Elite Traveler May-June 2015

DISCOVER

elite traveler MAY/JUNE 2015 ISSUE 3 38

Watches

Grained burl wood is used for the watch encasement, referencing the car’s interior

2015

The RL Automotive

Skeleton Model 45mm timepiece pays homage to the designer’s classic Bugatti with its blasted black steel dial and use of polished wood

Driven by perfection

The relationship between horological endeavour and high-end automobiles is a road well-traveled. Take Breitling’s long-standing partnership with Bentley, for instance. It’s now 12 years and counting. Then there’s Hublot and Ferrari, Jaeger-LeCoultre and AstonMartin, Bremont and Jaguar, Parmigiani and Bugatti. The latter enterprise, established in 2004, is of particular relevance to Ralph Lauren’s new flagship watch, the RL Automotive Skeleton Model 45mm, given that the design is directly inspired by the fashion mogul’s own 1938 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic Coupé, a car widely considered to be the jewel of his much-coveted private collection of more than 60 classic automobiles. The most striking facet of this skeletonized watch is a material commonly found in cars of this vintage and pedigree: encasing the shot-blasted black steel dial is a grained amboyna burl wood bezel modeled on the Bugatti’s steering wheel. In stark contrast to the black and gold detailing of the exposed face – from the oxidized, sword-shaped hands to the oversized balance wheel oscillating at 18,000 vibrations per hour – this is Lauren’s most ambitious watch to date, and also the first to feature an open- worked movement, the hand-wound Caliber RL1967. $35,000 ralphlauren.com RALPH LAUREN’S LATEST FINE TIMEPIECE IS A PAEAN TO THE AMERICAN STYLE ICON’S GREAT PASSION – CLASSIC CARS

1938

Designer Ralph Lauren’s vintage Bugatti 57SC Atlantic Coupé, the jewel in his collection of 60 classic cars, is the inspiration for the RL Automotive Skeleton Model 45mm watch

Cut a dash The dashboard and steering wheel feature rich burl wood

Words: Henry Farrar-Hockley. Photos: Getty Images