Hands of Time

In the world of horology, time stands still for Sinziana lordache, a hyperrealist artist who creates life-like graphite drawings of watches

- Somya Rauthan

In late June this year, hyperrealist artist Sinzaina Iordache uploaded an image her Instagram on her handle @sinzianaiordache that showcased a nearly true-to-life drawing of the Bovet Virtuoso III, a fairly complicated reversible wristwatch featuring a tourbillon, a perpetual calendar, and a skeleton design rife with intricate engravings and brushing.

At first glance, Iordache's drawing could well be mistaken for the real thing, save the brand name at 12 which reads 'Foster 2015' instead of 'Bovet 1822, and certain combination of textures, given that this was a commissioned/personalised artwork. But beyond these, nearly every aspect of the watch seemed like a replica of the original, right from the transparent effect created to mimic the sapphire discs of the week and month wheel, to the decorations on the case and the details of screws and tourbillon. It had been in the works for nearly four months.

These life-like drawings of watches are a specialty of Iordache, a 38-year-old interior designer and artist based in Toronto, who has been drawing for nearly 15 years now. She uses graphite pencils on paper to make creations that appear like perfectly photographed black and white images, such is the attention paid to texture, lighting, and composition.

When it comes to watches, her works so far include drawings of the IWC Chronograph Pilot AMG Edition, whose dial and strap texture give its photograph a tough fight; a vintage Vacheron Constantin, which features a braided frame around it; an IWC Schaffhausen Aquatimer with an exacting metal bracelet; an IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar with clean details; and Breguet Type XXI that has a partly hidden movement beneath, and more.