Ophion’s Vesper and Vélos collections explore two distinct sources of inspiration, each rooted in history but reinterpreted through a modern approach to independent watchmaking.

The Vesper draws from the visionary architecture of Étienne-Louis Boullée, an eighteenth-century French neoclassical architect known for monumental geometric forms and unrealized utopian projects. Boullée reduced classical architecture to dramatic spheres, circles, and pure volumes, creating designs that felt simultaneously ancient and futuristic.

Ophion translates this visual language into the Vesper through its sculptural case, repeating circular forms, strong symmetry, and carefully layered dial architecture. The design also references Boullée’s celebrated cenotaph for Isaac Newton, particularly its celestial imagery and dramatic relationship between light and darkness. Even the name “Vesper,” meaning evening star, reinforces the collection’s connection to astronomy and Boullée’s cosmic vision.

The Vélos takes its inspiration from European pocket watches and mechanical movements produced around 1780. Rather than directly reproducing an antique watch, Ophion extracts the defining qualities of the period—balanced proportions, elegant numerals, elaborate guilloché decoration, and symmetrical movement architecture—and reshapes them into a contemporary wristwatch.

Its multilayered dials use deeply engraved guilloché patterns designed to capture light with exceptional depth and brilliance. The movement follows the same philosophy, with custom-designed bridges and decorative finishing inspired by the geometry and symmetry of historic pocket-watch calibers.

Together, the Vesper and Vélos demonstrate Ophion’s ability to transform historical ideas into original modern designs. The Vesper looks beyond watchmaking to visionary architecture and celestial geometry, while the Vélos revisits the craftsmanship and decorative traditions of eighteenth-century horology.