Dutch microbrand De Rijke & Co. recently stepped into the spotlight with the launch of their sleek, modern rectangle timepiece, the Capri. But the Capri is actually a deviation from their usual source of inspiration, which is the world of vintage automobiles, motorbikes and mopeds. Something their flagship wristwatch, the Amalfi, pays tribute to with its rotating display that lets you angle it so that it’s easy to read while driving. Bringing automobiles back into focus, De Rijke & Co. have teamed up with British illustrator Guy Allen to create the Amalfi historic car series with Amazon, Sahara and Turini.
This is De Rijke & Co.’s second collaboration with Guy Allen, the first series being themed around Land, Sea and Air. Which as you can imagine featured a car, boat and plane respectively, produced in champlevé enamel in Guy Allen’s signature illustration style. However, cars are really where Allen’s passion lies, having worked as an artist and graphic designer for the likes of Abarth, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Lotus, Mazda and Porsche across his career.
For this series of illustrations, we see three historic cars in their adventurous environments. In Amazon we see a Land Rover Defender tackle the jungle, for Sahara a Porsche 911 crosses the desert and lastly Turini sees a Lancia Stratos on mountain slopes. Each of the dials are split across the horizontal axis from 9 to 3 o’clock with the top section depicting the car and the lower section featuring a textural motif of the environment. For the first time that lower portion is produced using a three-dimensional engraved base, adding a new textural element to the illustration.
There hasn’t just been an artistic upgrade with the Amalfi historic car series though as there’s a significant technical and structural upgrade too. The two-part case (it’s the two-part structure that allows the display to rotate 90 degrees for that driving watch utility) is now made fully from ceramic for the first time. The ultra-durable, scratch resistant material that’s perfect for the trials and tribulations of a long road trip through challenging environments. The Amazon has a black ceramic case while the Sahara and Turini are white. All three are fitted with metallic caseback covers bearing additional car themed engravings.
The cases themselves measure 38.2mm in diameter and 11mm in thickness, which is again ideal for driving as they aren’t too bulky to have on the wrist for extended periods. Inside that case is housed the Sellita SW300 automatic movement with 42-hour power reserve. A trusted workhorse movement that helps keep these watches at a reasonable price.
That price is €4,595 excl. VAT (approx. £4,000), which sounds like a lot initially but when you factor in the Metiers d’Art enamel dial and full ceramic construction, they’re actually great value. As for choosing a personal favourite, I love the detail in the Sahara edition with the plume of dust behind the Porsche. Plus, it’s probably the car I would most like to own. Which of these expeditions would you like to embark on?
Price and Specs:
More details at De Rijke & Co.
