Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami is officially stepping into the world of independent horology. Following a celebrated string of high-profile collaborations with luxury Swiss watchmaker Hublot, Murakami has launched his own dedicated watch brand: Takashi Murakami Time Objects. The debut offering, an ambitious and striking line titled the Skull Flowers collection, comprises five distinct skull-shaped watches. These unconventional timepieces incorporate rotating flower eyes, an innovative jumping hours display, and a flying tourbillon, continuing the artist’s long-standing exploration of avant-garde wristwatch architecture and non-traditional forms.
Initial thoughts
Murakami’s transition from high-end design partner to independent brand founder taps directly into two converging trends currently reshaping the upper echelons of the luxury market. The first trend is the rapidly growing crossover between contemporary art and haute horlogerie, where prestigious art collectors and watch enthusiasts increasingly share the same demographic. The second trend is the emergence of specialist, high-end white-label manufacturers capable of developing and producing small, highly imaginative batches of mechanical watches. This industrial ecosystem allows prominent artists and independent creators to establish entirely new brands without needing to build and maintain a massive, vertically integrated traditional manufacture from scratch.
Branching out independently appears to be a shrewd commercial and creative move. Over the past several years, Murakami has already established a devoted following amongst high-end watch collectors through his successive collaborations with Hublot. That partnership famously evolved from playful, spinning flowers set within Classic Fusion cases to the purpose-built MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire, which featured a dramatic and unprecedented central tourbillon construction.
Through these projects, Murakami appears to have recognized a commercial reality that major luxury houses like Hublot and Audemars Piguet have successfully capitalized on: a globally prominent contemporary artist possesses a unique pull that can seamlessly draw art collectors directly into luxury watch boutiques. Hublot’s recent Classic Fusion Balloon Dog created by Jeff Koons demonstrated a similar appeal, successfully attracting a wave of modern art buyers. Meanwhile, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Concept KAWS "Companion" reflects comparable creative and commercial ambitions at an even higher price point. By establishing Takashi Murakami Time Objects, the artist has developed his own proprietary platform to capture a lucrative segment of that crossover audience for himself, entirely on his own terms.
The initial Skull Flowers lineup consists of five distinct references, spanning a broad spectrum of finishes from understated black-on-black treatments to extravagant rainbow pavé settings. Depending on the chosen configuration, retail prices range from CHF 85,000 to CHF 148,000, excluding taxes. While these striking pieces will undoubtedly not appeal to every traditionalist’s taste, they are instantly recognizable as genuine Takashi Murakami works. Ultimately, that immediate visual identity is the central goal of a limited-edition watch project positioned squarely at the intersection of contemporary visual art and traditional high watchmaking.
To many observers, the two entry-level versions—the Black Rainbow and the All Black—rank among the most visually compelling and cohesive offerings in the inaugural collection. Each of these models is strictly limited to just 12 pieces worldwide. They feature a robust grade 5 titanium case finished with a sophisticated microblasted texture and a durable black DLC coating. This matte surface treatment provides the sharply sculpted skull form with crisp definition while purposefully directing the observer’s attention toward the vibrant, expressive flowers integrated directly into the eye sockets.
A mechanical Skull Flower
The artistic pairing of skulls and flowers is far from random; it draws directly upon a deeply rooted, recurring thematic binary in Mr. Murakami’s broader artistic universe: the coexistence of life and death. In his visual vocabulary, the cheerful, smiling flowers celebrate the vibrant energy of life, while the stark skull serves as a poignant, contemporary reminder of its ultimate impermanence. This meditation on mortality is, fittingly, a perennial theme deeply woven throughout the historical narrative of mechanical watchmaking itself.
However, the flowers in these timepieces provide much more than a static decorative reference to Murakami’s signature iconography. They bring dynamic mechanical movement to an otherwise unyielding and stony skull silhouette. The petals of these floral eyes are mounted on precision ball bearings, allowing them to spin freely and fluidly with the natural movement of the wearer’s wrist. This kinetic feature directly recalls the spinning flower complications seen in his earlier, celebrated Hublot collaborations.
The underlying skull structure itself is substantial and commanding on the wrist, measuring approximately 44 millimeters across and 18.4 millimeters in height. Despite its bold dimensions, the case maintains visual intrigue from every angle, featuring a sapphire case back that offers a clear view of the complex flying tourbillon within. Meanwhile, the primary time display is cleverly tucked into the lower case band at the six o’clock position, bearing a conceptual resemblance to the lateral display architecture seen on independent creations like the M.A.D.1.
In this execution, however, the technical execution is vastly elevated. The hour cylinder jumps instantaneously precisely at the start of each new hour, while the minutes advance continuously along a smooth, revolving disc. According to the brand, this engineering feat represents the world’s first cylindrical digital jumping hours display. Unusually for digital time displays, the hours follow a full 24-hour scale, clearly distinguishing morning hours from afternoon hours. Traditional jumping hours discs are notoriously rarely large enough to accommodate all 24 numerals legibly, but the ingenious cylindrical arrangement, which wraps neatly around the central movement calibre, provides ample physical space. Naturally, driving a 24-hour cylinder requires moving significantly more mass with each instantaneous jump, subtly hinting at the remarkable technical sophistication packed inside the movement.
A new level of white-label manufacturing
Powering the Skull Flowers tourbillon collection is an exceptional mechanical movement supplied by Kross Manufacture. Kross is the specialized Swiss production house behind Kross Studio and an expanding portfolio of innovative third-party haute horlogerie projects. Led by Marco Tedeschi, the manufacture specializes in low-volume, highly complex production runs that would be logistically impractical for larger, conventional movement suppliers. The strategic value of this specialized capability was underscored earlier this year when Chanel acquired a minority equity stake in the manufacturing business to secure privileged access to its agile production talents.
The hand-wound calibre KM 7012 TM pairs its unconventional time display with an impressive five-day power reserve. The large internal mainspring is wound using a clever, integrated ring built directly into the case back—an ergonomic mechanism that has previously earned praise for its tactile pleasure and ease of operation on other timepieces utilizing the same layout.
This innovative winding solution leaves the exterior silhouette of the skull entirely unmarred by a conventional winding crown protruding from the side. Instead, a discreet, flush pusher positioned securely on the left flank of the case activates the time-setting mode, allowing the wearer to make adjustments smoothly using the very same case-back ring.
True to Murakami’s meticulous artistic standards, his signature flower motif is repeated on the tourbillon cage itself, while the movement’s barrel bridge is intricately engraved with a repeating pattern of stylized skulls and flowers. These painstaking micro-details demonstrate the extraordinary lengths to which the artist went to leave his indelible creative mark on the mechanical architecture inside the watch, as well as on its striking exterior.
The Takashi Murakami Skull Flowers Cylindrical Jumping Hours Tourbillon is offered in five distinct references: the Black Rainbow (Ref. TMSKL26-TN-RAIN), the All Black (Ref. TMSKL26-TN-ALLB), the Full Pavé Diamonds (Ref. TMSKL26-TN-RAIN-FP01), the Full Pavé Black Diamonds (Ref. TMSKL26-TN-ALLB-FP02), and the Full Pavé Rainbow (Ref. TMSKL26-TN-RAIN-FPRB). Each watch measures 44 mm in diameter, 18.4 mm in thickness, and features a grade 5 titanium case outfitted with a sapphire crystal and a water resistance rating of 30 meters.
Driven by the manual-wind Calibre KM 7012 TM operating at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz) and delivering a robust 125-hour power reserve, the timepieces are secured to the wrist by a durable rubber strap fitted with a titanium folding clasp. The Black Rainbow and All Black editions are strictly limited to 12 pieces each, with retail pricing set at CHF 85,000 for the titanium base models, CHF 148,000 for the Full Pavé Diamonds version, CHF 142,000 for the Full Pavé Black Diamonds, and CHF 140,000 for the Full Pavé Rainbow edition.
