Surrendering a Rolex to Nature: Time Flies

Some objects gain meaning not only through their function but also through the stories they carry. Watches measure time—but sometimes, they spark a reflection on time itself. The seconds tick with mechanical precision, yet more often than not, they are redirected by life’s small deviations. Time Flies emerges precisely at this intersection. It is an experimental project in which a Rolex, a symbol of flawless engineering, is surrendered to an uncontrollable biological process. What results is less a conventional watch and more a surface built upon concepts of time and value.

An Experimental Intervention on the Perception of Luxury

Time Flies, brought to life by the Spain-based creative brand MilfShakes, challenges the conventional perception of luxury. The watch’s mechanism is preserved, while its dial is removed and placed in a specially designed environment with living creatures. Mosquito larvae, nourished with colorful organic food, leave random traces across the surface. This process, guided by human intention yet inherently unpredictable, creates a pattern that can never be replicated. Each mark is the result of a fleeting movement.

The Watch Dial Surrendered to Nature

At this point, design has lost its conventional meaning. There is no drawn sketch or predetermined composition—only the process. A space emerges where control is withdrawn and chance takes over. The watch continues to function, keeping time, yet its surface now bears a biological memory more than an engineered one. Here, the designer steps into the background—not as a decision-maker, but as an observer setting the conditions. The object is shaped not by intention, but by time. Each mark is a silent record of an unmediated encounter.

Time Flies

The project’s name comes from this very encounter: Time Flies. This expression, which evokes the swift passage of time, also directly references the living process at the heart of the work. The permanence symbolized by the Rolex stands alongside the transience of nature. Here, perfection is deliberately loosened, and value is redefined through uniqueness and story. Each mark represents an irretrievable moment. The watch is no longer part of mass production; it is a singular surface shaped by chance. This transforms the object from a mere timekeeper into a witness that carries the process itself.

Dijital Çekilişle Ürünün Sahibine Ulaşması

This project is not a brand collaboration. Rolex has no official role in it. The resulting watch will not be sold directly; instead, it will find its new owner through a digital lottery. Participation takes place via low-cost tickets. It is less about purchase and more about sharing in a possibility. Even ownership is uncertain. Who will win, when the result will be revealed, and whose wrist the watch will continue its life on—all of this remains in suspense. Value emerges not from accessibility, but from patience, chance, and being part of the story.

Time Flies is more than a watch—it is a proposition, an idea. Rather than focusing on how time is measured, it questions how time is experienced. It loosens the notion of control behind flawless surfaces, reminding us that design sometimes is not about directing, but about creating space. Objects change—and so does the meaning we assign to them.

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