Grail Watch Kudoke 2 ‘Starry Night’ Embraces the Style of Vincent Van Gogh

I don’t think it’s a controversial nor revolutionary statement to say that Vincent Van Gogh is one of the greatest artists to have lived. Perhaps his most influential artwork is The Starry Night, a beautiful painting of an imaginary village with swirling stars lighting the sky. It’s this painting that inspired the Kudoke 2 ‘Starry Night’ wristwatch, a collaboration between Stefan Kudoke and online limited-edition watch specialists Grail Watch.

Let’s dive right into the dial. It features an incredibly intricate guilloché pattern of ripples, called ‘twisting vortex’, that expands outward from the centre of the display while also oscillating back and forth in waves. The dial is presented in a blue colour based on the pre-dawn light of the sky in Van Gogh’s painting. Of course, a night sky needs some stars.

At 12 o’clock you can see a 24-hour scale subdial with day/night indication provided by a hand engraved sun and moon disk. On the night portion of the disk the moon is accompanied by a trio of stars, providing light even in the darkness of twilight hours. Speaking of light in the dark, the peripheral hour and minute track, central hands, 24-hour scale and the moon and stars are all coated with SuperLuminova. The regular time functions glow in a green shade while the 24-hour and moon area have a blue glow.

Looking beyond the Kudoke 2 ‘Starry Night’’s dial to its case we find that it has a 39mm diameter in titanium with a CVD blue finish. It’s an unassuming design with a classy round shape, slightly stepped bezel and sapphire crystal. The relative simplicity really lets the dial become the focal point of the piece, acting as the frame that holds the artwork.

Beneath the surface of the ‘Starry Night’ is housed the Kudoke Calibre 1-24H, an in-house manual wind movement with a 46-hour power reserve. The level of finishing is immaculate with a frosted gold plate and hand engraved balance cock displaying an infinity symbol. In fact, the infinity symbol is a Kudoke signature and is present on the dial side as well in the form of the hour hand and the index at 12 o’clock.

As for availability and pricing, it’s limited to 30 pieces at £11,750. It’s available for pre-order from 3pm today (May 10^th) on Grail Watch. Grail Watch, if you’re unfamiliar, is a relatively young retail platform that highlights the works of independent watchmakers and microbrands through limited editions.

Crucially, they operate with a principle of fairness that means all customers have a fair shake at procuring the limited editions – as opposed to the sad truth that when it comes to conventional waiting lists, who you know and your purchase history can have an impact. Which means whether you’re a fan of fine watchmaking, Vincent Van Gogh or both, everyone has equal chances to pick up the Kudoke 2 ‘Starry Night’.