Bellisimo! Italian watchmaker crafts unique Alfa Romeo timepiece
There are car watches, and there are car watches. And this, boys and girls, is a car watch. The kind that will make the likes of the "Ferrari Engineered by Panarai" and "Breitling for Bentley" look like cheap marketing gimmicks.
What you see here is the Contragiri; tachometer in Italian. It's being made by one of the watchmaking industry's best kept secrets, Giuliano Mazzuoli, who just happens to be a huge Alfa Romeo fan, having raced Alfa GTAs in the 70's, created the Contragiri as a tribute to the iconic Italian automaker. It features a unique rev-counter black dial concealing the 25-jewel automatic movement with 42-hour power reserve, encased in black and white gold with sapphire crystal and revolving bezel, and held onto the wearer's wrist by a sleek black rubber strap.
Mazzuoli unveiled the Contagiri this past summer, and while he hasn't unveiled the price, it's sure to have a good number of zeros at the end. Somehow we don't think the price tag will prevent them all from selling the limited run of 500 copies, though. Only through authorized dealers, of course, but you can reserve yours on the website, or check out the Luxe.TV video by clicking here.
[Source: Giuliano Mazzuoli via Inside Line]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Willem B 9:01AM (12/19/2007)
that's so awesome.
how come i never thought of that?
too bad the price will be ridiculous
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TBlueMax 9:42AM (12/19/2007)
"There are car watches, and there are car watches. And this, boys and girls, is a car watch. The kind that will make the likes of the "Ferrari Engineered by Panarai" and "Breitling for Bentley" look like cheap marketing gimmicks."
Yeah, the Ferrari/Panerai, Ferrari/Girard Perregaux, Bentley/Breitling marketing marriages have been pretty gimmicky but each of these brands have something that Giuliano Mazzuoli does not - a history in watchmaking (especially true of Girard Perregaux).
The Contragiri does have a clean, uncluttered dial and the single, retrograde hour hand is a nice touch but the specs lead me to believe that Mazzuoli is likely using a ubiquitous ETA movement with a module for the retrograde hand - which would also explain the case thickness. The white/black gold is a nice touch with the rubber strap to keep it on the wrist but aside from the dial sharing a basic similarity with the appearance of a tachometer (hence the name of the watch I suppose) this is an otherwise unremarkable watch.
If you'd like something that bridges the gap between the automotive and horologic world, check out the Girard Perregaux - Enzo Ferrari (Triple Bridge Tourbillion Perpetual Calendar Chronograph)
http://www.tic-tock.com/wingates/watch-detail/32123
The price may be a bit steep at $240,000 but you'll certainly find fewer than 500 pieces in the world.
To check out another watch with a retrograde hand (+ jump hour) take a look at Gerald Genta's Retro Classic
http://www.tic-tock.com/wingates/watch-detail/32543
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MosquitoControl 9:53AM (12/19/2007)
I like it, but wow that's thick. It'll look like a cancerous tumor hanging on your wrist.
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RicardoHead 9:58AM (12/19/2007)
Pretty wicked watch. Italians rock.
Not new york italians but the real ones born and raised there.
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Tull 11:02AM (12/19/2007)
haha nice disclaimer at the end
Pipppetto 4:03PM (12/19/2007)
As further more correctly stated, contagiri actually means rev counter
what tachometer translates to is speedometer
just for the sake of it
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Toy Yoda 12:40PM (12/19/2007)
It's a nice watch, but what is that green clover looking thing doing on the face of the watch? It might be Italian, but seeing that clover like thingy makes me think Irish. Yikes.
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gus 12:52PM (12/19/2007)
Hi Toy
I bet you know nothing about Alfas. :D Google quadrifoglio and Alfa.