It speaks volumes to the power of the Ralph Lauren polo player logo that when prep is trending in its most extreme, most trad sense, Ralph Lauren’s vision always looms large in the conversation. Conversely, when (as now) we’re going through an ironic, neo-preppy phase – in which iconic looks, driven by street style, are reimagined and thrown together in a kind of free-association of prep – there’s Polo front and centre, too. That ubiquitous logo has a lot to do with it.
So it’s fitting that today on the Polo app, and next week on the Ralph Lauren website, a new collection of wristwatches from the Polo stable should feature the iconic polo player not in tiny, tasteful restraint but big and bold – occupying the full height of the dial – and in living colour, printed 3D on the lacquer dials and associated with a mashup of strap combinations running from tony calf leather to madras to painted Nineties Polo Sport graphics. It’s up to you which way you take it.
The collection features sporty 42mm cases in steel powered by a Selitta three-hand automatic movement with a 38-hour power reserve. The watches come in four colourways: a green dial and bezel, a blue dial and bezel, a black dial and bezel, and, most striking of all, a micro-blasted matte black steel with a matching bracelet. The bezels are anodised aluminium, in a nod to vintage watches, that will likely age beautifully.
While the most collectible watches are usually the ones that toe the line of tried and tested aesthetics, sometimes the oddballs, the anomalies, can be surprisingly good investments. Sure, Ralph Lauren has always been about the Porsche and the Landy in the garage, but he’s also about the Mini Moke or the Beach Buggy. Think of this as your serious third watch – but one with a sense of humour.
Available on the Polo app and in stores 17 September, and online 22 September.
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Nick Sullivan is Creative Director at Esquire, where he served as Fashion Director from 2004 until 2019. Prior to that, he relocated from London with his young family to Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. He has styled and art directed countless fashion and cover stories for both Esquire and Big Black Book (which he helped found in 2006) in exotic,uncomfortable, and occasionally unfeasibly cold locations. He also writes extensively about men’s style, accessories, and watches. He describes his style as elegantly disheveled.
![watches at the 2024 met gala](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/chris-hemsworth-attends-the-2024-costume-institute-benefit-news-photo-1715099043.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.167xw,0&resize=360:* "The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" - Arrivals")
