Most watches tell time. This one writes to it.
A Letter to Time is Mauro Carraro's original work for World Watch Day 2026. It's a wandering-hour watch drawn in blue ink, finished with 24K gold leaf and set over a page of his own handwriting. Look closely at the dial: three numbered satellites line up to read 10·10·26, the date the watch world stopped, very politely, to celebrate itself.
Photography: Johann Sauty. Artwork: Mauro Carraro.
The handwriting isn't just texture. It's a real letter. In it, Carraro looks back on discovering watchmaking in Geneva and the friendships that grew out of a shared obsession with time. Anyone who has fallen down the horology rabbit hole will know the feeling: you come for the movement, and you stay for the people.
The details
- Blue ink and 24K gold leaf on Arches 600 g/m² satin-finish paper
- 56 × 76 cm, or 65 × 85 cm framed (frame included)
- A one-off, with a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity
- Collected in Geneva, by appointment
Where the money goes
Carraro's studio, Blue Ink & Golden Leaves, is running the auction over 250 hours. He pays for the artwork, framing, organisation and payment fees himself, so the full auction price goes to charity. The intended beneficiary is the Fonds Pierre Amstutz, if it accepts the donation. The Association des Amis de la Fondation Battenberg is the backup.
Photography: Johann Sauty. Artwork: Mauro Carraro.
One catch: you have to register and be approved by the studio before you can bid. If you want it, sign up now.
Our take: Watch brands spend fortunes telling us time is precious. Carraro made the same point with a pen, some gold leaf and a good cause, and it's a very elegant complication, and it’s not even moving.