You have to see it to believe it. A talented Japanese artist reproduces iconic timepieces that are made only out of paper.

We live in a connected world. Thanks to the Internet, our personal lives, work lives, and almost everything else you can think of in between, is at our fingertips. Even the watch industry has gotten in on the game recently in the form or smart or connected watches.

All that means that we increasingly live in a paperless world. But it seems that someone didn’t get the memo, because we’ve just discovered a collection of new watches that are actually made of paper.

The unique creations are the work of Japanese artist Manabu Kosaka who uses only small pieces of hand cut paper and glue, and that’s all! With the help of some precision tools – not unlike a proper watchmaker – he meticulously assembles his watches, piece by piece.

And the end result is quite stunning, with recreations from the likes of Rolex, Seiko, Casio and others looking like the real deal.

As you might expect, these watches don’t actually tell the time. Well, technically they do but they only do it accurately two times per day, since the hands don’t actually move. The “movement” that can be seen on the back, as realistic as it looks, is only decorative.

Given that the majority of watches are worn more as accessories rather than functional tools, I can see something like this actually becoming a niche product in the watch industry.

And if he wanted to take his craft further, I imagine the artist might be able to integrate a quartz movement inside his creations without too much complication. After all, we’ve seen a surge recently in wooden timepieces, and these paper models aren’t too far off.

Still, this collection remains more of a statement of the artist’s prowess and perhaps a bit of a counter-statement to luxury consumerism, or even the constant need to keep track of the time.

To keep up to date with Manabu Kosaka’s latest paper creations, check of his Instagram page.