Building stately, capable 4×4 rigs for expedition remains Land Rover’s core competency.
But modern customers are more Moschino than Magellan. The new Range Rover SVAutobiography fills out the brand’s rugged backbone with next-level luxe accoutrements. It’s offered exclusively as a long-wheelbase model, guaranteeing limo-like legroom. Highlights include hot-stone-massaging rear seats, an onboard Champagne chiller, and push-button-operated electronic doors.
The El Primero Range Rover Special Edition strikes a similar balance between style and utility, putting Zenith’s venerated high-beat chronograph movement inside a unique 42 mm ceramised aluminum case with a perforated leather strap. For making an entrance at far-flung locales, nothing else comes close.
Iconic watches get comfortable with small-scale replicas of furniture classics.
(Photo: Doug Young)
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional Chronograph 42 mm, $5,250; omegawatches.com + DKR Wire Chair by Charles & Ray Eames from 1951, $325; vitra.com
(Photo: Doug Young)
A.Lange & Söhne Saxonia Moon Phase Black Dial, $29,000; alange-soehne.com + Marshmallow Sofa by George Nelson from 1956, $795; vitra.com
(Photo: Doug Young)
Cartier Santos de Cartier Large Model, $20,400; cartier.com + Bocca by Studio 65 Sofa from 1970, $795; vitra.com
(Photo: Doug Young)
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time, $24,700; vacheron-constantin.com + Lockheed Lounge by Marc Newson from 1986, $1,395; vitra.com
(Photo: Doug Young)
Bulgari Octo Ultranero, $6,950; bulgari.com + Heart-Shaped Cone Chair by Verner Panton from 1958, $335; vitra.com
(Photo: Doug Young)
Breguet Classique 7787 Moon Phase, $30,200; breguet.com + Johnson Wax Chair by Frank Lloyd Wright from 1939, $410; vitra.com
(Photo: Doug Young)
Piaget Altiplano 38 mm, $15,200; piaget.com + La Chaise by Charles & Ray Eames from 1948; $355; vitra.com
(Photo: Doug Young)
Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Black Matte Ceramic, $3,500; bellross.com + Tulip Chair by Eero Saarinen from 1956, $285; vitra.com
On March 6, Louis Vuitton designer Nicolas Ghesquière unveiled his fall/winter 2018 fashion collection in a little-used hidden courtyard at the Louvre Museum, in Paris. An inspired visionary, Ghesquière’s ideas of how we’ll want to look in six months will, no doubt, have repercussions on fashion for years to come. Science fiction references have always been an integral part of his work, interweaving idealized concepts of the future and what humans will want to wear. The latest garments referenced multiple time periods, paired with a single long glove, astronaut style name tags, and printed bags resembling circuit boards. The models emerged on what appeared to be the hatch of a spaceship, introducing the Vuitton fall/winter collection with a startling intergalactic appeal.
Two weeks earlier, on the other side of the globe, La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the equally visionary watchmaking division of LVMH, unveiled another avant-garde timepiece, the Tambour Moon Mystérieuse Flying Tourbillon, with a little less fanfare. Resembling the clean lines of Star Trek’s Enterprise, the platinum Tambour Moon updates the 19th-century “mysterious” concept to propose a modern-day movement that appears to be floating in space.
Created using sapphire crystal discs with imaginative ingenuity, the optical illusion plays an important technical part in the mechanics of the watch, but magically disappears before your very eyes. And, like the iconic Vuitton luggage, the back of the tourbillon cage can be personalized with the customer’s own initials. The mesmerizing gleam of the spinning mechanical elements brings to mind the interlocking initials and fleur-de-lis symbols of the iconic “LV” monogram.
The LV 110 caliber, which boasts a remarkable eight-day power reserve, is concealed within the 54 mm Tambour Moon’s concave platinum case. The manual wind mechanical movement displays hours and minutes, along with a tourbillon cage designed to resemble a monogram flower that rotates around the dial every 60 seconds. Beneath the Monogram Flower at 12 o’clock lies the co-axial double barrel, above the central wheels dedicated to the hours and minutes, followed by the tourbillon carriage at 6 o’clock, all forming a vertical straight line.
This is where the “mysterious” use of transparent sapphire crystal comes into play, allowing for the appearance of the lack of connection between the winding crown and the double barrel, along with the spinning flying tourbillon that rotates around the dial once every minute. The introduction of the Tambour Moon propels Louis Vuitton into the stratosphere of high watchmaking, while still adhering to the original fundamental codes of the house.
Founded in 1854, Louis Vuitton has always played a supporting role in developing transportation technologies by creating innovative goods for all types of travel. This has helped the maison evolve, keeping pace with changing times by proposing solutions for passengers and operators of automobiles, passenger liners, trains, and airplanes, all intended for ease of use, freedom, and, of course, style.
It will only be a matter of time before Vuitton introduces goods for space travel; the day of taking your moon phase to the Moon (and someday Mars) will be here before you know it. Just as fashion shows allow us, however briefly, to look seasons ahead, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Mystérieuse Flying Tourbillon envisions the future with startling clarity.
If Gérald Genta is the Phil Spector of watch design, then Cartier is the Berry Gordy, having produced some of the 20th century’s greatest hits: the Tank, the Santos, the Ballon Bleu. The past few years have seen Cartier paying homage to its most iconic watches—2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the ever-popular Tank and the reintroduction of the Panthére, born of the 1980’s glitzy excesses. This year, the spotlight turns to the Baignoire, a style that epitomizes the house’s penchant for pieces with sleek, geometric lines.
Named for its distinct oval dial (the name translates to “bathtub” en français), the Baignoire was designed by Louis Cartier in 1906, though it truly rose to popularity in the 1960s after being donned by screen sirens Catherine Deneuve and Romy Schneider. With its elegant curves and delicate proportions, the Baignoire is pure feminine grace.
Cartier Libre Baignoire Débordante
But the latest batch of Baignoires, debuted at Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2018, leave all of that demure heritage in the dust. The new collection, called Cartier Libre, takes the classic oval form and turns up the volume, distorting and reimagining the shape in four limited-edition styles: These are all about big, bold extravagance, pushing the Baignoire’s silhouette to extremes.
The Baignoire Débordante, which translates roughly to “overflowing bathtub,” features an elongated black dial surrounded by white gold rays dripping with diamonds and black spinels. The Baignoire Infinie uses a thick cuff bracelet as the base for a microdial surrounded by rings of sunburst marquetry, inlaid with a mix of diamond baguettes, black spinels, and white-and-gray mother-of-pearl.
Cartier Libre Baignoire Etoilée
The Baignoire Etoilée turns the oval horizontally, with a quilted dial suspended from a fluid bracelet of cascading white diamonds that fade into black spinels. The Baignoire Interdite also features a horizontal dial, but oversize and obscured by glossy black Roman numerals that haphazardly wrap around the face and diamond-studded bezel like very luxurious bondage.
Each of the styles will be produced in numbered editions of between 15 and 50 pieces, making them inherently collectible. But the appeal of Cartier Libre goes beyond mere exclusivity. Not only are these four designs imaginative displays of the brand’s decorative savoir faire, they are evidence of what is surely a rare occurrence: Cartier throwing orthodoxy out the window and reveling in its wild side.
Inside a modest workshop on the western outskirts of Buenos Aires, four men are hard at work.
They measure patterns and heat irons over an open flame, methodically whetting and polishing and hammering. The tables are covered in awls, spurs, wrought-iron pincers. Rolls of exquisite calfskin and horsehide are stacked waist-high. Rows and rows of hardwood shoe lasts line the shelves.
Welcome to Casa Fagliano, a bastion of traditional bootmaking. The workshop first opened in 1892, across the street from the Asociación Civil Hurlingham Club. The latter establishment grew into the nation’s equestrian sports epicenter, hosting Abierto de Hurlingham, one of the world’s most prestigious polo tournaments. Casa Fagliano found an eager clientele. English-style polo boots became a specialty.
Germàn, the Fagliano clan’s youngest member, shows off his wares.
Four generations later, the operation remains a family affair. Rodolfo, the 86-year-old patriarch, cuts leather and welts soles alongside his sons, Eduardo and Hector, and his grandson, Germán. To them, “mass-production” is a four-letter word; these guys make each boot by hand, one at a time. Order a bespoke pair with matching kneepads and wood trees, and you can expect to join a six-to-eight-month waiting list—albeit one that includes Prince Harry, Tommy Lee Jones, and the Sultan of Brunei.
Also Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Swiss watchmaker first collaborated with Casa Fagliano seven years ago, commissioning straps for a limited-edition Reverso Tribute to 1931. Now, the two firms have teamed up again, this time on a special version of the Reverso Tribute Duo, which features a Cordovan leather strap, designed and handmade in the Fagliano workshop. According to Geoffroy Lefebvre, deputy CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, the continued partnership is a matter of values and pedigree.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duo (Casa Fagiliano strap), $22,900; jaeger-lecoultre.com
“Both our realms share a passion for the product, respect for expert craftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail and the pursuit of perfection,” says Lefebvre. “The Reverso was originally created in 1931 for British Army officers in India who were anxious to protect the glass of their watches while playing polo…. Therefore the relationship between the inventor of the polo watch and the most prestigious polo boot manufacturer was natural.”
The two-tone Fagliano band complements the Duo’s pink-gold case, which, as ever, features two dials. The main face is sun-brushed satin gray; it swivels and tucks away to reveal a secondary dial, silvered with Clous de Paris guilloché detailing and a day-night indicator. Both sides have formal dauphine hands, gold-plated hour markers, and run off a manual, in-house movement, offering a 42-hour power reserve.
Just 100 examples of the Reverso Tribute Duo will be offered on a Casa Fagiliano Edition strap, an order that took the leather-workers an entire year to fill. But, unlike the previous Tribute to 1931, which was exclusive to American stores, this new watch will be available at Jaeger-LeCoultre boutiques worldwide—and, yes, that includes the Buenos Aires store.
