Ralph Lauren Fashion News

"Ralph Lauren teams up with the world's most elite watchmaking company!"

Fashion icon Ralph Lauren took the watch world by storm earlier this year at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva by introducing a primarily gold watch collection just when the luxury watch industry was sliding into its worst downturn since the Japanese invented quartz in the 1970s.

Gutsy? Sure. But then Lauren is known for taking business risks. In 1967, a major department store told him he should narrow his ties and remove his name. He refused. He went on to build a billion dollar empire.

And besides, Lauren’s watchmaking project, a 50/50 joint venture with the Richemont Group, has been four years in the making. At a black tie dinner held in his honor at the Grand Théâtre Geneva in January 2009, Lauren expressed his commitment to the craft to a group that included executives from some of his fellow Richemont brands (Cartier, Piaget, Baume & Mercier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin, Montblanc, Van Cleef & Arpels, Lange & Sohne, IWC and Roger Dubuis).

“I’m not here as a visitor; I’m here as a watchmaker. I want to have an office next to you.” He later commented, “I hope you like the collection. If you don’t, well, look the other way.”

The collection offers 23 styles in three lines –Slim Classique, a round dress watch; the equestrian-inspired Stirrup collection; and the Sporting collection. The range includes white gold, rose gold, platinum and steel, with diamond options, decorated movements and two complications in an all-mechanical line.

The Stirrup has a white lacquered dial, railroad-style minute markers and 18k rose or white gold cases. A limited edition of 67 pieces in platinum are signed and numbered to commemorate 1967, the year the Ralph Lauren brand was created. The Slim Classique contains the ultra-thin (2.1mm-thick) Piaget P430 movement in a slender, knife-edged case in 18k gold or platinum. The Sporting collection includes two complications, a chronograph and a World Timer, both of which contain Jaeger-LeCoultre movements. Case options include 18k gold or steel.

Prices range from $9,000 to nearly $70,000 U.S.,

Source: http://www.firstwaternews.com


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