stuart semple creates a watch that smiles at you instead of telling the time

stuart semple-designed watch replaces precision with pause

Artist Stuart Semple unveils Happy Time, a wearable artwork developed with designer Thomas Lehman of Milan’s Analogue Lab that deliberately sidesteps the basic function of a watch. Launched on Kickstarter, the project proposes an alternative relationship with time, defined less by measurement and efficiency and more by pause, perception, and emotional relief. Happy Time operates as a small, conceptual sculpture for the wrist, offering a slowed, ambiguous experience of duration.

At first glance, the watch reads as almost empty. Numerals and hands on the dial are replaced by a black smiley face that rotates slowly, completing a full turn once every hour, while a small silver dot marks a twelve-hour cycle. This minimal design provides only the loosest indication of passing time, resisting precision by design. Semple describes the object as a device that invites stillness instead of urgency. ‘It is a small object, but it gives you a small moment of calm every time you see it,’ the artist shares.

The dial is coated in Black 4.0, Semple’s ultra-matte acrylic paint developed over more than a decade of experimentation. Absorbing nearly all visible light, the surface reads as a velvety void, flattening depth and muting reflection.

all images courtesy of Stuart Semple and Thomas Lehman

happy time questions timekeeping with rotating smiley face

The steel case of the watch is finely machined and balanced for everyday wear, while a high-clarity crystal lens gives the rotating elements a floating presence. A Japanese Miyota movement drives the mechanism, maintaining consistency without drawing attention to itself. Materials are selected for longevity and tactility, with recyclable components used throughout. An optional crystal caseback exposes the movement, reframing the watch as a transparent kinetic object rather than a sealed instrument.

British artist Stuart Semple conceived Happy Time after observing a close friend in the art world who, despite outward success, seemed depleted by constant pressure. The watch was imagined as a way to soften daily rhythms, an object that slows perception. In this sense, Happy Time aligns with broader cultural fatigue around productivity metrics, screens, and constant quantification. Semple and Lehman treat the watch as a conceptual starting point, questioning timekeeping.

the project proposes an alternative relationship with time

a Japanese Miyota movement drives the mechanism

numerals and hands on the dial are replaced by a black smiley face

resisting precision by design

the dial is coated in Black 4.0, Semple’s ultra-matte acrylic paint

Happy Time operates as a small, conceptual sculpture for the wrist

the watch was imagined as a way to soften daily rhythms

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a small silver dot marks a twelve-hour cycle

this minimal design provides only the loosest indication of passing time

the surface reads as a velvety void

Semple describes the object as a device that invites stillness instead of urgency

design diagram

project info:

name: Happy Time

artists / designers: Stuart Semple | @stuartsemple in collaboration with Thomas Lehman (Analogue Lab)