Each watch in the Ralph Lauren Western collection captures the authentic spirit and individual character of the vintage rodeo and concho belts Mr. Lauren wears. Their motifs have often influenced his designs—from his first Santa Fe-inspired women’s runway in the 1980s to the belts, bags, and small leather goods at the core of his men’s Double RL accessories today.
For the watches, these organic motifs have been adapted to a range of timepiece silhouettes including pocket watches and cushion-shaped models in aged sterling silver and 18-carat rose gold with burnished vachetta leather straps. The leather straps are hand-tooled in Texas and burnished in Italy, while the metal cases and buckles are hand-engraved and aged in New York City. The mechanical movements inside are of course Swiss Made.
The round and cushion-shaped wristwatch models are both powered by a mechanical movement made by Piaget for Ralph Lauren, but the round model is also available with the open-worked hand-wound RL98295 calibre with engraved bridges and mainplate. The entire collection is accented with vintage-inspired off-white dials hand-printed with Roman and Arabic numerals, a combination distinctive to the Ralph Lauren brand, and completed with Breguet-style hands.
The talking pieces in the new collection are two distinct pocket watch models powered by a mechanical manual-winding caliber RL98295. The first is in aged 18-carat rose gold with an open-dial case engraved with the same motifs as the cushion and round wristwatches. The most exclusive piece in the collection, of which only 50 will be produced worldwide, is a full-hunter pocket watch in sterling silver with a cover featuring a unique floral motif incorporating two types of engraving techniques and finished with an aged gold RL logo and steer head detail. The head is cast from a hand-carved mould and set with ruby eyes—a final allusion to the artistry of vintage Western rodeo buckles.
“I think the spirit of Western style has a rugged elegance and authenticity that people want to relate to. There's both a sensibility and honesty that gives it an enduring appeal.”—Ralph Lauren
