Century "Double Phoenix"

Century “Double Phoenix”

Celadon HH proudly presents the Century “Double Phoenix” as the first design to premiere together with our new jump hour complication, the Calibre 4414.

The phoenix or fenghuang is a classical Chinese motif seen in innumerable imperial porcelain, palaces and paintings over the millennia, representing the Empress of China.

Here, the double phoenixes are presented in cloisonné enamel, in our Ming blue & white colour palette, reminiscent of the elegant Qinghua porcelain of great renown, with silvered hour and minute discs.

Our Ming blue & white dials are in fact even more complex than the porcelain it is inspired by, in that its blue tones possess a gradient which add exquisite visual depth, as opposed to the flat blue tones of the porcelain.

The gold lines, composed of solid gold wire, that compose the image, further add magnificence and grandeur to the otherwise more subdued blue and white tones, while still being only apparent on closer examination, thus retaining the understated elegance of the dial.

Calibre 4414 - A Story of Everlasting Love

Our new jump hour complication, designated Calibre 4414, was borne originally from our founder Benjamin Chee’s profound desire to create an enamel dial watch depicting the adorable smiling face of his beloved corgi Chestnut, who went home to Heaven in 2022.

Ben wanted to create a watch that would embody dearest Chestnut, so that he could take Chestnut in spirit to all the beautiful places he’d wished to, but wasn’t able to as Chestnut grew old, and have Chestnut be close to him at all the greatest moments of life to come.

Dearest Chestnut, ever loyal and faithful, would sit silently at Ben’s feet or on his lap through countless late nights and misty early mornings as Ben slowly built Celadon over a decade.

Ben wanted a dial whose centre would not be obstructed by the hour and minute hands, so that Chestnut’s full face could always be seen in all his adorable magnificence, hence the need for the jump hour and running minutes at 12 and 6 o’ clock respectively.

Enamel is the perfect medium for the portrait of Chestnut, as it will never change and never fade, even after centuries, just as the love and bond between Ben and Chestnut would never ever fade.

The portrait that Ben chose of Chestnut was based on a photograph of him at three years of age, so that Chestnut would forever be remembered in all his youthful, spritely glory, as he is now in Heaven, running on plains of gold.

Calibre 4414 is so named after the number of days that Chestnut and Ben spent together, exactly twelve years and one month, and in anticipation of the infinite eternity that they shall spend together in everlasting glory.

We dedicate our new Jump Hour movement in Honour of Chestnut, and to the eternal and unconditional love that we all have for our beloved pets, and that they have for us - a love that is absolute, infinite, and everlasting.