In 1963, after the launch of the Space Age collection, which included the creation of the stage costumes for the famous Beatles band and the NASA space suits from 1970 , Pierre Cardin launched the limited edition of Espace watches (1971) . Being inspired by the space travel of the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin ( 1961), the design of these watches was a futuristic one, including elements such as : metal blocks , Lucite cubes , layered discs , smoky quartz crystal surrounds and Futuro domes . The rarest watches in this collection are those equipped with this Swiss Made FHF 36 - 17 Jewel's handwound mechanisms. We located a very cool
Extra Points
The Pierre Cardin Espace watches were by no means the only ones inspired by man’s foray into space – other similar retro pieces that come to mind include the 1969 Spaceman, created by Catena and Zeno, or perhaps the Jovial Vision 2000, an elusive watch, produced in very low numbers and exhibited at Basel Fair in the 1970s, which makes use of references to space travel in their advertisements.
The Espace Watch Line was an unconventional portfolio of unisex wristwatches with incredible packaging at good retail prices,” he says. “Only a few important Swiss watch brands such as Patek Philippe, Piaget, Chopard and, later, Longines presented pieces like these in their catalogues – wristwatches with a similar innovative design but manufactured with more expensive metals. However, Pierre Cardin offered stainless-steel and plastic watches with incredible design and good mechanical movements at reasonable prices for the first time.”
What we think
This particular Pierre Cardin Espace is housed in a rectangular, 32mm brushed, stainless steel case with a mirror-polished bezel, a signed crown and a flat acrylic crystal. It features a brushed grey dial with circular indices and a silver ‘baton’ handset. Powered by the manually wound FHF36 movement from Fabrique d'Horlogerie Fontainemelon, a Swiss ébauché manufacturer that was eventually subsumed into ETA in 1985, it bears the ‘Jaeger’ signature on its caseback, attesting to its French — rather than Swiss — origins. I have been wearing the watch and really enjoying it. Nothing can be too OTT when it comes to 1970s watch design
Spec Stuff
Reference :Espace
Movement : Swiss Made FHF 36 - 17 Jewel's
Age :1971/1980
Specific Age : Circa 1971
Case Size : 32mm x 40mm
Case Thickness : 10.5mm
Lug to Lug : 42mm Lugs :20mm Condition : Pre-Owned Box & Papers : No Case Material : Chrome Case Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof
1971 Pierre Cardin 'Espace Range' Rare space-age design watch Jaeger France Mechanical
