Realistic tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder showing a pocket watch with visible gears, framed by two blue roses and small droplets.

Pocket watch and blue roses on upper arm

Realism · Upper arm · Mixed · Photo

The tattoo shows an open pocket watch with Roman numerals and exposed gears at its centre, with a chain and crown at the top. Two large blue roses sit above and below the watch, and small water droplets and dark shadowed shapes add depth around the design. The soft shading and highlights on the roses and metal give the piece a realistic, three-dimensional finish, photographed in two side-by-side views.

Realism Upper arm Shoulder Pocket watch Rose Clock Gear Roman numeral Droplet

Find an artist for this

Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

You keep the pocket watch open on the blotter because the regulations want every crossing logged to the minute, and the clock above barrier two has been wrong since March. Its back is glass, so the gears show through, small brass arguments turning under the lamp. Beyond the booth the lorries stand nose to tail as far as the salt works, engines ticking as they cool.

Keep reading

At a quarter past two a woman comes to window three with a bundle of roses wrapped in yesterday's newspaper. The blooms have gone the blue of cold water, and a few petals have dropped onto her papers. Her name is on the list you were told to watch for, though the list has been typed on the wrong paper and smudged at the edges. You stamp her through anyway. She sets one rose on the counter as she goes, and it sits there beside the watch with a single bead of moisture on its outer petal.

When the shift ends you take the watch out to check it against the radio signal and find it four minutes behind. You could wind it forward. Instead you leave the hands where they are and write in the remarks column that barrier two is running slow and that a rose was left on the counter. Then you lock the drawer and carry the flower out with you into a country that has not yet decided what time it is.