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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in white gold

Telling Rake readers the story behind the Royal Oak — arguably the most oft-told yarn in horological history — would be like regaling a serious scholar of popular music with the story of how Dylan went electric, or lecturing a literary professor on Shakespeare’s yen for neologisms. Suffice to say, Gérald Genta’s octagonal magnum opus rewrote the rules of horological aesthetics, turned steel into a premium watchmaking material, and played a game-changing role for the mechanical watch industry, in the midst of the quartz crises, akin to that fulfilled by Pelé for Brazil at the 1970 World Cup. 

The Shah of Iran, Prince Michael of Kent and King Juan Carlos of Spain were among those who snapped up one of an original batch of 1,000, possibly after Gianni Agnelli (from whose nickname, the Rake of the Riviera, this publication takes its name) was spotted wearing one. Of the hundreds of references released since, the 37mm, 18-carat white-gold openworked iteration before you, along with a sibling in pink gold, are the latest two. 

In both cases, polished surfaces are juxtaposed with satin- brushed facades, bringing extra vivacity to the Royal Oak’s playful geometry. Further mischievous contrast comes courtesy of faceted pink-gold hands and hour markers, with a blue inner bezel surrounding an openworked movement. (With the pink-gold case, this hands and hour-markers effect is inverted, while the inner bezel stripe comes in vivid purple.) 

The diminutive powertrain beneath its sapphire crystal is calibre 3132, a self-winding movement whose patented double balance wheel mechanism enhances precision and stability over the course of the 45 hours of autonomy it supplies. Beholding its gloriously unconcealed labyrinthine array of bridges, wheels, hairsprings and other components, owners will thank the horological gods that openworking, the watchmaking equivalent of an open kitchen, has been an Audemars Piguet specialty since the 1930s. The technique, after all, has particular resonance with a Royal Oak, given the model’s aforementioned role in reviving watchmaking’s fortunes in the 1970s. It was the micro-precision of mechanical watches, and the artisanal flair behind them, that ultimately laid bare the soulless banality of time being kept by a battery-powered vibrating quartz crystal. How edifying, to be reminded of that each time one checks the time of day. 

Ralph Lauren Polo coat in camel 

At one end of the scale, many garments we feature in these august pages have startlingly humble origin stories. Jeans — whose earliest progenitors were riveted denim pants designed to withstand the toils of the gold rush and the Wild West — are a fine example; brogues, whose tiny perforations were originally created to drain water (as they were worn by peasant farmers working on boggy terrain) are another. 

At the other end of the spectrum, we have apparel that has been the preserve of soigné gents occupying life’s ritzier milieux from the get-go: waistcoats, for example, are popular today only because Charles II took a shining to the sleeveless, torso-length garments that explorers brought back from the Persian court of Shah Abbas the Great, and in 1666 decreed them emblematic of a newly restored monarchy whose courtiers ought to be dressed differently to their counterparts in the Tuileries Palace in Paris. 

The Ralph Lauren Polo coat — as deserving a garment of the generally over-flogged word ‘iconic’ as we’ve come across — is firmly at the latter end of the gamut. Its narrative begins in the late 19th century, with the well-heeled coves partaking in polo at that time (a sport for which we can also thank chukka boots, button-down shirt collars and small-neck knits) wearing robe- like belted pieces, then called ‘waiting coats’, between each of the seven segments of a polo match. 

The version we know today — double-breasted, knee-length, with patch pockets and wide lapels as well as turnback cuffs — was adapted and popularised across the pond by Brooks Brothers, erstwhile providers of Ivy League staples, in the 1920s; versions emerged in cashmere or vicuña the following decade, cementing the polo coat’s place in the upper echelons of gentlemen’s apparel. 

Given the latter part of that chronicle, it’s inevitable that (American) dreamweaver Ralph Lauren’s contribution to the canon is among the most covetable on the market. A piece whose visual impact is vastly greater than the sum of its parts (those parts including the double-breasted silhouette, belted back, audaciously bold peak lapels and earthy hue) thanks to the Italian craftsmanship behind the construction, its double-faced, brushed-texture camel wool ensures that it will elevate your layering credentials before winter is out. 

Lauren became the first fashion designer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The accolade was testimony not only to the Bronx native’s entrepreneurial acumen and philanthropic efforts but for the sheer coherence of his creative vision. Wearers will be reminded of the last of those each time they walk past a reflective surface. 

IWC Schaffhausen Ingenieur Automatic 40 with blue dial 

This is one of two pieces in this issue’s Invest section whose rule- flaunting aesthetics can be attributed to Gérald Genta. Although, in this case, the Swiss fine-artist turned watch luminary reimagined, rather than conceived from scratch, the piece in question. 

Featuring the first ever in-house IWC automatic movement, IWC’s Ingenieur was launched in 1955 and featured the power-bolstering, wear-reducing Pellaton winding system as well as a soft-iron inner case, which made it a go-to timepiece for engineers and scientists who were exposed in their work to strong electromagnetic fields. Such industrial applications made it perfect for the aesthetic Genta had become renowned for, and he duly applied his Midas touch. A true coming of age, in the year of the model’s 21st birthday, was the result. 

Forty-seven years later, in March 2023, IWC launched the Automatic 40, a reissue of Genta’s Ingenieur SL Jumbo reference 1832, replete with integrated bracelet, a bezel with five screws, and a stamp-pattern dial. That reissue came in titanium and three stainless steel versions, with either a black, silver-plated or aqua- blue dial. This time, the grid structure stamped into the soft-iron base of the dial has been PVD-coated to achieve a darker blue hue (something of a staple for the steel luxury sports watch genre, and one that arguably brings out the majesty of the brushed steel surfaces, as well as the applied luminous markers and hands, more vividly than the dials on the 2023 offerings). 

There’s as much deference to the 1955 original in the mechanics as there is to Genta’s rethink in the aesthetics: the self-winding, IWC- manufactured 32111 movement features Albert Pellaton’s double pawl-winding system, which transmutes the wearer’s arm movements into energy for the mainspring (a zealous game of charades might accumulate a total power reserve of 120 hours), while a soft-iron inner case protects the movement from magnetic fields. 

At 40mm it’s a fantastic go-to for sports watch lovers who favour Goldilocks-zone sizing as well as the kind of aesthetic that looks as in situ peeping out of a denim shirt as it does tailoring but who would also rather eschew the ubiquity of Genta’s Audemars Piguet masterpiece and its equally acclaimed stablemate, Patek’s Nautilus. It’s also a worthy option for those for whom watches should be a jumping-off point for speculative debate — because where IWC takes the Ingenieur from here is anyone’s guess. 

Bennett Winch suede S.C holdall/suit carrier in tobacco brown 

The fact you are reading this publication means it’s a safe wager that, at some point in the fledgling stage of your sartorial career, you reclined on a giant tufted leather sofa in a world-class tailoring house, a stack of leather-bound fabric-sample volumes in front of you, and were educated by front-of-house staff about the relationship between weight, weave and desirable factors in textiles such as stretch, durability, drape, resilience, tactility and crease resistance. The Rake’s community, in our experience, is an itinerant one, and so the last of these traits takes on great significance, particularly among those of us who, having packed hastily, have ended up using a hotel-suite shower as a makeshift steamer. 

For all their (valid) talk of crimp, microns and high-twist yarn, even the wiliest of fabric makers haven’t quite nailed the problem, hence the innovation before you by the ultra-luxe British luggage company Bennett Winch — a superb marriage of craft and ingenuity that allows the owner to transport their bespoke finery wrapped around the holdall containing the rest of their freight and secured with magnets and straps. Because the suit is effectively rolled up, rather than folded, hard creases are avoided, while those that creep in will be less severe, and the fabric will relax into its natural shape much sooner. Of course, your suit is taking up precisely none of the 32 litres of storage afforded by the inner holdall. 

The product has become something of a signature piece for Bennett Winch, who were founded just over a decade ago by two Robins, the eponymous Bennett and Winch. The holdall has been released in a range of elegant colours (check out the sandy- and navy-hued versions), usually in some combination of waterproof cotton canvas and premium vegetable-tanned Italian leather. This iteration sees the suit carrier component fashioned from moss- backed waterproof Italian suede, which, in the makers’ own words, “delivers a unique patina while still retaining its napped-hand feel”. The interior duffel bag comes in a special lightweight version of the brand’s own cotton canvas. This modular marvel — which boasts an external pocket, removable waterproof shoe bag, slimline coat hanger and detachable military-grade cotton shoulder strap with solid brass clasps — has been assembled by hand in England. 

For further evidence of how dogged Bennett Winch are in their quest to solve perennial problems faced by seasoned sartorialists, consider another suit-carrying product the brand produces. Taj Phull, the Managing Director of Huntsman, was a consultant on the project, and made his feelings clear: “Do not make a trifold suit bag — they don’t work.” Fifteen prototypes later, the Bennett Winch Trifold — released last summer — is one of Phull’s favourite accessories. 

Read the full story in Issue 98, available now.