Watch collecting has always had a visual language, but few people interpret it quite like Inkdial.
The London-trained illustrator, whose real name is Ben Li, has become a familiar name among enthusiasts for drawings that treat watches not as flat products, but as objects with weight, personality and small mechanical drama.
His rise also says something about where watch culture now lives, with collectors responding as much to illustration, process and community as they do to case sizes and calibres.
Quick summary
- Inkdial is the horological illustration name of artist Ben Li.
- Li studied Graphic and Media Design at University of the Arts London, developing a pen-and-marker drawing style.
- He first became interested in luxury watches while working at a jewellery design studio.
- His first wristwatch illustration was created during lockdown in 2020.
- Inkdial has since produced more than 400 watch-related artworks and taken commissions from brands including IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Roger Dubuis and G-Shock.
Ben Li’s route into horological drawing
Before Inkdial became a recognisable name in watch circles, Ben Li was building a foundation in graphic and media design.
He studied at University of the Arts London, where marker and pen drawing became central to the way he developed images.
That hand-drawn discipline matters because watch illustration is unforgiving.
A bezel that’s slightly off, a lug that loses its line or a dial that lacks depth can make a familiar watch feel wrong immediately to an enthusiast.
Li’s connection with watches came after university, during a period working across design roles.
The decisive one was at a jewellery design studio, where exposure to luxury watches turned professional curiosity into a personal fascination.
Lockdown timing and the collector boom
Inkdial’s first wristwatch illustration arrived in 2020, during the global lockdowns.
That timing proved unusually important.
Watch collecting was entering a rapid growth phase, with online discussion, buying and social media attention all accelerating at once.
At the same time, creative work shared online was finding bigger audiences, particularly when it gave collectors a new way to see objects they already cared about.
Inkdial sat neatly between those two movements.
The drawings were technical enough to satisfy detail-focused watch people, but expressive enough to work as art rather than catalogue renderings.
Why the drawings connect with watch people
A good watch illustration has to capture more than the outline of a case.
It needs to suggest brushed and polished finishing, crystal distortion, dial texture, handset geometry and the small shadows that make a watch feel three-dimensional.
That’s where Inkdial’s style has found its audience.
The pieces often feel precise without becoming sterile, keeping the charm of a hand-drawn object while still respecting the details collectors obsess over.
There’s also a personal angle.
For many owners, a drawing of a watch can be more meaningful than a photograph because it turns a familiar daily object into something interpreted and individual.
Brand commissions, live sketches and more than 400 artworks
What began as a lockdown project has grown into a professional practice under the Inkdial name.
Li has produced more than 400 wristwatch-related artworks to date.
His commission list includes IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Roger Dubuis and G-Shock, a spread that reflects the range of his appeal across traditional fine watchmaking and more contemporary collector culture.
Inkdial has also become known for live event work.
At Hands on Horology 2025, he created bespoke sketches of attendees’ watches in front of them, turning the act of looking at a wristwatch into a shared experience.
He won’t attend the next Hands on Horology show in person, but a custom Inkdial illustration is set to be available free on the day.
That feels like a fitting place for his work, because Inkdial’s appeal has always been tied to the people who wear, collect and talk about watches.
In a hobby often dominated by specifications and scarcity, his drawings offer something quieter but no less compelling: a reminder that watches are also shapes, stories and memories worth putting on paper.
FAQ
Who is Inkdial watch illustrator Ben Li?
Inkdial is the horological illustration name of Ben Li, an artist known for detailed pen-and-marker drawings of wristwatches that appeal to collectors, brands and event audiences.
Where did Inkdial study before becoming a watch illustrator?
Ben Li studied Graphic and Media Design at University of the Arts London, where he developed the marker and pen drawing approach that later shaped his watch illustrations.
How did Inkdial first get interested in luxury watches?
His interest began after university while working at a jewellery design studio, where exposure to luxury watches turned a design role into a deeper personal fascination with horology.
Which watch brands has Inkdial made artwork for?
Inkdial has taken commissions from IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Roger Dubuis and G-Shock, among others, and has created more than 400 wristwatch-related artworks.
Will Inkdial be at Hands on Horology 2025?
He won’t attend the next Hands on Horology show in person, but a custom Inkdial illustration is planned to be available free on the day.
