New Sensation
BIJOUX L’Officie L63Gucci raises the bar for its timepieces with the launch of Grip,
accompanied by updates of the G-Timeless and G-Timeless
Contemporary lines
Words Tan Siok Hoon
G-Timeless
ContemporaryG-Timeless AutomaticGripIf you are in favour of the Alessandro Michele-
led fashion renaissance at Gucci, then it is very
likely that the current trove of Gucci watches
would hit the sweet spot for you.
Founded in Florence in 1921, the Italian luxury
fashion label began designing, developing and
manufacturing watches in the early ’70s to
create the world’s first “fashion” watches. Gucci
watches have always been Swiss-made, holding
sway for their innovative design, quality and
craftsmanship. Above all, they are sought after
for a unique and creative mix of traditional
elegance and contemporary spirit, wrapped
irresistibly around iconic House emblems.
At Baselworld 2019, Gucci Timepieces and
Jewelry made a splash with not one but two
stands in the main hall dedicated to its myriad
of novelties. One of the stands, a glass-encased
conservatory replete with eclectic furnishings
and a mini garden, housed a multitude of
displays featuring the star timepiece called
“Grip”. Inspired by skateboarding culture, the
timepiece’s snug fit around the wrist references
how trainers stick to a skateboard’s grip tape.
Unisex and androgynous, the Michele-
designed watch follows from the gender-
fluid universe of the creative director’s
reimaginings of Gucci. Its sui generis, quirky
design and clean lines — a rounded square
case displaying a trio of windows with white
rotating disks to indicate the hour, minute and
date in a top-to-bottom sequence — give it a
strong vintage appeal.
The quartz-powered Grip has four variants in
35 mm and 38 mm: yellow gold PVD case and
bracelet; steel case and bracelet; yellow gold
PVD case with bordeaux calf leather strap;
and steel case with green calf leather bracelet.
While the full-metal ones are engraved with
Gucci’s signature interlocking G logos on the
case and bracelet, the leather versions feature
a simple “GUCCI” engraving on the dial’s
bottom right-hand corner. Offered with a
sheer variety of sophisticated strap options in
leather type and colour, the Grip is infinitely
versatile, straddling the realm of a fashion
accessory and timepiece with its audacious
and unexpected details.Giving this year’s G-Timeless a new spin
are eight striking new editions, making an
entrance with stone dials embellished with
bees — a House signature — as hour markers
and a decorative motif. For a luxurious take,
the three 38-mm variations come with an 18k
yellow gold case, alongside black onyx, brown
tiger eye and green malachite stone dials
partnered with black alligator, brown lizard,
and precious skin with printed pattern straps
respectively. The next two 38-mm G-Timeless
models are mixed-metal versions with steel
cases and lapiz stone dials, finished with a
steel-and-gold buckle and a blue lizard strap
for one, while the other is adorned with an 18k
yellow gold and steel bracelet.Simple and classic, the G-Timeless with a steel
case and bracelet, and a black onyx stone dial
are available in 38-mm and 42-mm cases.
Last is a 42-mm steel case rendition paired
with a black onyx stone dial and shanghai calf
leather strap with a steel buckle. Showcasing
their Sellita automatic movement, all eight
watches feature transparent case backs with
anti-reflective sapphire crystal, while their
adjustable buckles are stamped with the
interlocking G motif.The more flamboyant G-Timeless
Contemporary line with its proliferation
of Gucci-isms gives us two quartz models,
displaying a seamlessness from dial to strap,
on top of a revolutionary printed mesh
technique. The first is a 38-mm all-steel
creation: case, mesh-pattern dial and mesh
bracelet, imprinted with a Gucci Kingsnake
visual, sleekly slithering from dial to bracelet.
The other 42-mm edition is a shout-out to
the brand’s enduring green-red-green graphic
Web pattern running in linear fashion from
dial to bracelet.As Gucci Timepieces and Jewelry president
and CEO Piero Braga says, “Gucci creates
fashion watches that are different from
anything else you will see in the industry. Ourtimepieces bring together a unique combination
of Italian creativity, Swiss watchmaking and
Gucci DNA. They are bold and distinctive,
and designed to encourage self-expression.”
Not only are gender codes and other social
mores being blurred, the fashion and horology
worlds at Gucci are now walking in unison
more than ever before.