With eight seasons filmed over almost ten years and an average audience of 30 million for the final episodes, Game of Thrones remains the series to end all series, as much for its viewership as for the scale of production and the compelling fantasy world it creates, followed by a community of millions worldwide. Among these fans are watch collectors who would brave dragons to own a Swiss-Made timepiece with GoT credentials.
Enter Kross Studio. Historically close to Warner Bros. and after a Batman collaboration, the young independent brand has produced, under licence, ten Collector Sets inspired by Game of Thrones and its House of the Dragon prequel. Each set is composed of a floating central tourbillon watch and a dragon’s egg functional sculpture.
Manufacture movement
This patented floating central tourbillon is Kross Studio’s signature calibre. It is manufactured in-house, the brand having its own integrated production facilities which it also uses to service third-party clients. It was developed by founder and creative director Marco Tedeschi. Also part of the team is Sergio Silva, who presided over some of the most out-there watches at Hysek then RJ – Romain Jerome.
Once again, this unique calibre is the showpiece, centrally positioned in a large opening that reveals its inner workings. Several wheels have been personalised for the Game of Thrones Collector Sets. The remainder of the movement is largely the same as in the regular collection. Wound by the case back (hence no lateral crown that would interrupt the design’s symmetry), it delivers five days of power reserve and is contained in a 45mm titanium or gold case under a sapphire crystal dome.
For the exterior, each of the 10 Game of Thrones watches is a unique piece with its own design. The most striking feature has to be the central ring inside the minute track. Not only is it made from Damascus steel, a first for Kross Studio, taking authenticity to a new level, the brand sourced the steel from the same foundry in Sweden that forged the metal for swords in the series.
A two-kilo egg
As with previous Collector Sets, Kross Studio has carried the concept as far as the presentation box. In this instance, a resin dragon’s egg, 20 centimetres high and weighing 2.2 kilos, in the dominant colour associated with each creation. Each egg is therefore as unique as the watch itself. The brand insists on the “functional” nature of this sculpture, which doubles up as a presentation case for the watch. Already, eight of these ten Collector Sets have been snapped up by collectors or retailers (Chronopassion, Seddiqi and Watches of Switzerland, among others) but the series’ most ardent fans can console themselves knowing that Kross Studio is already working on the sequel, again under Warner licence. All will be revealed this year at the earliest, as the brand has other projects in the pipeline, not least a new case and, more to the point, two new movements.
