Abstract artwork with digital screen
Abstract artwork with digital screen

Commissions by Audemars Piguet include Ryoji Ikeda’s Data-Verse (2019)

Olivia Giuntini is brand director at family-owned Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet, known for its thoughtful artistic collaborations. LUX travels to meet her at their HQ high in the Jura mountains to talk about art, fish and why women don’t just want diamonds
Portrait of a woman in a suit

Olivia Giuntini

LUX: So many brands are partnering with artists now. What makes you different?
Olivia Giuntini: We always want to push boundaries and pursue our own path with a free spirit. When we meet artists, we definitely see who has this spirit and who has not. For example, Ryoji Ikeda was not part of the plan historically, but we met him a few years ago. Some discussions happened and we finally met again two years ago and that’s the moment when he proposed his three-part audio-visual installation Data-Verse [the first part of which was shown at the Venice Biennale in 2019], and, we said, “Yes this is the right moment to do it”. But Ryoji is an artist unlike any other. He is a musician and composer, and he is also somebody who uses open data that is accessible to anybody. This accords with what struck me when I first met him – his work is dedicated to making sure that people don’t use their brains first so much as their emotions. He is a kind of free spirit, which is something that definitely links us. It’s about sharing common values. Jana Winderen is another example. She came here and made music from the sounds of our village of Le Brassus. She always wants to raise the awareness of sustainability, so she went onto the lake here to record those fish that nobody can hear and composed music from that.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

LUX: Did you have any idea what the artist was going to do when you first spoke?
Olivia Giuntini: Composing music from the sounds of Le Brassus certainly wasn’t the brief. Not at all. We met her and she came back and said what she wanted to do. So we found a fisherman who was
prepared to spend hours on the lake with her so she could make the recordings.

LUX: Audemars is a fascinating family-owned company. Your chairwoman Jasmine Audemars, for example, was a campaigning journalist and edited the Journal de Genève.
Olivia Giuntini: We have really interesting discussions on the board. Of course, we still have to keep on building a future for Audemars Piguet that stays true to the founder’s vision. What Jasmine said to François-Henry [Bennahmias, the company’s CEO] when he was appointed seven years ago was, “I would like more people to know more about who we are. I would like people to respect us as we are.” And that’s what we need to do with this brand beyond the selling of watches and the crafting of amazing gardes-temps.

LUX: And are you looking to strengthen your relations with your existing collectors?
Olivia Giuntini: It’s funny, because if you talked to Michael Friedman, who is our head of complication, he will tell you there are no collectors in the world. But I agree with you – we do have collectors and we want to strengthen the relationship with them. We want to open other minds, too, such as women’s – I’m sure we’re not on their radar.

Abstract photograph of rock formations

Dan Holdsworth’s Continuous Topography (2016) was also commissioned by Audemars Piguet

Read more: Tailor to A-listers Nigel Curtiss on designing identity

LUX: Why is that?
Olivia Giuntini: Because everything has been done instinctively within AP and, apart from Jasmine,
this has been driven by men. The fact that I’m here today and that we want to recruit more women into top management is because we believe that we need to have a different angle. We sell 30 per cent of our collection to women. But it’s not just a question of figures; it’s about being more visible to women who don’t know us because we’ve been a kind of masculine brand.

Luxurious timepiece with leather strap

The new Frosted Gold Philosophique watch from the Millenary collection

LUX: Have watches always been considered male and a bit geeky?
Olivia Giuntini: Watches designed for women have been more like jewellery. And I’m constantly saying to men: don’t think that women are always looking only for diamonds. It’s not true. And I think that Audemars Piguet has a legitimacy there, in a field where we can offer female clients different kinds of finishes that are attractive and sophisticated. I’m convinced that many women are really interested in movements, but, honestly, it’s been a world driven by men and their preconceptions of women. It’s beginning to change, and we have a role there.

LUX: Is the aesthetic of the watch more important to women?
Olivia Giuntini: Of course, in a way. But I think that men are convinced that, for women, a diamond is more important than a movement. And I’m sure they’re wrong.

Find out more: audemarspiguet.com

This article was originally published in the Spring 2020 Issue.

Share:
Reading time: 4 min
Man walking across stadium wearing watch
Blue sports watch with mechanical face

The RM 11-04 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Roberto Mancini has been designed to celebrate the heritage of Italian football

Richard Mille’s latest timepiece has been designed in collaboration with Italy’s football team manager Roberto Mancini to celebrate the sport’s heritage. Here, Chloe Frost-Smith marvels at the timepiece’s unique design features

Designed with football fanatics in mind by the Italian national team’s manager, the RM 11-04 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Roberto Mancini makes complicated look cool, with a dedicated dial for tracking half-time, extra time and overtime.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Set in the  patriotic colour palette of Il Tricolore alongside the recognisable blue belonging to the Squadra Azzurra, there are hints of Italian footballing heritage throughout the design. The timepiece uses a rotor with variable geometry, allowing it to be easily adapted to suit the wearer’s activity levels – you simply adjust the setting of the rib’s placement for the rotor to either speed up when worn at leisure, or slow down in moments of the highest movement.

Man walking across stadium wearing watch

Roberto Mancini wearing the RM 11-04 Automatic Flyback Chronograph

Displaying match time on the basis of two 45-minute halves and up to 15 minutes of stoppage time, the pusher can be pressed at 4 o’clock to actuate the fly-back function which repositions the hand at 12 o’clock, ready to start the second half. Should extra time be awarded, the fly-back can also be reactivated to reflect these additional minutes ensuring the wearer never loses track.

Back shot of a blue watch with exposed mechanics

The watch can be easily adapted to suit the wearer’s activity levels

But the watch isn’t just for football fans. Encased in the almost indestructible Carbon TPT and water-resistant to 50 metres, the RM 11-04 is set for the most extreme of adventures.

For more information visit: richardmille.com

Share:
Reading time: 1 min
Luxury watch shown front and back against blue background
luxurious timepiece pictured against a dark blue background

The Panerai Luminor Marina Bucherer BLUE in Titanium/DLC with proprietary automatic movement. 10,400 GBP.

The latest in a series of chronograph collaborations between Bucherer and Panerai pays tribute to its namesake colour in more subtle ways than its aquatic palette, says Chloe Frost-Smith

In the past the BLUE collection has included partnerships between Bucherer and the likes of Piaget, Chopard, and TAG Heuer, but this latest collaboration with Panerai takes a more laid-back approach to the luxury timepiece.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Originally created for the Italian navy’s submariners, the reinterpreted Panerai Luminor Marina Bucherer BLUE retains the oceanic origins of its Panerai predecessors in the model’s more traditional Italian design elements, alongside contemporary updates including an anthracite denim strap with beige stitching which gives the watch a more relaxed look and feel.

More modern still is the matte blue sandwich dial with vertical satin stripes enclosed within a DLC-coated titanium case, a combination which is unique to the model and a first for Bucherer. A handy strap-changing tool is also included for versatility.

For more information visit: bucherer.com

Share:
Reading time: 1 min
Vintage photograph of race track with Tag Heuer branding
Actor Steve McQueen wearing racing gear

Actor Steve McQueen wearing TAG Heuer’s first Monaco timepiece in the 1971 film Le Mans

TAG Heuer is celebrating the anniversary of its Monaco timepiece with a series of limited editions. Chloe Frost-Smith takes a closer look at the collection

Originally debuted as the world’s first water-resistant square cased chronograph in 1969 and made famous by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans, the TAG Heuer Monaco celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a series of five limited editions each alluding to a different decade in the iconic watch’s history as well as two additional timepieces featuring an entirely new in-house movement.

The 1969-1979 edition

Each timepiece is engraved with the brand’s original logo and features the Calibre 11, a modernised version of the first Monaco’s innovative self-winding chronograph movement, alongside a perforated leather strap which creates an automotive look and feel. The seventies edition, however, is the only watch in the collection to feature a brown leather strap, with a textured green Côtes de Genève dial accented with brown and amber touches.

Luxury Tag Heuer timepiece in a box

TAG Heuer Monaco 1969-1979 edition with a brown leather strap

The 1979-1989 edition

The 1980s-inspired timepiece is instantly recognisable for its racing red on the watch face and stitching, strikingly set against black and silver detailing. It’s a classic colour combination for motorsport aficionados.

Luxurious watch with red face and black strap

The 1979-1989 edition with a racing red watch face

The 1989-1999 edition

More traditionally Heuer Monaco in appearance, navy and red dominate the overall design of this timepiece whilst the grained, rhodium-plated silver-grey dial adds a contemporary edge.

Luxurious timepiece with blue strap and square clock face

The 1989-1999 edition follows TAH Heuer’s traditional Monaco colour palette

The 1999-2009 edition

Finished in an understated monochromatic scheme with flashes of red on the hands and markers, the 2000s edition is distinguishable by the white circular index which stands out against the black watch face, complemented by the black strap with white lining.

Luxury timepiece with monochrome detailing

The monochrome 1999-2009 edition

The 2009-2019 edition

The latest watch in the series is simple yet sleek with a minimalistic approach to the most recent decade, incorporating an unconventional sandblasted stainless-steel case and polished pushers. The charcoal-coloured sun-ray dial is adorned with black-gold-plated indexes, in keeping with the black lining and grey stitching on the strap.

Black watch with square clock face

The sleek and contemporary 2009-2019 edition

The 02 edition

Sporting a blue sun-ray brushed dial, silver opaline counters, and a navy blue alligator strap, this edition is set apart from the rest of the series as the first Heuer Monaco timepiece to feature the Swiss brand’s most advanced calibre movement.

Cut out image of blue watch with square face

The 02 edition features an advanced calibre movement

The Calibre 12 Final edition

Completing the collection with a classic palette of black, white, and red, the final edition features a unique brushed ruthenium dial which allows the watch face to change colour in different lights.

Cut out image of a black watch with square face

The Calibre 12 Final edition changes colour according to the light

 

For more information visit: tagheuer.com

Share:
Reading time: 2 min
Man in a suit standing next to a red ferrari sportscar
Detail shot of a sports watch with black and red watch face

The Hublot Classic Fusion Ferrari GT 3D

No detail is small enough to escape Ferrari designer Flavio Manzoni’s razor-sharp focus. Rachael Taylor discovers how his expertise in supercar design lends itself masterfully to the Hublot and Ferrari watch collaboration

In the Ferrari Maranello plant in northern Italy, you will often find Flavio Manzoni and his team convening at a ten-metre-tall LED wall display. The images they’re looking at are often enormously scaled-up photographs of the miniscule parts of a Ferrari engine or exterior. The extreme magnification is used to perfect infinitesimal details you might never notice should you take the car for a spin. And this, says Manzoni, is the essence of luxury design.

“The luxury of a Ferrari is more a consequence than an objective,” says Manzoni, the car manufacturer’s senior vice president of design, who this year accepted the Red Dot Design Team of the Year award. “There are two perspectives [of design]. One is from the distance, where you see the whole harmony of the object. The other is with the lens, when you magnify every element and put a lot of art into every single detail.”

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxresponsibleluxury

Focusing on each and every element – no matter how small – and making sure that it not only performs brilliantly, but is also aesthetically exciting, is what makes Ferrari cars among the most sought-after, and expensive, in the world. It is also this zoomed-in approach to design that has made the switch to designing watches a seamless transition for Manzoni.

Manzoni joined Ferrari in 2010. The following year, he was working on a top-secret project for the company’s first hybrid sportscar, LaFerrari, when he was also brought in to oversee the development of a watch in collaboration with Swiss atelier Hublot. He kicked off their first meeting with a rejection.

Man in a suit standing next to a red ferrari sportscar

Award-winning designer Flavio Manzoni has been with Ferrari since 2010

“At the beginning, their idea was to propose some concepts to us,” says Manzoni. “They wanted to draw inspiration from the central shape of a Ferrari, the dynamic shape, but my idea was to avoid that because it makes no sense to give an aerodynamic shape to a watch.”

Instead, he wanted the Hublot team to look beyond the obvious and dive deep with him into the romance of the details. “I tried to guide the research towards the technical beauty of certain mechanical components of a Ferrari, like the engine for example.”

Luxury watch product image in black and gold

Hublot Classic Fusion Ferrari GT King Gold

Product image shot of a luxury watch

Hublot Techframe Ferrari Tourbillon Chronograph

The result – the Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari watch – was spectacular. A tapered, angular case covered entirely with sapphire crystal, showed off the inner workings of an unusual movement, with the time displayed on off-centre cylinders rather than hands. In place of the traditional flat cogs and springs, an industrial-looking central column of gleaming aluminium barrels gave the impression of a watch that revs rather than ticks. Being Ferrari, performance excellence was important too, and a super- charged power reserve function was created that allowed the mechanical tourbillon watch to carry on ticking off the wrist for what was, at the time, a record 50 days. “I think they attract customers because of their uniqueness,” says Manzoni of the Hublot Ferrari watches, which he believes appeal to a much wider audience than the Ferrari fan base. “They speak out from the mass in the field of watchmaking because they are different. We try to use an out-of-the box approach, which comes from the attitude that we have towards our cars.”

Read more: Rockstar turned designer Lenny Kravtiz on champagne and creativity

It has been eight years since Hublot and Ferrari first joined forces, and Manzoni and his team have very much taken control of the design process. They select which movements to build around, and work up 3D models of prospective timepieces before presenting the concepts to Hublot. Each watch produced (using that same digital ‘wall’ for extreme close ups) continues to focus on the details of Ferraris – the ceramic carbon brake discs, the peccary leather seats – and often uses the same materials that are lavished on the supercars. No flourish is too small to champion, and it gives the team a platform to celebrate much-considered elements of the cars that might otherwise be overlooked simply as pleasant minutiae.

Black watch pictured on a red background

The limited edition Scuderia Ferrari 90th Anniversary Platinum and 3D Carbon watch

This year, Scuderia Ferrari is celebrating 90 years of making supercars, and to celebrate, three Hublot Ferrari watches have been released to mark its past, present and future. Each a twist on Hublot’s popular Big Bang model, the trio of timepieces are all powered by a UNICO movement with a flyback chronograph that offers a 72-hour power reserve and are anchored with bezels cut from the same ceramic carbon that helps Ferrari’s cars to screech to a halt.

Man in a suit standing by an abstract artworkThe first watch in the series recalls long- past glory days with a brushed platinum case to echo the dashboards of classic Scuderia Ferrari models, as well as a leather strap and bright-yellow markers and hands to bring to mind old-fashioned speedometers. The model celebrating the here and now does so with a 3D carbon case and a strap made from Nomex, the fire-resistant material Ferrari drivers rely on to keep their suits from going up in flames.

The third watch, the one that nods towards what Ferraris might look like in the future, uses sapphire crystal to create a see-through case that exposes its inner workings. The futurist aesthetic is continued with a strap made from Kevlar, a composite material that Ferrari uses to protect its carbon-fibre chassis from stones spraying up from the road.

The latest automotive launch from Ferrari is the SF90 Stradale hybrid, an evolution of the LaFerrari that inspired that first Hublot Ferrari watch. So are we likely to see this latest model transformed into a wrist-ready format? “I don’t think that there will be a literal translation, but for sure there will be some inspiration,” muses Manzoni, who never feels bound to tie the latest watches into the latest cars. “It’s always nice to create cultural bridges between different disciplines.”

Discover Hublot’s collections: hublot.com

This article was originally published in the Autumn 19 Issue.

Share:
Reading time: 5 min