Mother of Pearl horse. 21
pieces of mother of pearl,
inlaid in black abalone
shell. A clear stone serves
as the dial marker at
12 and a blue stone as
the horse’s eye. Time
required: 8-12 hours
Royal Purple from the Radiance
Collection. Mother of Pearl
overlaid on a purple ceramic dial.
Time required: 2-3 hours
Howl. Mother of Pearl wolf and moon inlaid in Mahogany
stained maple. Clear stones serve as dial markers.
Time required: 4-6 hours
For Celeste, however, it's no coincidence that she decided to
make watch dials the medium for her art.
“I have been in love with watches and clocks for as long as I
can remember,” she says. “When I was seven years old I begged
my Mom for a Charlie Tuna watch (told you we would get back to
the tuna).” Celeste says she ate tuna for months to save up enough
labels to get the watch.
“I loved that watch,” she said.
When deciding what to do with her life in the 1980s, watch-
making school wasn't really an option, so she studied engineering
instead. Then around 2008 her love of horology resurfaced and
she began feverishly collecting vintage timepieces and tinkering
with all aspects of them. She amassed a collection of watchmak-
ing tools and dove into every aspect of what makes watches tick.
Then roughly three years ago she brought her passion for nature, all
things nautical and watchmaking together to create the Celeste line.
“I wanted something organic and crafted by hand so that each
piece would be unique and inspired,” she says.
Celeste primarily sells her watches at arts festivals but is
looking to garner the attention of the watch collectors market,
especially those who are looking for something truly different on the
wrist. Find out more about Celeste and her watches at
www.celestewatch.com.
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