Cuervo y Sobrinos is a brand rich in Latin history with the precision of Swiss Watchmaking at its heart. Twenty-twenty-three marks the 85th year of the release of the iconic Prominente timepiece, and to celebrate the milestone, the company has produced a limited edition timepiece called the Prominente Doble Tiempo.
You have seen the images of celebrities such as Burt Reynolds, Larry Hagman and Marlon Brando smoking large cigars, now picture them with a cigar twice as long. The Prominente would be the cigar, a substantial Cuban cigar which gives its name to a watch made by Cuervo y Sobrinos. The Doble Tiempo means double time, referencing the two times the timepiece can display.
Cuervo y Sobrinos launched its iconic model, the Prominente, in 1938, and it is much loved among Horologists, and twenty-twenty-three marks 85 years since the launch of the original.
The watchmaking company has released a limited edition, updated version to mark the occasion, which is available on a stainless steel bracelet or a dark brown Louisiana alligator strap with two independent movements, allowing the wearer to display the time of two locations when the offset is 30 or 45 minutes.
The brand is well-regarded amongst watch lovers, and many celebrities have visited its boutique in Havana. Well-known names such as Churchill, Einstein, Gable, Hemingway, and Neruda have all sought watches from the Cuervo y Sobrinos. Like its predecessors, the new Prominente Doble Tiempo is likely to draw attention to today’s generation of famous names thanks to its great looks and features.
The two independent movements bring accuracy to the timepiece that other double watches find hard to emulate. One with a conventional GMT can not display the time in countries with differences of 30 or 45 mins from GMT. The Prominente Doble Tiempo can accommodate these offsets.
The rectangular case has two dials, one above the other, showing the time in two locations worldwide. The beautiful dials differ in their character due to their sizes and use of numerals. The overall feel of the watch is what can best be described as Art Deco, with its visual appearance harking back to the 1920s. It is a traditional-looking timepiece that contains the latest mechanical wizardry.
Art Deco is a decorative style that strongly influenced the architecture of Havana, the birthplace of Cuervo y Sobrinos. The new model’s release allows the company to introduce subtle improvements to the case, heightening its notably elegant appearance. The caseband now features more curvaceous flanks, bestowing a sensual mien.
The dial is suffused with salmon hues, mirroring a Cuban sunset and bringing out its intricately formed guilloché surface. The Breguet-style hour and minute hands have luminescent treatment to increase readability in dim conditions. Stylised Arabic numerals hug the perimeter of the dial, denoting the hours. The watch hands and indexes are in gunmetal grey.
There are two Swiss movements within its case, the CyS 8125 calibre, based on the Sellita SW100, and the CyS 5025 calibre, based on the ETA 2671. The latter is modified in-house to present the time in a 24-hour format. Each has a decorated oscillating weight, with a fan decoration and CyS engraving.
The Prominente Doble Tiempo is available on a stainless steel bracelet or a dark brown Louisiana alligator strap and is limited to 138 pieces in recognition of the year the inaugural Prominente was released in 1938.
For more information on the Cuervo y Sobrinos Prominente Doble Tiempo and to view all the other current models, please visit www.cuervoysobrinos.com/en/10-prominente.
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