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THE CUSTOMISATION OF WATCHES IS THE ONLY WAY THAT TRUE LOVERS OF LUXURY CAN CLAIM AN ORIGINAL TIMEPIECE ON THEIR WRISTS
Words: Kamin Mohammadi
‘I aM one of those guys who is obsessed with having things no-one else can get.’ So pronounces Hollywood film director and bon viveur Brett Ratner. But he is not talking about his latest car or mobile phone gadget, but his watch. the black customised rolex pro-hunter that sits on his wrist is one of only one hundred ever made. ratner spotted it first on his friend, banking heir and english hedge fund supremo nat rothschild, ‘and i thought it was so cool. when i heard they only made a hundred and each one was numbered, well, i had to get one…’
the director of box office smashes such as the family man, the rush hour trilogy and x-men: the last stand, is typical of a new breed of discerning watch aficionados and lovers of luxury who are willing to go one step further for an exclusive watch. just the name rolex is no longer enough, now customers want a watch that not only reflects their own needs but also expresses their personality. jean-claude roustant, secretary general of the foundation de la haute horlogerie, a swiss fine timepiece organisation, says that an increasing number of customers are looking for exclusivity in watch design. ‘if we speak of fine watch making, that is the case more and more.’ roustant said. ‘More people want to express themselves differently.’
among high flyers in the world of finance there has long been a trend towards quality timepieces that can show at a glance, more than one time zone, and it was the watchmaker frank muller who first recognised the possibilities of a watch dedicated to show several time zones at once. the master banker model that he produced in 1996 could not only tell the time in three different zones, but was also obviously an expensive object of desire, one whos apparent simplicity belied the fact that its mechanism was complicated enough to have warranted at least one new patent. the watch continues to develop and grow even more technically complex as other financial centres in the world make their importance felt on the world economy and demand an appearance on the face.
however, watches such as the master banker, while prized by those in the financial markets, are not quite distinctive enough for the men – and women – who love to have something unique. the customisation of watches is the only way that true lovers of luxury can claim an original timepiece on their wrists – and it has become such an important market that some luxury brands are now releasing models that come with several customisation possibilites.
The master watchmakers in switzerland have been customising their timepieces for as long as they have been selling their wares. in the early 1900s, a rivalry to own a timepiece with the greatest number of complications between two american business magnates, new york banker henry graves jr. and ohio automobile engineer jame-ward packard pushed swiss horologers such as patek philippe to produce, in 1933, the most complicated watch ever made. commissioned by graves, the watch took three years to design and five years to build and featured the most advanced horological technique the world have ever seen. called the supercomplication, it was the only one of its kind ever built, had a different horological function for each hour of the day and even included a chart of the night sky over Graves’ home in new york. the watch was sold for a record $11 million at a southeby’s auction in 1999 and is now on display at the patek philippe museum in geneva.
the new breed of owners of customised watches may not be quite as extreme as graves and packard, but they do share a defining feature with them. as london gallery owner tim jeffries – another rolex pro-hunter enthusiast – points out, owning such a timepiece is as much about passion now as it was then, and ‘appreciating the time and energy spent on production and engineering.’ for many, he maintains, it’s a question of ‘knowing more and spending more…now a watch is a way of inferring some sort of status.’ it is the passion that led to the genesis of the aftermarket customised rolexes. Bamford and sons, a london-based luxury retailer with a selection of the world’s most exclusive brands on sale in its sloane square store was the first company in the world to pioneer the application of the pvd process onto the rolex and to introduce this most desirable of products into the market place. the enhanced military grade pvd that bamford pioneered is the finish that turns the watch black and the process is still a closely guarded secret but in essence, ‘physical vapour deposition’ is a process that involves charging the steel of the watch case and bracelet with electrons and applying various chemicals and gases in a vacuum chamber. initially the blackened rolexes from bamfords were glossier with a dlc (diamond like carbon) PVD finish, whereas now, the advancement of this technique and development of the EMG (enhanced military grade) PVD allows for a more sophisticated finish and differentiation between the polished and brushed surfaces of the bracelet and original case and makes the watches indestructible.
such details are crucially important to enthusiasts, and it is the clients for these watches that drive the innovations – bamford’s clients include jennifer aniston, claudia schiffer and king juan carlos of spain. george bamford, who founded the bamford watch department explains: ‘at inception, my passion for the range was generated by a love of engineering excellence and innovation. this was further influenced by our client’s requests for timepieces that were both individual yet highly collectable and above all, exclusive.’ Bamford watch department now goes one step further, offering bespoke customisation of the colour of the dial, the case, numerals and date wheels to clients’ specifications – to match cars, yachts, or, in the case of one high ranking russian politician, even the colours of the russian flag. the store, from time to time, releases limited editions for its discerning customers,currently offering 25 PVD-customised rolex daytonas with the vintage ferarri red dial and 25 with a dial of aqua blue – prices hover around a cool $30,000. a soon-to-be-launched interactive website will enable customers to to design their own bespoke watches online. as george bamford says: ‘we stand by the belief that our customisation process only adds value to what are already exclusive objects of desire.’
where bamford led, others followed. The development of the blackened rolex pro-hunter was down to the enthusiasm of reza rashidian, another luxury loving bon viveur and collector of vintage rolexes who, when his request for a custom-made watch was turned down by rolex, approached vintage rolex dealer kamal choraria. now sported on wrists as distinguished as sony pictures boss michael lynton, tim jeffries and of course brett ratner who fell in love with the unusual colour: ‘ for me, it’s the fact that there has never been a black rolex before,’ he says. ‘i get a lot of comments on it.’
tim jeffries runs the hamiltons gallery in london’s mayfair and was known, before the marriage, for dating the world’s most famous beauties. ‘i am very passionate about my watches,’ he declares showing off his favourite, the Iwc big pilot in rose gold. ‘cars are great but obvious…the watch might look simple and totally unostentatious, but have a really fine movement that has taken somebody in switzerland years to make.’
while switzerland’s watch manufacturers and even global luxury brands such as hermes have always made customised watches on request, a new spirit is afoot in the world of haute horlogerie, which recognises the growing passion of individuality while recognising that ordering a whole timepiece from scratch may be daunting. switzerland’s oldest watch manufacturer vacheron constantin, founded in 1755, celebrated its 250th aniversary by opening ‘atelier carbinotier special order’, a workshop dedicated to creating customised timepeices. but now it is innovating again with the launch of the quai de l’ille line which furrows new ground – it is a half-way point between totally made to measure and the ready to wear line. it has a unique case a seven-part middle that allows the client to customise the watch by choosing from three metals, two dials and two different finishes on the movements, giving a choice of almost 400 combinations.
hermes too has launched a new collection, the cape cod h1 grand hours, which can have customisable aspects. the clientcan select from six different standard dials which each has a different arrangement of the hour index. The grand hours incorporates a sophisticated system of oval-toothed wheels that makes it possible to speed up or slow down the movement of the hour hand while the minutes and seconds tick by at the traditional pace, and as such the customer chooses the rhythm of the passing minutes and hours for themselves – a true customisation of time.
another big brand name to release a part-customised watch is louis vuitton, who with the release of its tambour monogram tourbillon watch gives the customer a choice of gold for the watch – rose, yellow of white – as well as a strap made from different hues of stingray skin, and the shape of the middle wheel bridge, which can be adapted from the original ‘lv’ studded with diamonds to the initials of the owner and set with any precious stone the heart desires. these fine examples of precious timepieces that span the gap between the branded fashion watch and the individual tailored watch are a distinct sign that, what ever the financial markets may go through, the market for customised timepeices will thrive. As brett ratner predicts: ‘the watch market isn’t down because the people buying them are not just high-net-worth individuals but they are passionate about collecting.’ tim jeffries adds that: ‘for many the watch is really the only legitimate jewelery for a man, apart from cufflinks.’ but he also freely admits that, ultimateley, for many, there is also ‘an element of being a boy that hasn’t grown up.’
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