Homage to the concrete jungle

The ‘Cool Hand Brooklyn’ Rolex, so named for the borough in New York City which Spike Lee calls home, is finished in an abundance of blue and orange — a tribute to the basketball team the New York Knicks, games of whose Lee is often in attendance. While these contrasting colours can be quite bold, especially when almost every inch is finished in the two colours — as this is, with its blue sunburst dial, orange markers and hands, a blue Bakelite bezel, an orange ‘Units Per Hour’ marker, and pushers in both blue and orange — there’s still a subtlety to the ‘Brooklyn’ that draws you into all its nuances. Although the timepiece started out as a reference 116520 Daytona, with its slimmer lugs, no crown guards, simpler pump pushers, a stainless steel caseback with a bigger sapphire window, and a solid gold winding rotor coated in blue, it’s hard to find any semblance of its former self. Only 40 pieces will be produced, priced at 39,800 US dollars, and for the fan of the city that never sleeps, the director that always has something to say, and the Rolex model that is universally beloved, this is surely the holy grail of watches…

Photos: Les Artisans de Genève