Fibonacci-inspired art catches the eye at IWC’s ION Orchard boutique

[SINGAPORE] IWC Schaffhausen’s new boutique at ION Orchard opened at the end of 2025 with all the cues of a contemporary luxury watch space: clean architectural lines, dark wood and textured metal.

There is even a Miramar-blue lounge where clients can sit with a coffee, try on novelties and linger a little longer – as well as a small bar that enhances the retail experience further. 

Meanwhile, a watchmaking class area invites visitors to handle components and understand the mechanics behind the brand’s perpetual calendars, moonphase displays and other feats of engineering. 

The 100-square-metre store is designed less as a showroom than as an immersive environment.

Yet for all the attention to watches, there is an artwork that gently draws the eye. Suspended within the boutique is a specially commissioned installation by Singaporean artist Kelly Jin Mei.

It features more than 220 crocheted and ceramic elements arranged in a Fibonacci progression, spiralling outward in a measured, almost breathing rhythm. 

“I started creating the work by looking at photos and videos of IWC timepieces, and fell in love with the aesthetic and idea of the Perpetual Calendar,” the artist says.

“Watching the video of how it is pieced together, I was touched by the moment the watch came to life, resembling a human heart beating. I wanted to express the natural rhythm of life.”

The Fibonacci structure, she explains, reflects both nature and the mathematical precision central to watchmaking. From the front, the forms appear as neat circles, echoing a watch dial. But from the side, they reveal shifting heights and layered depths.

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“We see a watch as a circular timepiece when it’s complete,” she notes, “but when taken apart, it has so many components and layers.” 

Crochet and ceramic, chosen for their contrasting textures and technical demands, mirror that complexity.

“Both mediums require skill to achieve certain measurements,” she adds. “Building each by hand felt like a challenge to human capability – much like watching a watchmaker assemble minute parts with tweezers.”

In a boutique devoted to watch-making perfection, the installation offers a softer counterpoint that celebrates rhythm, repetition and the work of the human hand.