WATCH THE WORLD END

Jean Marc Bosque, historian and watchmaker with a keen interest in Mayan culture, has crafted Kukulkan, a new Swiss wristwatch named for the Mayan god who created the universe.

This is another, kind of cool, example of people profiting (as opposed to prophesying), the end of time. Bosque’s watch will be available to purchase until December 21, 2012.

Calling his creation a tribute to the Maya civilization, he explained in a presentation in Mexico that he "wanted to make a watch featuring a very strong symbol.” Hence he turned to the Maya solar calendar for its “precision" and the “very strong symbolism” of Mesoamerican culture.

On the back of the watch is an engraving of the Maya calendar. The watch’s face is, of course, Kukulkan, described by Bosque as a "symbol of revenge, of taking power."

Rather than Roman or Arabic numerals, he used Mayan numbers to mark the hours on the watch face and used Latin American gemstones to enhance the whole package.

Bosque introduced three models: one of steel of which he is making 2012 with gemstones, a second batch of 219 steel watches with diamonds and 12 gold watches.

Now, before you get out your checkbooks or Black American Express card – the “Sky’s the Limit” super exclusive card – consider what the watches cost. (Well, if you have a Black American Express card, you don’t care what they cost). The regular ol’ plain steel with gemstones runs about $13,086. The fancier steel watch with diamonds costs $23,880 and the crème-de-la-crème gold watch with Colombian emeralds runs a hefty $398,000. If you want one of the gold babies, you’ll have to get hold of Bosque directly.

Bosque makes the watches in Switzerland; however, he is having the cases for the watches crafted in Mayan communities on the Yucatan Peninsula.

While, on the one hand, Bosque is profiting from the “End of the World,” on the other hand, he’s also adding a little class to all the silliness.