Watches, Stories, and Gear: Giugiaro’s Iconic Watch Designs, Ferrari’s $1.4-Million Supercar, and More

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a weekly roundup of some our favorite watch content from Worn & Wound, great stories from around the web, and cool gear that we’ve got our eye on.

This week’s installment is brought to you by Mido Watches.

In 2018, Mido is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and to honor that momentous occasion the storied Swiss brand is bringing back numerous iconic watches from its archives. The Commander series is a hallmark of Mido’s catalog—both past and present—and the new Icone Black firmly plants the watch, with its neo-vintage roots, into the modern era.With a case rendered in anthracite PVD, the Icone is as discreet as it is elegant. The dial is satin-finished with orange highlights for a bit of pop, and it features Super-LumiNova for nighttime legibility. Matching in finish is the integrated Milanese mesh bracelet, which adds an understated and classic touch to the whole look.

Internally, Mido outfits the Icone with the Caliber 80 Si, a decorated, COSC-certified chronometer movement featuring a silicon balance-spring. As the name hints, the Caliber 80 Si comes with a whopping 80-hours of power reserve.

The Mido Icone Black is currently available for $1,390. Learn more here.

Watches

Chronography 7: Military Chronographs

“One of the traits we love about chronograph watches is that they’re tool watches. They’re useful, often specifically so. Nowhere is that more the case than with military chronographs. In military service, a chronograph can have any number of tasks, from timing a bombing run, to measuring distance with a known speed, to counting down engine checks. A chronograph on your wrist gives you the ability to measure and record time in precise increments, a useful tool in numerous tasks.

Over the past 100+ years, wrist chronographs have been staples of military kit, being issued to armed forces all over the world. You could easily fill a book with all the various pieces that exist (and people have), but today we’ll just take a look at a handful of lesser-known examples from throughout the past century.”

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The Art of Time: Giorgetto Giugiaro and the “Folded Paper”

“Part of what makes the world of watchmaking so great is its breadth. Not only is it a showcase of engineering knowledge, but an art form in its own right. Great watch design is a blending of beautiful forms with real functionality, and the masters of this have earned their place in the history books. Names like Gerald Genta and Taro Tanaka are rightly revered for their designs, but often some of the best designs come from outside the industry. A designer used to working in fashion, architecture or cars can bring a fresh perspective to watchmaking, with unique results. One of the best examples of this is Giorgetto Giugiaro.”

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Stories

Rolling Stone: “The Unheard White Album: An Exclusive First Listen”

“Everything we know about the White Album is about to change. The Beatles’ 1968 masterpiece has always been been the deepest mystery in their story—their wildest, strangest, most experimental, most brilliant music. But as it turns out, the White Album is even weirder than anyone realized. Especially when you’re hearing it in Abbey Road, the fabled London studio where the band spent five long months making it. Over a couple of sunny days (and late nights) in Abbey Road, Rolling Stone got a one-on-one exclusive tour of the previously unheard gems from the new Super Deluxe Edition of The Beatles (due November 9), forever known as the White Album. Producer Giles Martin, son of George Martin, is a valiant guide, playing outtakes from deep in the vaults, often grabbing a guitar to demonstrate a chord change. “They were a band on fire,” he says. “It’s double or triple Sgt. Pepper—the four walls of this studio couldn’t hold them anymore.””

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The Drive: “At the Unveiling of the $1.4 Million Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2”

“It’s been a big week for Ferrari. Just last night—before today’s unveiling of the limited-edition Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2—the Italian carmaker opened the doors to its new Centro Stile studio. A dazzling structure covers the entire front of the building, sheathing it behind a geometric façade of gold, gilded aluminum, and glass. This scaffold-like blanket was conceived to hide the design work being done within the secretive building’s walls, and also to hypnotize the eyeballs of all who walk by.

Mission accomplished.”

Click here to read more

Gear

Polywatch

This past weekend, I happened to look down at my Sinn 356 with its glorious, domed acrylic crystal and realized it was a little too scuffed for my liking. It was long overdue for a cleaning, so I went straight for my tube of Polywatch and got to work. After five minutes and a little bit of elbow grease the crystal looked as good as new. If you have watches, both old and new, with acrylic crystals, then you should definitely keep some Polywatch handy nearby. A small tube goes a long way.

$11—Shop here

Clark’s Desert Boots in Beeswax

One of my favorite pair of boots come fall are desert boots, and Clark’s, with its classic silhouette, is the original maker of the style. The shoes are light and comfortable thanks to the crepe sole, and you can get these in all sorts of leathers. My go-to has been the beeswax version. Beeswax leather is thick but pliable, and it’s packed full of oils so it’s great for those rainy fall days.

$140—Shop here