Ralph Lauren’s RL Automotive Skeleton watch is one mesmerizing timepiece, with its elegant design, wooden bezel, and exposed movement. Problem is, a skeleton dial isn’t exactly the kind of style you can pull off with every wardrobe, making it a little difficult to rely on as an everyday watch. If you want the same refined elements without the exposed complication, the cleaner styling of the outfit’s RL Automotive watch should make for a more suitable alternative.
Instead of an exposed movement, the timepiece features a more conventional dial that should be a whole lot easier to integrate into your everyday wardrobe. With a black matte galvanic background, sword-shaped hands, Arabic numerals, and minute indicators, it brings a sophistication that can complement everything from black tie outfits to business suits to casual Friday office ensembles. All hands and indicators come in beige Super-Luminova, while a smaller seconds dial sits on the 6 o’clock position for precision timekeeping.
Like the skeleton version, the Ralph Lauren RL Automotive timepiece is inspired by the dashboard on Mr. Lauren’s award-winning 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe. As such, the bezel is covered in the same amboyna burl wood that was a favorite instrument panel material among luxury cars built during that vehicle’s original era, complete with six exposed screws as an automotive nod.
The case, which measures 44.8 mm in diameter and 11.2 mm thick, is appropriately substantial, especially when considering that the Bugatti Atlantic 57SC is quite the sizeable coupe. Construction is shot-blasted gunmetal stainless steel in a satiny matte black finish, with a convex sapphire crystal in front and a smoky sapphire crystal in the back, so you can still watch the movement from the rear view while keeping the dial clean. It comes with 50 meters of water resistance.
A hand-wound movement IWC made specifically for Ralph Lauren beats inside the timepiece, sporting 156 components, 18 jewels, a 45-hour power reserve, and a frequency of 2.5 Hz. It comes with a black alligator strap that only serves to raise the sophisticated profile, as well as a black gunmetal shot-blasted stainless steel pin buckle for the closure.
Along with the skeleton variant, the Ralph Lauren RL Automotive watch is part of five timepieces released in the outfit’s Automotive Collection. The other three take on stainless steel cases, albeit with elm burl wood dials and a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement for the Automotive Chronograph model. You can learn more from the official website.