Watching the wheels
The Cuervo y Sobrino Torpedo Crono is a handsome timepiece and reminds me that, despite changes in fashion, sometimes we need to look at the past and enjoy the simplicity of a bygone era.
I have recently returned from Bormio. The town is located in Lombardy, in northern Italy, and is stunningly beautiful. The mountain air was crisp and invigorated the lungs with a gaseous-like elixir of life.
The cobbled streets were decorated with an assemblage of priceless classic cars all waiting to compete in the Cuervo y Sobrinos Cup 2013. The regulation race covered 500 kilometres, as competitors negotiated challenging mountain routes through Switzerland, Italy and Austria.
I drove a modern-day Jaguar and relaxed in air conditioned comfort. I twirled my power assisted steering wheel with effortless ease and enjoyed the user-friendly state of the art automatic transmission. However, some of my fellow drivers lacked these creature comforts in their vintage cars pre-dating 1969, making the drive a greater challenge.
Feel the emotion
As I watched the vintage cars depart from the central piazza in Bormio, I became lost in a world of rorty engines and octane-fuelled air. It would be an inert soul who did not feel the emotion of the event permeate their psyche. I increasingly became transfixed watching the multitude of Borani wire wheels rotate with haste as their drivers embraced the daily itinerary.
Simplicity and honesty
“Watching the wheels”, I recalled the John Lennon song sharing this name. Lennon’s song talks of his own personal journey from youth to adulthood. He seemed at peace with his new life and acknowledged that simple things gave him pleasure. It is a perfect metaphor for the competing cars and their absence of luxurious trappings. They proffer a simplicity and honesty which beguiles those fortunate enough to see them in full flight. In some respects modernity does necessarily bring progress but difference.
Classic cars are a personal passion of Marzio Villa, the President and CEO of Cuervo y Sobrinos, but they also sit comfortably with the historical DNA of the Swiss watch company with Latin spirit coursing through its veins. The company can trace its origins to the island of Cuba and the jewellery retailer of Cuervo and his nephews, founded in 1882.
Torpedo Crono
I am reminded of more wholesome times whilst looking at the latest timepiece from Cuervo y Sobrinos, the Torpedo Crono with its subsidiary seconds display resembling the hub cap of a classic car.
The new watch is modern in its execution but has traditional styling details on the dial. For example the Arabic numerals, which indicate the hours, are elongated and avec serifs. They have a nostalgic feel which proves very appealing.
Each subdial employs an alternative design language, yet despite the disparity in form, they somehow coalesce in harmony. The tachymeter scale depicted on the bezel is labelled in Spanish, “Taquimetro” evoking an exotic persona and reinforcing the Latin character of the watch.
The date is presented via two apertures encircled by the brand’s nomenclature and year of inception. The font selected has a traditional feel, yet nothing feels kitsch or excessively contrived.
The base movement is an ETA 2892-A2 with a Dubois-Dèpraz 4500 chronograph and large date module. The watch is fitted with a sapphire caseback affording a view of the movement and, most notably, the rotor is adorned with a fan decoration and “CyS” motif.
Racing influences are repeated once more with the “carbon-like leather” strap. It seems strange to fuse an intrinsically modern material with a traditional looking watch, however, I can report it somehow works and to magnificent effect.
Innovative approach to design
Modern day cars invariably look similar. They are honed to near homogenous shapes to achieve improved aerodynamics, proffering enhanced performance and economy. Moreover, consideration has to be given to increasingly onerous safety legislation.
The beauty of classic cars is that they were designed without undue emphasis on the criteria we now consider important and the result was individuality and alluring aesthetics which continue to charm and delight.
I admire Cuervo y Sobrinos for their innovative approach to design. They represent a breath of fresh air. The Torpedo Crono is a handsome timepiece and reminds me that, despite changes in fashion, sometimes we need to look at the past and enjoy the simplicity of a bygone era.
Technical Specification
- Model: Cuervo y Sobrinos Torpedo Crono
- Case: Stainless steel; diameter 43.00 mm; height 12.85 mm; water resistant to 5 bar (50 metres); sapphire crystal to front and caseback.
- Functions: Hours; minutes; subsidiary seconds; large date; chronograph.
- Movement: Movement number 310 (Base movement ETA 2892-A2 with Dubois-Dèpraz 4500 module, self-winding movement; frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz); 49 jewels; power reserve 40 hours.
- Strap: Carbon-like leather strap on stainless steel folding buckle.
- Limited Edition: 100 pieces