The term “fashion watch” is used to describe watches created by fashion labels rather than watchmaking maisons where the purpose of the timepiece is to spread the brand’s logo rather than make a meaningful contribution to horology. However, in the past few years, a handful of brands known for creating fashion watches have graduated to creating horologically interesting timepieces, such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel. One brand that in my opinion sits on the cusp of taking that step is Ralph Lauren with watches like the new Vintage ’67 in 18K gold.
To be clear, Ralph Lauren still has their feet firmly planted in the fashion watch world. There’s the Polo collection featuring their bear motif in various outfits that are frankly among the least interesting watches I can imagine. There’s also the Stirrup line, which is a gimmick trying to emulate the success of Cartier’s more Avant Garde case designs.
However, the Vintage ’67 has a bit more substance to it, now upgraded with a precious metal 18K gold case. It measures 40mm x 9.1mm giving it appropriate dress watch proportions and it feels very classical with its smooth bezel, retro box sapphire crystal, and fluted crown. It’s inspired by mid-century watch design as a reference to the year 1967, which is when Ralph Lauren was founded.
The dial is an interesting dressy reinterpretation of military watch dials like the Dirty Dozen. It has a stark black and white composition with oversize Arabic numerals, a railway minute track and small seconds – all of which are classic elements of highly legible field watches. The dressy aspect comes from the shape of the central hour and minute hands, which have elongated spade and sword shapes, respectively. A little more complex and artistic than the simple pencil hands of a Dirty Dozen watch.
Inside is the La Joux-Perret calibre 7380 with 90-hour power reserve and manual winding. It combines that exceptional power reserve with ultra-thin proportions, which is what allows the Vintage ’67 in 18K gold to be just 9.1mm thick. Compared to the Sellita calibres with 38-hour power reserves in the Polo collection it’s at a different horological magnitude.
This watch has everything it needs to be taken seriously by genuine watch collectors. A has a proper design concept that exists within the context and scope of vintage watch design. It uses a high end movement from a respected manufacture. And it now has a prestigious 18k gold case. The next step they need to take is to move away from fashion watches because on an optics level, there’s a chance that if you buy this £19,500 watch people will assume its value is much less.
Price and Specs:
More details at Ralph Lauren.
