Ernest Hemingway was a Rolex man. For a few years, it was famously an Oyster Perpetual, to be exact. Nevertheless it’s not exhausting to image the golden dial of the Historiador Tradición from Cuervo y Sobrinos strapped to his wrist, because the bullfighter, Nazi ass-kicker, and Nobel prize-winning novelist hunches over his outdated typewriter, pounding out Previous Man and the Sea, a contemporary mojito undoubtedly inside fingertips’ attain whereas the horn part from a Benny Moré album echoes its brassy refrain from the opposite room. See, the legendary writer was, in spite of everything, as soon as a consumer of Cuervo y Sobrinos (“Cuervo and nephews”) — a retailer that acquired its begin within the late 19th century because the premier jeweler in Havana, Cuba. It was there that the household jeweler offered co-branded Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Longines watches, very like Tiffany has accomplished all through the years, to discerning purchasers like Winston Churchill and Clark Gable previous to the Cuban revolution. And because the story goes, a type of purchasers was additionally, certainly, Hemingway himself.
Ernest Hemingway at his Havana house, “Finca Vigia,” in 1953
Now, to be completely clear, that doesn’t technically imply Hemingway truly wore a Cuervo y Sobrinos like this Historiador Tradición, it merely means he was a buyer of the famed jewellery retailer, but it surely does appear extremely probably that a few of the timepieces he prized over his literary profession would have been bought on the island’s most notable jeweler. Maybe most significantly, although, the mere risk that this watch may match such a story speaks to the transporting energy of its luscious mid-century aesthetic — one introduced again to life by an in any other case little-known Swiss indie.
Like stepping off an outdated twin-engine onto a grassy island airfield and taking in that first deep breath of salty air, there’s an terrible lot to soak up when measuring first impressions of the Historiador Tradición when it hits your wrist. Notably the way it may have come from the thoughts of the designer accountable for the unique Vacheron Constantine ref. 6087 however solely after an prolonged vacation within the Caribbean, whereupon correspondence with Switzerland was carried out by way of lime juice-stained postcards bearing pencil sketches of deeply textured dials and claw-lugged instances. As a part of the CyS Historiador assortment, the Tradición is a formidable re-issue of a heritage reference, one which represented a really particular interval of transitional design within the 1950s when the daring “maximalist” ideas of Artwork Deco have been slowly making strategy to the cleaner aesthetic of mid-century minimalism. It marries the 2 “simply so,” albeit below a light-weight haze of Cuban cigar smoke drifting lazily over a case crammed with amber-colored bottles of rum.
For a watch impressed by a reference that might have as soon as been retailed within the sweltering humidity of the Caribbean, the trendy Historiador Tradición’s paltry 30 meters of water resistance and the leather-based strap are a bit limiting, however I’m in any other case completely unable to fault the wealthy 1950s aesthetic effervescent beneath the broadly domed sapphire crystal; from the sharply angled trapezoidal hour markers to the grid-shaped “frappage” texture on the dial. Two colours can be found: silver, or this the flawlessly replicated “aged honey” coloration, which I’d argue is the actual standout, as a result of it’s attractive and heat and jarring in all the proper methods — the timekeeping equal to getting on a packed dance ground for the mambo after spending a winter swaying to Mozart. It’s a really distinct sensation that’s an absolute rarity in a interval of watchmaking when minimalist gown watches and staid heritage re-issues are beginning to get a bit lengthy within the tooth.
As a re-issue from an archival reference, the brand new Historiador Tradición will increase the case measurement of its classic predecessor to a contemporary 40mm however in any other case stays strikingly devoted to the supply materials – proper right down to the daring coloration and texture blocking, which, kitschy as they might be, are long-time religious signatures of the model. Flip the watch over for a take a look at a properly completed Sellita SW300, a 25-jeweled 4Hz automated motion with an influence reserve of round 40 hours and a rotor bearing a CyS engraving. It’s value mentioning this motion isn’t truly powering a brand new 2020 watch — evidenced by an engraving on the the steel coin in the course of the exhibition caseback, bearing its 2017 launch date, which was when the model celebrated its 135th anniversary. It’s additionally value mentioning that we’re not speaking about 135 years of uninterrupted manufacturing. Cuervo y Sobrinos fell sufferer to the extraordinary political upheaval throughout the Cuban Revolution within the 1950s and wouldn’t return for some 40 years when it was revived within the early aughts by an Italian watch and jewellery distributor. Simply because it was across the flip of the final century, although, the model’s watches are nonetheless produced in Switzerland, finishing an fascinating worldwide trifecta of curiosity round its decidedly Latin American roots.
Restricted to 882 items, the (in all probability) Hemingway-approved Cuervo y Sobrinos Historiador Tradición (ref. 3195.TR.C) has a value of 3500 CHF (or round three,600 Cuban Pesos, if you happen to’re becoming a member of us from Havana). And if the watch didn’t scream “Cuban” sufficient already, this specific reference ships in a custom-built humidor produced from cedar wooden. Be taught extra at cuervoysobrinos.com.
The unique Cuervo y Sobrinos Havana retail retailer, nicknamed “the Casa”
