f r o m t h e EDITOR C H f r o m t h e EDITOR C H R I S T I A N S C H W A L B A C H A delicate process carried out in the creation of a Piaget watch THE STEELY BLACK This issue’s cover features the Centurion name burned onto on a sheet of specially treated Damascus steel by the Bavarian bladesmith Messer Werk. To find out how previous such covers were created, visit centurion-magazine. com/covercraft. Photograph by Schöttger I t has been three years since our time-honoured all-black matt cover gave way to a unique showcase of craft in its most tactile forms. From pebble grain leather and crevassed ice to raked sand found in Japanese stone gardens, a block of smoked oak, a carbon-fibre board and even plexiglass, our familiar moniker has been carved, hewn, imprinted, milled, stitched and chiselled in the most unusual and innovative ways into a myriad of materials and fabrics and then photographed. This process, like that of putting together every edition of Centurion , has been painstakingly thought out, created to champion the talented aptitudes of skilled men and women from around the world whose expertise we have called upon. Artisans such as bookbinder Katharina Lechner, wood sculptor Georg Wilczek, ice carver Thomas Tremml and letter-presser Sven Winter stein were presented with our unusual brief and rose to the challenge with aplomb and distinction. We have had unprecedented collaborations with the likes of Italian designer Stefano Ricci, who meticulously pressed black Swarovski crystals onto a rectangle of black and grey paisley silk; Lalique, whose glassmakers fashioned (by way of moulding, recutting, repolishing and then sandblasting) our name into a panel of Coutard crystal; Loro Piana and its Australia n merino wool; and porcelain manufacturer KPM-Berlin and its famous Kurland Noir range. The scope and remit of this awardwinning showcase has since been expanded to also celebrate the best in digital compositions and art that have emulated lava stone and, as in the last edition, the rhythmograms of the late German artist Heinrich Heidersberger. All of these covers, which have been spearheaded since 2012 by our Director of Photography (and new father) Martin Kreuzer and shot by Andreas Achmann, are the most tangible expression of our belief in how important artistry is in our world today. It is also the subject of Crafting Excellence, a special section which begins on page 55 and underlines our commitment to the timeless and time-tested principles of heritage and provenance with profiles on those whose métier, whether in the fields of musical instruments or furniture, remains without peer. Their one-of-a-kind wares look to yesteryear for inspiration but capture, too, the zeitgeist, masterful creations that are beyond the mercurial demands of fashion and are made to stand the test of time. As the subject of one of our pieces, retiring IWC watchmaker Kurt Klaus noted, “the inspiration for something new – it comes from inside. I always wanted to make something new, to make something different from others.” In creating our magazine, sheathed by these one-off works on the outside and by carefully curated articles on the inside, we hope we’ve risen to that challenge – and do so each issue, including this one, wrapped in photographed steel. PHOTO © PIAGET 16 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
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