Sartory-Billard is a French watch brand that specialises in extraordinary dials, often built bespoke for custom orders. To produce such a huge variety of dials that make use of dozens of different techniques, they have to develop relationships with suppliers from around the world and today they are launching a special edition in honour of a new supplier they are working with for the first time. The special edition is the Sartory-Billard SB04-E Shanga, featuring Tanzanian glass dials from the Shanga workshop.
Based in Arusha, Tanzania, Shanga was founded in 2007 as a way to support local industries by producing jewellery and accessories from recycled materials sourced from the local area, as well as finding meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities. One of the businesses that supplies Shanga with recycled glass for their glasswork projects is Elewana Collection, a luxury travel and safari group and as it happens, the Collection’s founder and CEO Karim Wissanji is a Sartory-Billard collector. Wissanji suggested to Armand Billard that Shanga glass might be a good material for a watch dial and so the SB04-E Shanga project began.
Billard and his associates visited the workshop in Tanzania for a week to creatively explore the possibilities of handmade glass for a watch dial. Experimenting with different colours, textures, shapes and patterns in an organic way side by side with the master glass blowers Charles Kyalo Mulonzi, Simon Wahome Wanjohi and their team – including Erick Mwashibanda, one of the few glassblowers in the country who completed their training entirely in Tanzania, showing the workshop’s focus on local talent and materials.
Together, they settled on a vibrant blue tone inspired by Sartory-Billard’s brand colours. It’s produced using a technique where the pigment is folded into the glass, which creates the confectionery-like appearance of ripples and creating an almost mesmeric swirl of colour. After the glass is produced in Tanzania, it is sent to Sartory-Billard’s long-term stone and hard-material watch dial supplier at Groh & Ripp in Germany to cut and prepare for use in the wristwatch. From there, the dial blanks are transported to their workshop in France for assembly.
The dials are housed in a 39.5mm x 10.2mm steel case that alternates brushed and polished surfaces. But the design of the dial doesn’t stop there as it features applied numerals and central hour, minute, and seconds hands. The hands are shaped like the tips of Maasai spears while the numerals are based on hand-written numbers from across the team who helped bring the project to fruition. Karim Wissanji and his sister wrote the ‘12’, Sandra Ripp of Groh & Ripp wrote the ‘6’, Armand Billard wrote the ‘11’, designer Tiffany Bachelet wrote ‘10’ and the rest were produced by Shanga’s master glassblowers, including Charles Kyalo Mulonzi, and the workshop team.
Below the dial is the La Joux-Perret G101A automatic with 68-hour power reserve. It’s among the most highly regarded third-party calibres in the current market and has been used throughout Sartory-Billard’s SB04-E references. It’s protected by a solid caseback that’s decorated with Shanga’s logo (also present on the seconds hand counterweight) and brand motto of ‘Be kind, recycle’.
The Sartory-Billard SB04-E Shanga is priced at €4,800 (approx. £4,000) excl. VAT, in a limited edition of 100 pieces. €1,000 from every sale will be donated to Shanga’s artisan skills development programme, allowing them to buy new equipment, expand facilities, and hire more artisans. Perhaps this can be the start of a long and fruitful supplier relationship while boosting the global visibility of both brands.
Price and Specs:
More details at Sartory-Billard.
