Bandwagon jumping, at least when it comes to products, is so widespread these days, it's difficult to know who did what first. Often, the people who come up with an idea aren't the best at optimising it. Don't believe me? Then you're the sort of person still using Friendster, driving a Fisker and making notes on your Palm. Competition, after all, is a good thing and, in recent times, the watch world has become a whole lot more competitive as the big names in fashion start taking their timepiece businesses seriously. Now sporting better designs, better materials and, most interestingly, Swiss movements, watch offerings from the catwalk giants are increasingly becoming serious propositions for the collector. Of course, the fashion houses will never convince the purists, but then they're happy sniping about things on Friendster.
One of the big stories at last month's BaselWorld was the relaunch of the Emporio Armani watch line. Much of the fanfare surrounded the decision to upgrade the movements to Swiss-made. Only a few of the first, or rather rebirth, collection are mechanical inside and not quartz. The Black Magic (top) is one of them and comes with an STP1-11 automatic movement made by Swiss Technology Precision, which, to be honest, won't impress die-hard watch fans but might just pass muster with someone requiring a mechanical movement. The case is sized at 42mm and made of polished stainless steel with matt-black plating and the strap is rubberised alligator leather. Functions are kept simple with a three-hand dial and date indication in keeping with the overall, classic design. Time, as they say, will tell whether Emporio Armani will have success with its new watch endeavors but things are certainly heading in the right direction. The Black Magic is priced at HK$13,400.
Next up we have the Salvatore Ferragamo Lungarno (right), which, I have to confess, is a pretty cool name for a watch and it doesn't look too shabby either. Salvatore Ferragamo is, again, pretty new to the watch business and it has also upgraded its movements to justify the higher prices and also infuse its pieces with a bit more credibility. The F-80 is still the backbone of the collection but the limited-edition Lungarno brings greater flair to the range. The watch features an automatic chronograph movement made by respected Swiss manufacturer Dubois Depraz, so the insides are in good hands giving Ferragamo time to focus on the design. The standout feature is the perforated blue-leather strap with contrasting red underlay, while the dial respects the traditions of the chronograph with two sub-dials. Prices for the Lungarno, which is limited to 500 pieces, will be announced next month.
Burberry turned things up to 11 last year when it launched The Britain collection of Swiss-made but British-designed watches. Burberry head designer Christopher Bailey has taken a personal interest in the design and his paws are all over The Britain Automatic 43mm (right). The key features are the polished- and brushed-steel 43mm case in a shape Burberry hopes will become iconic, and the embossed black-leather strap featuring the brand's check pattern. The dial design is clean and simple with Arabic numerals at only the 12 and six o'clock positions and the dial itself a black sunray with all the indices and hands covered in Super-Luminova. Inside is an ETA 2824-2 mechanical movement with 40 hours of power reserve - nothing particularly special but reliable and, yes, it does have the Swiss stamp of quality. Functions are pretty simple with only a date window as an added extra and 50 metres of water resistance. Prices for the Burberry The Britain Automatic 43mm will be confirmed soon and will be available only from Burberry boutiques.
