In 2008, a year before graduating, the 24 year-old architect created a pair of cufflinks as a gift for his father. The pieces were crafted from two mechanical watch movements from the 1930’s. A month later, the cufflinks find their way to the “Louvre des Antiquaires” in Paris in Mr Arka’s stall, a well-known antiques dealer.

After graduating, Quentin Carnaille went through various professional training in sales, finance and legal, accumulating experience to become an entrepreneur.

Unlike the mastering of fire or the invention of the wheel, time is not palpable as it is a mental fabrication. Yet, it is just as decisive in the evolution of mankind.

‘Apesanteur’ (which can be translated as ‘Zero Gravity’ or ‘Weightlessness’) is a sculpture that flies, floats, levitates… like a star or planet. The levitating disk is made of thousands of tiny centennial mechanical watch components. Carnaille was able to source these stocks of vintage pieces via connections with watchmakers and antique dealers.

Through an optical phenomenon, this piece of art evokes the confrontation of these two notions.

‘Infini’ (Infinity) is made of 16 watch sculptures also composed of thousands of vintage micro-horological components that are magnetically stuck to one another. They float in an endless picture.

It seems that the 16 sculptures are frozen in time due to the inert composition repeating itself infinitely in the mirror background. There, time and infinity coexist in a stunning work.

“Garde-Temps”‘s astonishing and disorienting case shelters & highlights a gem : a piece of art which might look like a watch at first but is actually a wearable sculpture.