TAOS Unique Pieces: Tuxedo & Gala

Since its debut in spring 2024, the independent brand has been making its mark in the rarefied world of extraordinary watchmaking — creating timepieces for those who cherish beauty, refinement, poetry, and the infinite range of emotions that only the human hand can bring to life. TAOS operates at the very summit of creativity and rarity, with an exacting approach to craftsmanship that leaves no detail unconsidered. Developed by Geneva watchmaker and CEO Olivier Gaud and then brought to life by the forty master artisans of Ateliers Olivier Vaucher – one of the most esteemed dial-making workshops in Swiss watchmaking – every TAOS watch is a work of art.

Weaving fabrics into horological masterpieces

Today, eighteen months into a journey beyond the bounds of time, every TAOS creation remains, as ever, a true one-off — born of a gesture, a vision, an inspiration. How long it takes to create one? Here, time is never counted. Even if it could, it would be measured in emotions, in silences, in infinite patience. All we know is that it takes 1,001 hours for a watch to be brought to life, fully formed, and reveal the richness of the Métiers d’Art that have shaped it.

The 2025 creations draw inspiration from the world of haute couture and precious textiles, transposed to the intimacy of the wrist. Engraving, enamel, gem-setting, feather art, painting on mother-of-pearl… Each craft is summoned, combined, and elevated to compose miniature tableaux — each powered by a Swiss mechanical caliber of rare distinction, finely hand-engraved to echo the watch’s face.

These are not watches. They are works of art. And each has its own rhythm. Its own fabric. Its own radiance.

Continuing the Fabric collection launched in spring 2025, TAOS pursues its exploration of the Métiers d’Art with two exceptional creations imagined for evening wear. Two watches in mirrored dialogue — Tuxedo: elegant, graphic, and masculine; and Gala: sumptuous, flamboyant, and among the most overtly feminine pieces in the Maison’s repertoire.

Two interpretations of classic formal dress reimagined in horological terms— inspired by the codes of the men’s tuxedo and the splendor of a richly crafted gala gown. Two unique pieces, conceived as adornments, where watchmaking art joins forces with the rarest crafts to give rise to uncompromising refinement. The common thread? Material, exalted. The gesture, precise. And a shared ambition: to elevate the language of textiles transposed into watchmaking art.

Two interpretations of classic formal dress reimagined in horological terms— inspired by the codes of the men’s tuxedo and the splendor of a richly crafted gala gown. Two unique pieces, conceived as adornments, where watchmaking art joins forces with the rarest crafts to give rise to uncompromising refinement. The common thread? Material, exalted. The gesture, precise. And a shared ambition: to elevate the language of textiles transposed into watchmaking art.

The Tuxedo watch — Elegance in filigree

A single thread is drawn taut; another crosses its path. Then another. And so the satin weave of an evening fabric is born. So too is Tuxedo. Inspired by the most understated and universal of evening garments — the tuxedo — it translates the elegance of a fabric glimpsed into the language of the dial.

On its surface, every line, every motif evokes the crossing threads of a loom. Fragments of silver leaf, formed into filaments of extreme fineness, are laid in successive layers — four strata, with up to five firings of translucent Grand Feu enamel — to create a woven texture of unprecedented richness. The enamel reveals in turn the depth of midnight blue, the intensity of black, and the glint of silver threads. The white gold base first receives an initial coat of black enamel before being patiently worked, layer after layer.

Each passage through the kiln demands absolute precision — the slightest shift of a fragment would jeopardize the entire composition. The pattern’s deliberately contemporary graphic structure gives Tuxedo the look of a couture textile woven with light. Every element is mastered to the micron. At each stage, a new reflection appears; in each reflection, a new secret is revealed.

The silver leaf intertwines like crossing silks, forming a texture that feels almost alive. Colors slip beneath one another in a delicate architecture, never entirely still. The eye follows the motif as one would the gestures of a Savile Row tailor — with awe and reverence.

The dial seems alive, like silk shimmering in the quiet glow of a private salon. At the heart of the watch, the Entrelacs caliber sets this elegance to a steady beat. Decorated with a motif inspired by braiding and quilting, with engraved ribbons that play with the light, each movement requires over 150 hours of hand engraving — a masterpiece in its own right. An ode to the engraver’s precise gestures, transforming metal into a sculpted fabric that carries the poetry of the dial deep into the mechanical heart of the watch.

The Gala watch — an incandescent presence

She enters the room. Silence. Everything comes to a standstill — conversations, glances, even time itself. Gala embodies that presence: the one that commands attention, arrives before the gaze, and lingers in the echo of a suspended moment. Inspired by the most sumptuous ball gowns, sewn by hand by the greatest couturiers, Gala borrows their art of layering, their play of textures, their unapologetic opulence — and embraces their spirit: lavish, intricately wrought, unforgettable.

With Gala, TAOS takes artisanal mastery into new territory, bringing together for the first time on a single dial five crafts as precious as they are rare: engraving, Grand Feu enamel, gem-setting, engraved mother-of-pearl, and feather art. A world of gestures, of materials, of fire and breath. A world shimmering in shades of rose, purple, and deep garnet.

On its dial, crafted on a 5N rose gold base, the materials dance: white mother-of-pearl gadroons, engraved and hand-painted, domed like a satin bodice; cords of engraved gold, intertwined with imagined threads; flashes of diamonds set like jewels on a gown of light; all ablaze with Grand Feu enamel in tones of purple and amethyst. Added to this are natural feathers — cut, sculpted, and inlaid into gold recesses — like a miniature haute couture detail, lending the piece a rare visual intensity.

This feather work in particular — a first for the artisans of Ateliers Olivier Vaucher — is a unique challenge at this scale. Despite the layering of materials and techniques, the finished dial measures no more than 1.3 mm thick. The final assembly is entrusted to a master artisan, the only one capable of bringing together this mosaic in perfect harmony.

Within the watch beats the exclusive Swiss Drapé caliber, a trompe-l’œil of textile with the effect of finely engraved ruffles, imparting a sculptural elegance to every bridge. A movement whose refinement is matched only by the nobility of the gesture, expressed through more than 150 hours of hand engraving — a mechanical masterpiece in its own right.

Gala becomes a fabric of time, where the mastery of metal, fire, and technique unite to reinvent the art of watchmaking on a dial of unprecedented complexity.

Tuxedo & Gala — Two unforgettable personalities

They embody two facets of absolute refinement: two unique creations designed to shine at the most prestigious soirées — from the Oscars to the King’s Ball, from the Met Gala to a private reception of rare distinction.

Each is an immersion into a world where time becomes texture, where light caresses delicately sculpted reliefs, where the human hand reveals the poetry within the material. TAOS transcends the mere measuring of time, transforming it into an ode to beauty and a vibrant tribute to the artisans who infuse each piece with soul and passion.

These creations are far more than timepieces: they are silent, yet eloquent witnesses to a dialogue between inspiration and execution, between vision and perfection.

TAOS: at the source of Métiers d'Art

Only a handful of unique pieces each year. 1,001 hours of work to bring each one to life.

For the first time in the history of horology, a company specialising in the creation of watch dials — one of the most renowned and gifted in the realm of the Métiers d’Art, crafts elevated to art forms — has played a direct role in founding a new, hyper-exclusive watch brand, producing only a handful of unique pieces each year.

Born of the pure vision and artisanal mastery of the prestigious Atelier Olivier Vaucher in Geneva, combined with the intuition of passionate watchmaker Olivier Gaud, TAOS emerged in spring 2024 with an entirely new concept: atelier-made watches, each a singular creation, combining multiple exceptional Métiers d’Art to produce extraordinary dials — all crafted in Geneva and paired with richly decorated Swiss mechanical calibers.

Each watch is a one-off. Each dial is a work of art, the result of years of experience, patience, and creativity accumulated by the more than forty artisans of the Atelier Olivier Vaucher. These are the very skills that have graced the finest hours of the watchmaking world — for decades, the most prestigious brands have turned to Olivier and Dominique Vaucher and their team since the atelier’s founding in 1978.

Today, their golden hands, guided by the passion of watchmaker and TAOS CEO Olivier Gaud, are dedicated to creating unique watches — all different, all unprecedented, all unlike anything seen before.

Genesis 

TAOS was born from the encounter between Olivier and Dominique Vaucher and watchmaker Olivier Gaud. Over his forty-six years at the head of the atelier that bears his name, Olivier Vaucher had always nurtured the vision — and the dream — of creating a watch brand that would harness the full savoir-faire and capabilities of his workshop. His encounter with Olivier Gaud, and their shared passion for exceptional watchmaking, provided the spark that brought TAOS to life.

The fruits of their reflection, dedication, and artistry are named Onde, Floréal, Kaléidoscope, Savile Row, and Dentelle — just some of the first unique Métiers d’Art creations by TAOS.

Meaning 

Taos is a small community in the mountains of New Mexico, on the banks of the Rio Grande, renowned as an artists’ colony celebrated for its eclecticism and creativity since the late 1800s. Originally, Native American artists from the Taos Pueblo created handcrafted objects using traditional methods passed down from generation to generation.

Since the end of the 19th century, the village of Taos has become an important artistic center in the region, attracting many American and foreign artists in temporary or permanent residence — making it a unique, unconventional, and notably open-minded community.

TAOS is also the Greek word for peacock — a creature at once mythical and familiar, endlessly fascinating for its multifaceted beauty. TAOS draws inspiration from its multitude of colors: an infinite palette of blues and greens, tinged with white and black, textured and silky. The peacock is polychromic virtuosity, iridescence incarnate.

Expertise

TAOS draws first and foremost on the expertise of the more than forty artisans of the Atelier Olivier Vaucher, encompassing over fifteen different crafts. After forty-six years of growth, refinement, and constant perfection, the atelier has become one of the most complete and respected of its kind. Its Geneva location has placed it from the outset at the very epicenter of exceptional watchmaking creation. This reputation is owed entirely to the people who work there.

Within the atelier, they find fulfilment, support, dialogue, and the natural cross-pollination that arises from the meeting of great talents. From their hands today emerge a series of unique Métiers d’Art creations, each more original and exceptional than the last.

Olivier Gaud, CEO of TAOS, shares: “Bringing TAOS to life, with, from the very start, the passionate support and deep involvement of one of the greatest artisanal workshops in Geneva, has been an extraordinary experience. Never before has a brand, from its inception, benefited from such a concentration of expertise in the finest Métiers d’Art.”

Olivier Vaucher, founder of the Atelier Olivier Vaucher, adds: “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of. Creating independently for individual collector clients, going further still in our research and our forms of expression, is a feeling of fulfilment I share wholeheartedly with Dominique and our entire team.”

Freedom 

Collaborating with and supporting TAOS from its inception allows the Atelier Olivier Vaucher to imagine, test, and realize bold, even risky projects in complete creative freedom. “With TAOS’s DNA rooted in the desire to showcase the Métiers d’Art as a whole, Olivier Gaud encourages us to go further, to push our limits, to try new techniques and challenge our creativity,” notes Dominique Vaucher.

From the artisans’ hands — guided by their imagination and their hearts — come TAOS watches, each a unique piece that inspires a rare capacity for wonder. These timepieces prove that the Métiers d’Art are vibrantly alive, intense, and charged with emotion.

Unity 

It is thanks to this fire, this spirit — carefully nurtured by the founders and leaders of Atelier Olivier Vaucher — that TAOS is able to shine. And it is because this energy is channeled and challenged by TAOS CEO Olivier Gaud that these creations find their way to their audience.

This is a collective endeavor, a human adventure driven by the heart, aimed as much at the fulfilment of those who create the pieces as at that of the clients who come to call them their own.

Such is the philosophy of TAOS: a harmonious blend of care, openness, respect, and protection — four essential conditions for a cause dear to both Olivier Gaud and the Vauchers: the emergence and maturation of talent.

Inspiration 

TAOS is uniquely positioned to take on the most ambitious, advanced, and fulfilling projects the artisans of the atelier can imagine. As Olivier and Dominique Vaucher put it: “These works for TAOS allow us to engage in deep, tangible research. They inspire and motivate our teams. They enable us to continue doing what we have done since the very beginning: to explore and venture into what may at first seem impossible, to keep pushing forward, for the benefit of all our clients.”

Olivier Gaud adds: “It is more than a laboratory — the artisans of the atelier demonstrate their love for their craft in extraordinary ways, and that passion radiates through every TAOS creation.”

Delivered into the hands of clients by Olivier Gaud as unique, one-off watches, each piece discreetly bears the TAOS signature. For the true subject — the true vessel of emotion — lies entirely within a few square centimeters: the dial. Here, a singular creativity comes to life, driven by the spirit of collaboration that runs through every stage of the watch’s design and creation. With its refinement and intricately decorated details, the movement inside echoes the face of each watch.

Respect 

Behind this creativity lies the shared philosophy of TAOS and the Atelier Olivier Vaucher — one defined by care and respect. “There has always been a spirit of kindness in the atelier,” says Dominique Vaucher. “We are surrounded by remarkable people. Every talent is given the space to express itself, each in its own way, in an environment of shared know-how.”

Collegiality and dialogue are essential not only to the growth of individual talents but also to the act of creation itself. “Through dialogue, we draw the best from each technique,” Dominique Vaucher continues. “This is how the love of the craft is sustained — through the living breath of our artisans.”

Distinction 

All TAOS creations share the same movement. Under the supervision of passionate watchmaker and TAOS CEO Olivier Gaud, Swiss movement maker Télôs developed the exclusive VOP318 caliber to TAOS’s exacting specifications — an automatic movement with twin barrels mounted in parallel, offering a generous power reserve of around 72 hours.

The original brief included one truly unconventional requirement: the surface of its bridges had to provide a space entirely dedicated to the most elaborate hand engraving possible. Thicknesses, shapes, and contours — every detail was designed with the chisel’s path in mind. As a result, the inside of each watch is a spectacle to match what happens on the dial side.

Engraving a single complete caliber requires more than one hundred hours of work by a single artisan, who remains responsible for the movement from the moment it enters the workshop until it is fully completed.

Each piece is housed in a gold case measuring 38 mm in diameter and 10 mm thick, in 18K white gold for Tuxedo or in 5N rose gold for Gala, with diamond-set versions available depending on the theme of each dial.

The refinement of the case serves to extend the elegance of the dial: the sharp taper of the lugs, the crisp angles, the sloping bezel, and the domed back together form an understated frame that presents each creation — only to then discreetly step aside.

Technical specifications

TAOS Tuxedo - Unique piece

Case

• Material: 18-carat white gold
• Diameter: 38 mm
• Thickness: 10 mm

Dial and hands

• Dominant blue and black Grand Feu paillonné enamel – four layers of silver leaf and enamel, with a gradient of blue enamels. 5 to 6 Grand Feu firings.
• Hours and minutes
• Leaf-shaped gold hands, gently cambered, hand-beveled and mirror-polished

Movement

• VOP318 developed exclusively by Télôs (La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) for TAOS
• Automatic winding with twin barrels mounted in parallel
• Hand-executed decorations, exclusive to TAOS, by Atelier Olivier Vaucher, Geneva
• Invisible mass, concealed within the case
• Diameter: 30.40 mm
• Height: 4.20 mm
• Frequency: 4 Hz, 28'800 vph
• Number of jewels: 26
• Power reserve: approximately 72 hours

Functions/Indications

• Hours and minutes

Strap and buckle

• Blue or burgundy alligator-style, hand-sewn in Geneva, visible saddle stitching
• 18K gold pin buckle, exclusive TAOS design

MSRP: Price upon request

Technical specifications

TAOS Gala - Unique piece

Case

• Material: 18-carat 5N rose gold
• Diameter: 38 mm
• Thickness: 10 mm

Dial and hands

• Dominant shades of rose, purple, and garnet.
• Paillonné enamel, hand engraving, hand engraving on mother-of-pearl, feather art, multilayer construction, gem-setting.
• Hours and minutes Leaf-shaped gold hands, gently cambered, hand-beveled and mirror-polished.

Movement

• VOP318 developed exclusively by Télôs (La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) for TAOS
• Automatic winding with twin barrels mounted in parallel
• Hand-executed decorations, exclusive to TAOS, by Atelier Olivier Vaucher, Geneva
• Invisible mass, concealed within the case
• Diameter: 30.40 mm
• Height: 4.20 mm
• Frequency: 4 Hz, 28'800 vph
• Number of jewels: 26
• Power reserve: approximately 72 hours

Functions/Indications

• Hours and minutes

Strap and buckle

• Burgundy alligator-style, hand-sewn in Geneva, visible saddle stitching
• 18K gold pin buckle, exclusive TAOS design

MSRP: Price upon request

For more information, please visit taoswatches.com