Alexander Shorokhoff Fire Horse Created As A Work Of Art
There are watches that are designed to tell the time, and there are watches that use time as a canvas for artistic expression. The Alexander Shorokhoff Fire Horse belongs firmly to the latter category.
Created to capture the spirit of 2026, the year of the Fire Horse, it combines mother-of-pearl, hand engraving and a highly individual approach to design in a timepiece that is as much a work of art as it is a mechanical watch.
The Fire Horse is traditionally associated with freedom, courage and untamed energy. Alexander Shorokhoff has translated those qualities into a dial where a horse appears to burst into motion through a handful of confident, expressive lines. Rather than attempting to reproduce the animal with photographic precision, the design has the immediacy of an artist’s sketch, its sense of movement emerging from the simplicity of the composition. It is an approach that suits Alexander Shorokhoff particularly well.
A Horse For Every Continent
Look more closely at the dial and another story begins to emerge. Fine lines divide the composition into five sections, representing the five inhabited continents. The horse itself becomes a universal symbol, reflecting the different meanings that have been attached to the animal throughout cultures and history. In Europe, the horse has long represented freedom, strength and courage. In America, it is associated with independence, adventure and open horizons. Across Asia, it can signify energy, determination and success, while elsewhere it may represent dignity, prosperity or spiritual power.
The five sections of the dial reinforce that idea through colour. Different shades of mother-of-pearl correspond to the continents, creating a composition that changes continually as the light catches the surface, and that is where the Fire Horse becomes particularly compelling. Mother-of-pearl is inherently unpredictable. Its colours and reflections shift according to the angle of the light, meaning that the horse never quite appears the same way twice. Like a flame, the dial is constantly changing.
Eleven Individual Works Of Art
The Fire Horse is limited to just 11 pieces, but even that small number does not tell the whole story. Because of the natural variations in the mother-of-pearl, every dial is unique. Each watch therefore becomes an individual interpretation of the same artistic theme.
Alexander Shorokhoff has taken that idea a step further by making the edition number part of the dial itself. On the first watch, numbered 1 of 11, the numeral 1 becomes one of the hour markers. On the second, the numeral 2 takes its place among the markers, continuing through the edition until the eleventh watch.
It is an unusually direct way of giving every example its own identity. The limitation number is not hidden on the caseback or confined to a certificate. It becomes part of the artwork itself. The hour markers are also arranged according to the five-part colour scheme, with each section receiving its own coordinated tone. Against the shifting mother-of-pearl, the result is structured without becoming rigid.
Horseshoes For Seconds
Perhaps the most playful detail can be found at 9 o’clock. The small-seconds hand is formed from two stylised horseshoes. The larger, rounder shape represents the front hoof, while the smaller and slightly more oval form represents the hind hoof. A fine red tip completes the hand, marking the passing seconds.
It is an ingenious piece of design that could easily have become a gimmick. Here, however, it feels entirely at home within the larger composition, extending the horse motif into one of the watch’s functional elements. It is also typical of Alexander Shorokhoff’s approach, where the smallest details are given the same consideration as the overall design.
The Alexander Shorokhoff Signature
Despite its highly decorative dial, the Fire Horse remains recognisably an Alexander Shorokhoff creation. The characteristic 60 appears on the dial, while the Avantgarde hands provide a strong contrast to the delicate mother-of-pearl composition. Turn the watch over and the artistic approach continues. Behind the sapphire exhibition caseback is the automatic Dubois Depraz calibre 14069, its rotor hand engraved and refined in the distinctive Alexander Shorokhoff manner.
The movement provides approximately 44 hours of power reserve and drives hours, minutes and the small seconds display at 9 o’clock. The stainless-steel case measures 43.5 mm in diameter and is fitted with sapphire crystals on both sides. Water resistance is rated at 5 ATM.
A Natural Finish
The final element of the composition is the strap. Rather than choosing highly polished or formal leather, Alexander Shorokhoff has paired the Fire Horse with black suede. Its soft yet slightly rough surface is intended to evoke the natural feel of horse leather, while the deliberately unpolished finish reinforces the watch’s connection with the organic qualities of the horse and its environment. It is a fitting conclusion to a design that is built around natural movement and variation.
Art That Measures Time
The Fire Horse follows an idea that has become central to independent watchmaking at its most expressive. The watch is not simply a mechanism surrounded by decoration. Instead, the mechanical object becomes a canvas for an artistic narrative. Here, that narrative is particularly rich.
There is the Fire Horse itself, symbolising freedom and energy. There are the five continents represented across the dial. There are the changing colours of the mother-of-pearl, ensuring that no two watches are quite alike. There is the edition number transformed into an hour marker, and the pair of horseshoes quietly counting the seconds.
Limited to just 11 pieces, each Fire Horse is therefore both part of a series and an individual work. Perhaps that is the most appropriate way to celebrate the spirit of the Fire Horse. It is a creature associated with movement, individuality and an energy that refuses to stand still.
Technical Specifications:
“FIRE HORSE”
Reference number: AS.FR-HRS-3 / Price: €3,900
Movement: Automatic calibre 14069 by Dubois Depraz, hand-engraved and refined rotor, 21 jewels, approximately 44 hours of power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds at 9 o’clock
Case: Stainless steel case with exhibition case back, water resistance 5 ATM
Diameter: 43.5 mm
Crystal: Sapphire crystal on both sides, anti-reflective coating on the front
Dial: Multicoloured mother-of-pearl with an artistically rendered horse motif
Lug width: 22 mm
Hands: Black hour and minute hands with luminous material; small seconds hand in the shape of two black horseshoes with a red tip
Strap: Black suede leather
Limited edition: 11 pieces
For more information please visit Alexander Shorokhoff