The Cuban brand Cuervo y Sobrinos has released two new watches that play on Havana’s 20th century role as a destination for international hedonists.
The company was founded in the late 19th century and enjoyed an illustrious history until the Cuban Revolution, when it was nationalised and ended up making watches for the military.
In the late 1990s it was revived as a luxury watchmaker and it now makes much of Havana’s glory days.
The Robusto 1935 is inspired by one of the company’s classic designs from the 1930s.
It has strong Art Deco styling, reflecting the famous architecture of the Cuban capital.
It comes in a choice of four dial colours: Habana (brown), Ceniza (ash), Azul Marino (navy) and Verde Manzana (apple green).
It has Superluminova lined facetted hour and minute hands and double curved sapphire crystal for increased legibility
The 40mm stainless steel case has a screw-in crown and 100m water resistance.
It has a three-row stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp.
The open caseback allows view of the anti-shock, Soprod-based automatic movement and the winding rotor is inscribed ‘ORIGINAL CASE DESIGN FROM 1935’.
Havana Sans Souci
The second watch is the Sans Souci, which is named after a notorious American-run cabaret and gambling club outside Havana.
The club was once one of the biggest hotspots in Cuba’s heyday as a destination for international hedonists.
It closed with the Cuban Revolution at the end of the 1950s.
The Sans Souci watch comes with three different dials: sunray brushed black; vertical brushed champagne; and sunray brushed blue.
It has a 38.5mm stainless steel case and comes on either a colour matched and stitched leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet.
It is powered by a Sellita-based automatic movement.
The caseback is engraved with a recreation of the Sans Souci’s famous entrance arch.
The watches are made in Switzerland, or as Cuervo y Sobrinos puts it: ‘Born in Havana. Crafted in Switzerland.’
Robusto 1935 $3,360 / £2,720
Robusto Sans Souci $2,750 / £2230