When it launched, the Lamborghini Countach was not a car for everyone. Just like some watches offered today, which take a certain kind of man to wear them.
WORLDTEMPUS - 18 March 2011
Kristian Haagen
“If you're shy, you cannot go round with this car. It's a special car for special people. You need a big ego. It's like going out in the evening with a beautiful woman – it's not for everyone,” said Daniele Adetto, responsible for the PR of the Lamborghini Countach, talking to Morley Safer of the U.S.'s “60 Minutes” TV show back in 1987.
This powerful Italian car certainly was a spectacular piece of work. Only three left the Italian car factory back in the 1980s each week – hand assembled, of course, it was the hottest car around back then: dramatically low, fitted with a large back spoiler and looking like “a sexy virgin” in white, according to Adetto.
Watching the interview on YouTube, I cannot help comparing the Countach with some of the spectacular watches offered on the market today. These watches look like nothing else, and they are created by people who not only explore creative and innovative high-end horology, but also understand how to communicate it.
The Ego Watches
Wearing a watch like the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon, the MB&F ReBel, Urwerk's Tarantula, or the ultra-light Richard Mille RM 027 Tourbillon undoubtedly demands a certain ego.
These watches are the crazy Lamborghini of the 1980s. These watches are the impossibly long-legged Brazilian beauties that leave a fancy restaurant strutting their stuff between the tables – holding your hand. These watches certainly take a certain kind of man with a certain kind of ego. These watches, indeed, are not for everyone, as Adetto claimed of the Lamborghini.
Anyone can buy a Rolex, Breitling or Omega and be an instant member of the luxury watch club. But people wearing one of the more exotic watches mentioned here belong to a very different kind of club. They would probably never wear a Rolex, Breitling or Omega again (however, this is most likely where they started out when they entered the horological scene). These watches are, of course, nice, but they are too commercial for an experienced person in the know. They do not boost the inner horological ego that demands something way out of the ordinary.
Wear with Caution
Remember the movie classic “Cannonball”? Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman starred as Marcie and Jill: two Spandex-clad hotties in a black Lamborghini Countach. Pretty? Yes. Over the top? Indeed!
Just like a Countach driven by the wrong guy will expose him as a poser trying to compensate for losing his childhood sweetheart to Butch the Bully, so an Excalibur Double Tourbillon on the wrong wrist will expose the nouveau riche, the fake enthusiast who does not understand that such extravagant accessories are like every other human endeavor: understatement wins you the respect you deserve. So buy the RM 027, but wear long sleeves. Indulge in the Tarantula, but only wear it in the company of friends. And in the name of everything that's holy, don't drive a Countach AND wear a ReBel at the same time.
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