D001’s case is built around the movement, draped over it following the construction beneath. The result is a watch that appears to be an integrated system, with proportions and surfaces that naturally follow the movement. The goal was to create an object that feels natural on the wrist while also presenting itself as a dynamic sculpture. That said, we have no word on the dimensions, so we can’t properly judge if the Desder D001 is wearable art or an artful wearable.
Anyway, the art-like object is still a watch. It displays the time on separate cylinders, with one for the jumping hours and the other for the continuous minutes. The balanced display of time and function evokes the golden age of the most iconic historic dashboard instruments. Do you remember the times when your car dashboard was not just one massive iPad? The good ol’ days, indeed.
Under the hood
Just like you’ll want to look at that 250 GTO’s V12 at some point, you also want to take a peek at the machine inside the D001. At the core of the Luca Soprana-designed caliber is a spectacular triple-axis tourbillon turning in the center of the watch. Apart from the hours and minutes, there’s a GMT function to the right and a power reserve indicator to the left of the tourbillon. The hand-wound 3Hz movement with a 45-hour power reserve features a mainplate and bridges in German silver, lightweight titanium, and phynox, a high-performance metal alloy best known for its exceptional strength. This complicated machine consists of 465 components and is completely handmade.
The Desder D001 will be produced in a strictly limited series of six pieces, each with subtle differences that make it unique. The price is on request. To find out the price and eventually buy the watch, you’ll need to visit Desder’s official website. There, you will find everything you need to know, and it’s also the only place you can acquire the watch.
What do you think? Is the Desder D001 a watch with a 1960s supercar personality? Please let me know in the comments section below.
