Wednesday

Retrospect: 1961 Rolex Pointed Crownguard Gilt Underline Submariner




Arguably the most recognizable models within the storied Rolex lineage, the Submariner series of watches has seen an extensive history since it was first minted in 1954. Ask any watch enthusiast and they will profess that the Submariner offered a completely fresh approach to watch aesthetics of the era – a design that has spurred numerous copies since. Although the Submariner series has seen a relatively taut range of model introductions and reinterpretations since its 1950′s debut, each consecutive model has never shied away from the core tenants that first set it apart form the traditional masses – form and function.


Five years after the inaugural debut of the reference 6204, Rolex made a significant stride with the introduction of its Submariner 5512 series – a reference model that would go on to experience a lifespan lasting until the early 1980s. For our newest Hypebeast feature titled “Retrospect” we focus in on a unique 1961 Rolex Pointed Crownguard Gilt Underline Submariner from the collection of watch purveyor and vintage Rolex specialist Eric Ku of Ten Past Ten Timepieces. Amidst the plethora of extremely rare and vintage Rolex Submariners that fill Ku’s Goyard Watch Boxes, this particular example stands out because of its uniquely distinguishing elements and exclusivity. Expressing his affinity for the unique build, Ku states, “In terms of rarity, I have simply never seen another one with the exact same configuration dial – and I’ve looked through many books and literature but not quite found the identical example.” Manufactured in 1961, this particular Submariner is one of the earliest production models from the reference 5512 history. An elegantly streamlined casing boasts a gilt dial with four lines of text printed in underlined silver – writing that is more often seen emblazoned in gold. Although the significance of the underlining has been open to mixed opinions throughout the years, many watch experts and enthusiasts alike attribute the embellishment to the Rolex’s transition of using radium for luminous material to tritium on the dial.


The 5512 was also the first Rolex Submariner that was built with “crown guards,” a design facet that has served as an evolution of the earlier “James Bond” styled case. The elegant face sees a rich black base that is juxtaposed with via gilt (gold) hour, minute hands and minute markers. For Ku, the coveted 1961 Rolex Pointed Crownguard Gilt Underline Submariner represents both a deeply valued collectible as well as an ongoing adventure that offers him the challenge of searching out vintage Italian leather straps and other coveted bands to add to his collection. Although this particular reference 5512 resides somewhere in the middle as it relates to vintage Rolex market value, Ku’s rare 1961 version would likely pull in approximately $40,000 USD in value.


Photography: Richard Liu/Hypebeast


Throughout the pages of history, passing trends and fleeting fashions come and go. Looking back to eras past, there are a select few mainstay names, brands, techniques, automobiles or other collectible items that have withstood the test of time, effectively retaining their grandeur and value despite changing times. “Vintage” is a term that if often thrown around rather flippantly, being applied to just about anything in hopes of adding a weight of value to it. Our feature “Restrospect” aims to sift through the plethora of simply dated items to showcase those that truly merit the title of “vintage.” Digging deeper into the historical background, component specifics, and overall relevance, Retrospect works with experts, enthusiasts and specialists to procure an understanding of each object of its focus.

Tuesday

Tech Tuesday……Almove Shirt Guard

Almove Shirt Guard


It was like an epiphany when we first discovered Downy Wrinkle Releaser. We tossed a few traveled sized bottles of that stuff in our Dopp kit and vowed to never touch a hotel iron again. Of course the magic spray came with a few drawbacks, we’d have to wait for it to dry and massage the pungent mist into our dress shirts before heading to a meeting or happy hour. The Almove Shirt Guard, it turns out, is a much nicer option that won’t leave your body feeling like it’s clinging to a slightly damp undershirt. Not only does it keep your shirt from getting wrinkled in your bag, but it maintains the collar and can even hold your tie and cufflinks.  Now you won’t look like you slept in your clothes before meeting with the higher-ups

Read more: Almove Shirt Guard | Cool Material http://coolmaterial.com/style/almove-shirt-guard/#ixzz1ngFIQPGD

Monday

Buttero Denham Edition Footwear

Buttero Denham Edition Footwear Spring/Summer 2012

Buttero Denham Edition Footwear Spring/Summer 2012


Buttero’s known for their impeccably crafted footwear and now the Tuscan shoemaker has teamed up with Dutch brand Denham for a small line of sneakers. The pieces feature vegetable-tanned leathers local to Buttero’s hometown of Stabbia and the brand’s roots show in the construction as each shoe is made via traditional methods. In order to give their new trainer-inspired designs an added dose of freshness, they have modified these styles for by integrating a pure white leather toe-piece, a minimalistic detail that’s exclusive to Denham. Shop the offerings at Denham.

Sunday

The Sunday Drive….Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, Geneva Motor Show


Bugatti has unveiled their latest Veyron, the Grand Sport Vitesse. The Vitesse — French for “speed” — the supercar is a combination of the best traits of the Grand Sport and Super Sport models. The automaker has taken the 1,200-horsepower version of the Veyron’s engine from the Super Sport and combined it with the open-top body-style of the Grand Sport. The end result is one of the most powerful roadster of all time.


Look for the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse to be shown off at the Geneva Motor Show in March, all seven-figures worth.

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, Geneva Motor Show

Saturday

hard graft 3Fold Multi-Use Bag / Herita



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The idea of producing the 3Fold Multi-Use Bag / Heritage came to fruition with versatility in mind. Created by the talented artisans of hard graft, whose families have mastered their trade over the last century, the bag is made out of premium Italian leathers with wool felt materials. As the branding suggests, this new offering can be transformed into an overnighter, portfolio and slim laptop bag that can accommodate a 17” laptop, depending on the format preferred. For those interested, the bag is now being offered directly through the hard graft
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Friday

Hermès Spring/Summer 2012 Luggage

Hermes SS12 Luggage 02 Hermès Spring/Summer 2012 Luggage

A few new styles from Hermès, luggage for Spring/Summer 2012. These are at the luxury end of luxury, it would be crude to mention prices but you could probably swap the suitcase for a mid-sized car. Wheeled leather and herringbone cases and two styles of lockable travel bag, surprisingly heavy duty and undeniably smart – if you’re going to do it in style you can’t go wrong with Hermès.

Thursday

The Thursday Cocktail Recipe…for the Weekend




Hemingway Daiquiri

2 oz White Rum
Juice of 2 Limes (small limes)
Juice of 1/2 Grapefruit
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 oz Cane Syrup
Build all ingredients over crushed ice in a cocktail shaker. Give it a quick, sharp shake or two and pour into the Collins glass. Garnish with part of a spent lime shell.

Wednesday

Bruno Chaussignand


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Far from the fanfare of Somerset House and the pinballing fashion set bouncing from venue to venue across the capital, I prefer to ease myself in to proceedings with showroom visits. For the last five seasons my London Fashion Week has begun with an elongated visit to the ever fruitful, Touba Distrubution curated, The Showroom Next Door. Each season, it exemplifies everything that I find exciting about design in London; namely it's diversity and sense of sartorial evolution and revolution. Having posted countless gushing reviews, it should be little wonder that I'm drawn back season after season. These are undoubtedly exciting times for menswear and I'm so pleased that there are platforms like the Showroom Next Door that help to showcase the obvious and abundant talent that call this capital of ours at home and abroad.

Now, with covetable rails full of personal favourites including the likes of Casely-Hayford, Bunney, Hannah Martin, Armando Cabral and Bruno Chaussignand, I've often described the space as my dream walk in wardrobe. Curated over two floors of Gallery Lazarides, I spent a couple of hours familiarising myself with and daydreaming about so much. Over the coming week or so I'll talk you through some of my favourites and I'd like to kick it off with Bruno Chaussignand. Now, if you're a regular reader you should remember that this fine maker of hand made frames forced me to re-evaluate eyewear. A childhood spent refusing to wear glasses because I thought they'd instantly transform me in to a laughing stock of the the playground (and to be honest my prescription was so small that I could get on fine with the odd squint), led me to a tad dismissive of their appeal. However, the moment I encountered the sculptural frames of the brad any lingering playground concerns evaporated.

Born in France in 1974, Bruno Chaussignand discovered the eyewear business at the age of 15. "At that time, I dreamed about being a designer. When I discovered the optical business, I was fascinated by the three sides to the business, which spanned fashion, technology and health. I was particularly interested in these aspects and became immediately passionate about the business." The eponymous brand was launched in 2004 and has since evolved to offer a number of frames and services. Last season, a range of strikingly modern luxury eyewear was launched. Entitled Time Out, the range of nine (and growing) styles in metal and acetate showcase the designer's new style. Quite simply it is a collection of architectural frames which come to life across broad, strong textures and bold, innovative cuts. Thankfully, the showroom had the full offering. Below are just a few frames that caught my eye...

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Tuesday

Tech Tuesday……Nikon D800




Guess what? Your memory card just got a whole lot smaller thanks to the new Nikon D800 ($2,999). There’s no hiding the fact that the long awaited full-frame FX-format shooter is a direct assault on the Canon 5D Mk II, which has captured the attention (and dollars) of HD-SLR shooters. Built around a Super Bowl sized 36.3 megapixel full-frame sensor, the D800 has been adorned with many of the features first announced on the colossal Nikon D4; that means you’ll find the same ultra-quick Expeed 3 processor, 91k-pixel RGB metering sensor, 3.2″ 921k-dot LCD, and a 51-point auto focus system. Rounding out the highlights are compatibility with both FX and DX Nikkor lenses, a healthy 100-6400 (expandable to 50-25600) ISO range, built-in HDR, dual SD/Compact Flash card slots and a USB 3.0 firehose to get those massive images off the camera.


But where this new Nikon truly excels is a host of new video features. 1080p video capture (60 or 24 fps) or 720p (60 or 30 fps) is an expected specification, but we’re jazzed about live external monitoring with the D800′s ability to shovel out totally uncompressed HDMI, wireless stop/start, a built-in headphone jack for audio monitoring along with a new audio metering system, and some clever new compression for better video quality.


If you’re an eagle-eye, you may have read that Nikon also released the D800e alongside the D800. Long story short, the D800e will get you unfettered access to every single last pixel of that whopping 36.3 megapixel sensor for about $300 more (no anti-aliasing). If you live and breath RAW (think: fashion photography), then consider this your cannon of choice.

Monday

Lucio Antonucci: The Hat Maker


Born in Francavilla, Italy, Lucio Antonucci discovered his talents for hat making at an early stage in his life. After graduating from college with a degree in communications and graphic design, Lucio landed one of his first jobs as a photographer for a company that produced hats. While standing behind the lens, Lucio’s creativity was always in full swing. He admits to coming up with different designs, ways of enhancing the hats he was shooting from the moment he began working. All of his bottled up creativity finally came to the forefront and Lucio eventually became the company’s lead designer. After a successful 10 year stint with the company and numerous runway shows under his belt, Lucio decided to start his own company and in 1988 he opened his very own atelier.
Lucio continued to learn the art of hat making as his company was growing. In the early 90′s, he began to learn the trade from some experienced female hat makers. With this newfound tutelage, he expanded on his own designs and creations, becoming interested in creating hats that maintained a balance between a formal and modern structure. Lucio is a real inspiration and hopefully our photo diary captures his talent as well as his passion for hat making.


Sunday

Watch | The Derelicts – Refashioned Classics


The Derelicts a short film by eGarage from eGarage on Vimeo.

An incredible little film from eGarage focusing on Icon4×4 in Los Angeles who remake classic cars to create something extraordinary. As much about the passion and obsessive attention to detail as the car itself, its founder Jonathan Ward loves the aesthetic of vintage cars, the more beat up the better, but lost patience with the upkeep that comes with an archaic engine. So, under the hood you’ll find modern workings that allow the car to be driven everyday whilst the outside remains authentically worn and torn. These are the Derelicts. Thanks to Vintage Workwear for the heads up.

Tesla Model X

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Set for release in 2014, the Tesla Model X is the company's new Crossover which will be available in both rear and all-wheel-drive. So just how fast will you be able to get the kids to soccer practice in the Model X? The AWD model is said to hit 60mph in just 4.4 seconds which is as fast as their top of the line Model S sedan. If you want one early, Tesla will be releasing a "Signature Series" model in 2013 and pricing is said to be between $50,000 and $70,000. 

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The Sunday Drive….2012 Ferrari California

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While its probably not the most loved of all the Prancing Horses in Ferrari's current lineup, we've got a little bit of a soft spot for the polarizing California. This year the California drops some weight and gains some added performance with 30 more horses than the previous generation giving it a 0-62 time of 3.8 seconds. Design-wise the car gets a bigger crayon box to play with an increased range of colors, two-tone finishes, and three-layer paint technology.

Saturday

RRL Spring/Summer 2012 Leather Envelope Wallet

RRL makes the old, new. It’s what they do. There is of course that lingering question, why not just buy the real-deal original at half the price?  We won’t attempt to answer that right now – some of us enjoy hunting down vintage, some of us don’t. Takes all sorts right? Anyway, onto this Italian vegetable tanned leather wallet from the Spring Summer 2012 collection, which of course has been aged. Everything the label presents needs to feel passed down rather than straight of the production line.We like the Concho snap, giving it a bit of Southwest flavour and the overall clean appearance avoids it looking too faux-vintage.
Context tells us “The SS12 RRL collection pulls inspiration from historical marine surplus, turn-of-the-century American engineer’s garments and the life of British archaeologist T.E. Lawrence.” Get your olden days bill holder at Context.


Friday

The Thursday Cocktail Recipe…for the Weekend


Angostura Collins
Recipe adapted from Jamie Boudreau, Canon, Seattle
Makes one drink
Ice
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce rich simple syrup (2:1)
1 ounce Angostura bitters
Chilled soda water
Strip of lemon peel
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the lemon juice and simple syrup. Shake until chilled, about 10 seconds. Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Gently pour the bitters over the sour mixture to create a layered effect; top with soda. Garnish with the lemon peel. Serve with a straw.

Thursday

Simon Spurr Autum/Winter 2012 Collectio

Look 01 Simon Spurr Autum/Winter 2012 Collection

We’re again transported to back into the 20th century with Simon Spurr’s Autumn/Winter 2012 collection looking to the military and the London street photography of Robert Frank as foundational muses. A whole segment of Frank’s London shots from the ’50s focused on foreboding bankers moving about in a foggy financial district, and there’s definitely menace to the monochromatic palette and silhouettes seen here.
As a contrast, there are elements in tribute to Tommy Nutter’s 1960s revisions of the traditional suit, giving the sharpness of all the austerity something to cut around. The most noticeable feature in this regard is a dramatically enlarged houndstooth pattern that shows up on blazers, coats, sweaters and even an entire suit. Some breezy plaids also lighten the mood, making for a balanced set full of stuff we’d like very much to own.

Wednesday

SPOTTED: Jay-Z Wearing A Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute To 1931 Reverso At Carnegie Hall



Jay-Z and his watches.  Historically, he's been an AP man.  He even had a limited edition watch created in his honor, and donated his personal Audemars Piguet Las Vegas Tourbillon to charity, which ended up selling for $220,000 to this man.  Then, with the release of Watch The Throne, the world heard him say "New Watch Alert: HUBLOT" (he can be seen wearing a Hublot Classic Fusion in the video).
Then, over the summer we saw Jay wearing one of the coolest watches on this green earth, the incredible Richard Mille RM027 while sitting courtside at the US Open.  After that, we spotted a Rolex GMT gifted to an engineer on his Watch The Throne album with Kanye West.  And now, after Jay-Z's historic two night gig at Carnegie Hall (all for charity, we might add), we have some new watch alerts, including one you may not expect...
Jay-Z began both nights in a white tux and black bowtie, and what appeared to be an Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Tourbillon Chronograph.

Then, he switched to a black jacket for most of the concert.  The watch he is wearing here looks like a Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute To 1931 Reverso in rose gold, a super elegant, chic watch.  This would be the first time we've seen Jigga in a JLC, and we gotta say, we really like it.

Tuesday

Rich Neeley Designs iPhone Book Docks

Homer's Odyssey Book Charging Dock  for iPhone and iPod\

Jules Verne Book Charging Dock for iPhone and iPod

Edgar Allen Poe Mini Book Dock Charger for iPhone and iPod\
Edgar Allen Poe Mini Book Dock Charger for iPhone and iPod


Do you long for a time when books actually had pages you had to turn, could be read in the sun and didn’t require a power source? Yeah, so do we. Digesting the classics digitally is convenient, but it’s not anywhere near as satisfying as the tactile and sensory experience you get from a physical book. Unfortunately, books can’t send text messages, post pictures to Instagram or reply to emails. The predicament is over now thanks to Rich Neeley Designs. By combining novels like Christopher Robin, the Steve Jobs Biography and Dracula with an iPhone charging cable, you get a dock to charge your iPhone that’s worthy of being displayed. $42+

Read more: Rich Neeley Designs iPhone Book Docks | Cool Material http://coolmaterial.com/tech/rich-neeley-designs-iphone-book-docks/#ixzz1mMhmt2zj

Saturday

DRIES VAN NOTEN MENSWEAR COLLABORATES WITH GIJS FRIELING FOR F/W



For their F/W 2012 runway show at the Grand Palais in Paris last week, Dries van Noten had five painters steadily working on a 30m long mural. The mural gave life to the collaboration for the seasons prints by recreating the work of typographer Job Wouters (aka Letman) and Dutch artist Gijs Frieling.


Friday

The Thursday Cocktail Recipe…for the Weekend


1.5 ounces Vieux Carre absinthe
2 ounces Rye Whiskey
3 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Shake with ice and strain into an old-fashion glass (or an egg-cup), garnish with lemon peel.

Wednesday

Mark McNairy for Standard Brogue Boots

Mark McNairy x Standard ATL Brogue Boots Spring/Summer 2012

Mark McNairy x Standard ATL Brogue Boots Spring/Summer 2012


Mark McNairy teams up with Atlanta-based retailer Standard for a trio of brogue boots. The first two are 7 eyelet and leather-soled. One features tan grain with red wool flannel while the other is brown grain paired with hunter green wool flannel. The third version is black grain with navy wool flannel. It also features 7 eyelets, waxed leather laces and a white Vibram Cristy sole.


All three are available in-store and online for $485.


Mark McNairy x Standard ATL Brogue Boots Spring/Summer 2012