Modern Classic: Hublot Big Bang Unico Teak Italia Independent by Nicholas Foulkes
Hublot may be a Swiss brand but it is acquiring a
strong Italian accent. This year’s Classic
Fusion Ferrari GT chronograph is shaping up to
be one of the hits of 2019, its softened contours
a departure from the familiar angularity of
the customary case architecture. However,
as this is Vanity Fair, The Water Issue, it seems
more appropriate to focus on another Italian
icon, Gianni Agnelli— ladykiller, tycoon,
man of taste and, among his many talents, an
accomplished yachtsman in whose honour his
grandson Lapo Elkann designed the Hublot BigBang Unico Teak Italia Independent. Inspired by
L’Avvocato’s 1990s racing yacht, the mythical
Stealth, on which Lapo and his brother John
won the Fastnet Race in 2001, the watch
uses advanced materials such as King Gold
(a platinum and gold alloy) for the push-
pieces (1) and Kevlar sailcloth for one of
the two straps (2). A more traditional
yachting material, teak wood, was used for
a stunning bezel (3). Liberal use of the
colour blue (4) alludes to the hue of the wa-
ters off Capri, where this watch was launched.BOUTIQUE OPENINGS
Ulysse
Nardin will
open a new
flagship store at 10 quai
du Général-Guisan in
Geneva later this month,
decorated with images of a
great white shark and other
marine life to evoke “the
sea, the sky and the horizon
that separates them”.
To e n h a n c e t h e s h o p p i n g
experience of its clients,
Chopard has reopened its
London boutique on Bond
Street, wholly refurbished
as an elegant “family
home”, in which a limited
UK-only edition of its
ultra-thin L.U.C XPS
1860 Officer Royal Arms of
England is available.
The new Audemars
Piguet “House” has
opened at 130 New Bond
Street. Designed as a “home
away from home”, it will
serve as a private members’
club for loyal customers and
faithful lovers of the Royal
Oak and the Code 11.59.
“Guests will be able to use
the many spaces in a relaxed
and informal way, invite
friends for lunch, or
organise business
meetings... and there’s no
obligation to buy a watch,”said François-Henry
Bennahmias, the
chief executive of
Audemars Piguet.
Cartier’s Old Bond Street
boutique will reopen next
month, becoming home to
“many archive stories” and
exclusive products. Roger
Dubuis opened its first
London boutique on Old
Bond Street in July across
the street from a new
Richard Mille boutique.
Vacheron Constantin
will open boutiques in Osaka
at the Daimaru Shinsaibashi
department store and
another in Melbourne on
Collins Street in November.The “Art in Time”
boutique, a “watchmaking
gallery concept” has opened
in the new “One Monte
Carlo” complex in Monaco
at the initiative of Karl-
Friedrich Scheufele,
co-president of Chopard
and president of La
Chronométrie
Ferdina nd Ber t houd.
The multi-brand shop brings
together independent
brands like Greubel
Forsey, Ressence, L’ É p é e,
MB&F, Florian Schlumpf
and Urwerk, united by
their shared values of
“independence, originality
and craftsmanship”.ILLUSTRATIONS BY STUDIO NIPPOLDT; COURTESY OF ULYSEE NARDIN (SHARK AND WATCH)4 132Stopwatch News Report
By Nazanin Lankarani
40 VANITY FAIR ON TIME AUTUMN^2019