Year
2026
Series
Technique
Blue ink and gold leaf
Artwork size
56 × 76 cm
Support
Arches 300 g/m²
Edition
Unique original
Presentation study
Passe-partout · gold frame
Current location
Coffee Up · Rive Droite · Geneva
Studio documentation
Johann Sauty · 1 June 2026
Story
Created in 2026 within Letter to Time, this self-initiated unique original studies the Daniel Roth Tourbillon in blue ink and gold leaf.
Across the 56 × 76 cm artwork, the watch is surrounded by handwritten text. This presentation study pairs the sheet with a passe-partout and gold frame; Johann Sauty’s studio photographs document the making before framing, from blue line to gold-leaf finishing.
Read the material notes
Blue ink is not confined to the watch. It moves from the tourbillon’s mechanical architecture into the handwritten field around it, allowing technical drawing and personal narration to occupy the same sheet. From a distance, the watch holds the composition; at close range, the writing becomes a second image.
Gold leaf is present as matter rather than printed colour. Its visibility changes with light and viewpoint: at one angle it can recede into the paper; at another, it interrupts the blue with a reflective flash. The surface therefore asks the viewer to move, revealing something a single fixed photograph cannot fully retain.
That tension—between disciplined line, handwritten time and unstable reflected light—forms the material grammar of this Letter to Time.
Studio sequence
From line to leaf.
Four frames, from drawing to finishing. Swipe or scroll to move through them; use Tab to reach each image’s Enlarge button.
Work details
Inside the Atelier
The work
Daniel Roth Tourbillon is a 2026 work in the Letter to Time series. Mauro Carraro records it as a self-initiated unique original rather than a commission. The artwork measures 56 × 76 cm; for this presentation, an owner-approved presentation study pairs the sheet with a passe-partout and gold frame.
Materials & technique
According to Mauro Carraro, the work combines blue ink and gold leaf on 300 g/m² Arches paper. In the photographed surface, the blue line constructs the watch and its surrounding handwritten narrative, while gold leaf is placed selectively over the drawn mechanism.
Studio process
Johann Sauty documented the work at Mauro Carraro’s atelier desk on 1 June 2026, before framing. The four-frame edit moves from the Letter taking shape, through the blue-ink tourbillon, to gold-leaf placement and the final work of light across the surface. Public use and the exact photographer credit remain subject to rights clearance.
Exhibition context
On 21 July 2026, Mauro Carraro recorded the work as on view at Coffee Up · Rive Droite · Geneva. Geneva Tourism describes Coffee Up as a place where specialty coffee meets horology, bringing vintage timepieces and original artworks into the same setting. No Geneva Art Tour or official Daniel Roth Maison collaboration is claimed.
Original work
The original Daniel Roth Tourbillon
The studio catalogue records the artwork details, current availability and collection arrangements.
Bespoke commission
Create your own Letter to Time
Use the Letter to Time bespoke commission brief to begin a private conversation about your watch and its story.