As much as we love and lust after Swiss-made timepieces, you have to applaud a company that chooses to bring manufacturing jobs to the good old U.S. of A., and that’s why we’re happy to see that legendary designer Oscar de la Renta has picked Detroit-based watchmaker Shinola to make his latest line of fashion watches.
Oscar de la Renta CEO Alex Bolen pointed to the Shinola reputation for quality and craftsmanship as the main reason for the partnership. “We are thrilled to partner with Shinola not only because the results of our collaboration are beautiful, well-made watches, but also because our brands share very important values. Like us, Shinola believes in products designed and manufactured to the highest standards of quality. We both believe that these high standards are best exemplified by American craftsmen.”
The stylish product of this collaboration is The Lattice collection, a trio of luxury watches inspired by de la Renta’s fall 2014 line of jewelry. The 36.5mm Lattice has an elegant white mother-of-pearl dial with mosaico-embossed crown and is powered by the Shinola Argonaut 751 quartz movement. The watch, which is water resistant to 5 ATM, is available in three eye-catching styles. The first features a stainless steel case with a black alligator strap and 68 full-cut diamonds. The second also has a stainless steel case but the strap is made from red alligator. Version number three has a case of plated Russian gold with a strap of blue alligator and matching gold clasp.
Don’t let the “made in America” tag fool you, because these are definitely designer-chic watches worthy of the Oscar de la Renta label. Each model will be produced in a limited edition of only 1,000 pieces, and each will include a special hardcover book about the history of the famous designer.
The Lattice collection of watches is featured prominently on the Oscar de la Renta site with the usual fashionable hype: “Inspired by Oscar’s American-made fashion jewelry collection, each timepiece features luxe details like pave diamonds, alligator and our signature Russian gold. All are built with uncompromising quality and assembled by hand in Shinola’s Detroit factory using the finest Swiss-made components and techniques.”
The Lattice will come with a price tag of $1,400 to $2,700 USD when it hits stores in October. If you’re planning to pick up a few as holiday stocking stuffers, these timepieces will be available at oscardelarenta.com, Oscar de la Renta boutiques and Neiman Marcus stores, plus Shinola stores and at shinola.com.
While these classy watches are certainly a step up from the ones that come packaged with Oscar de la Renta fragrances, it remains to be seen whether the true aficionados of fine Swiss-made timepieces will be buying them. However, they do coordinate nicely with the de la Renta fall collection of ready-to-wear.
