Legendary film director and sybarite Orson Welles discovered the Negroni in 1947 while working as a correspondent for
the Coshocton Tribune, and described his affection for the beverage based on the fact that it had bitters that were
excellent for the liver, and gin which was bad for it, and as such, “they balanced each other out”. In the last
decade, the Negroni, which was somehow lost during the rise of mixology culture, has staged a major resurgence. Says
Matt Hranek, author of a book on the Negroni which will be released this year, and co-creator of the Negroni tweed
with Douglas Cordeaux of the Fox Brothers, “I look back at the Negroni and see it staging a return following the
financial crisis of 2008. I think that people were searching [for] more authentic timeless things to connect with,
and the Negroni, because of its long, enduring history and because it is a genuinely great-tasting and uplifting
cocktail, became the drink of choice for many of us.”
Says Angel Ramos, founder of the tailoring and craft brand 18th Amendment, “The Negroni became a statement that you
loved things that were authentic. That you wanted to have cocktails in places where you could have conversations,
that you loved dressing in a tailored jacket because it was a sign of respect to your company and your environment,
that you enjoyed a cigar but never a cigarette. It was about an attitude of life that took classic values and
connected them to the modern world, and the Negroni was a kind of bridge.”
Symbol of Resilience and Hope
Andy Poupart, a respected sartorial Instagrammer that goes by the handle @styleafter50, says, “When 2020 happened and
the lockdowns began, the Negroni somehow gained a different and, to me, even more important significance. It became
a symbol of resistance against the encroaching darkness.” It was almost as if, amid the miasma of confusion, its
bright red colour stood out like a steadfast beacon of solidarity. Alain Gafundi, CEO of The Rake, says, “As such,
so many people, and especially readers and followers of The Rake, began to post images of their daily Negroni to
show they were united in this effort to keep spirits high and positivity going.” Adds Tom Chamberlin, The Rake’s
editor, “It reminded me of when British officers would shave immaculately when they were in the jungle and about to
face insurmountable odds. It was a sign that you would never feel defeated.”
More and more around the world, it seemed like Negronis were raised almost like defiant middle fingers at the Covid
pandemic, as if to say it would not crush our spirits. As I worked on the Covid-19 Solidarity Auction run by The
Rake and its sister publication Revolution, which raised over USD 280,000 for organisations such as the NHS in
England and the Red Cross in Italy, it was a Negroni I would reward myself with at the end of each day, oftentimes
with a photograph uploaded to my Instagram page @wei_koh_revolution. This social media phenomenon even inspired us
to create a watch in collaboration with Ralph Lauren, with the famous Polo Bear dressed immaculately in black-tie
and raising his Negroni to us all, to remind us that the events of 2020 would pass and we would emerge wiser and
more grateful.
Then I had an interesting conversation with Carlos Rosillo, who was inspired to give our readers and followers
watches that were totems of positivity and optimism to celebrate the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021. We came up
with the concept of timepieces inspired by our favourite cocktails — the Negroni and the Spritz. Two of my favourite
people in the watch industry are Carlos and his partner Bruno Belamich, who are collectively Bell & Ross. I
think one day they should star in a Netflix series on how to approach life in a way that is elegant yet mindful and
incredibly genuine. They are both always in a great mood, and you genuinely feel that they wake up each and every
day filled with passion for their métier and true affection for the people around them. Each time I am in their
company, along with their lovely head of communications Axelle Rogano, my mood is tremendously uplifted. We’ve
shared great meals, bottles of wine, cigars and, most of all, memories together. So what could be better when your
friends also create some genuinely great watches, as Carlos and Bruno do?
Bell & Ross Bellytanker Chronograph #Negronitime for The Rake
One of the hardest things to do is to design an original sports chronograph without essentially replicating the Rolex
Daytona or the Omega Speedmaster. So when I saw the Bell & Ross Bellytanker for the first time in 2017, I was
genuinely impressed that it was an authentically original design. I like the oversized Arabic indexes, the long
baton markers, the stepped dial, the thick crown guards and the screw-down pushers. Everything just worked well and
at 41 mm, it was a good size. Shortly after seeing the Bellytanker, I kept thinking, what if the watch had been
launched in the 1950s and an example of one of these had been buried in the ground in some unknown desert racing
track, or left in the sun for years and its black dial and bezel had become scorched by the UV light and
tropicalised to the extreme? I think around this time I had witnessed the vintage world’s obsession with all things
tropical, and I have to admit many of these watches were absolutely stunning to behold. However, most of these
unicorns were also staggeringly expensive, and I thought that if we could get the styling of the watch just right,
with the Bellytanker’s relatively accessible price point of around USD 4,000, we could have a really fun yet
affordable “tropical” sports chronograph.
I pitched this idea to Bruno and Carlos, and they came back with two designs: one for a steel watch with a tropical
brown dial, and one for a bronze watch with a champagne dial and brown subdials. Both were perfect. They had thought
through every detail and found just the right shade of brown. The resulting timepieces — “Dusty” and “El Mirage”,
from 2019 —are still some of my favourite watches, and I always get questions about them when I have either on my
wrist.
So it seemed like a foregone conclusion that after I explained the phenomenon of the Negroni, which had gone from a
cocktail to an incredible community symbol, Rosillo, who is like myself invigorated by a steady diet of Negronis and
cigars, said, “Then let’s create a watch inspired by the Negroni to symbolise the friendships and shared moments we
all miss so much.”
From across our Zoom conversation, ensconced in our studies in two different continents, we lifted our glasses and
made a virtual toast to the idea. Then we began the design process, which is when we discovered that a Negroni
possesses a colour unique in the world. It is neither red nor orange, and depending on how the light hits, it can
have an amber halo and even pockets of deep ruby red. After a great deal of exchange on Pantones, we finally arrived
at a colour that we feel perfectly represents the colour of a Negroni.
At the same time, we decided to contrast the lush opulent tones with dramatic black subdials and minute track, and
keep all the markers in white for maximum legibility. The tachymeter is similarly coloured in a Negroni tone. The
dial is one which uses both a sunray finish and many layers of lacquer to create an almost liquid-like hyperlush
effect. Finally, because Rosillo and I have promised each other that when the time allows for it, we will embark on
a vintage car and motorcycle rally to celebrate the return of normalcy in the world, we fitted the watch with a
Negroni-coloured suede rally strap.
A Brief History of the Spritz
But as I mentioned earlier, we wanted to create a second watch based on the classic cocktail, the Spritz, which is
another beverage that has become a symbol of a more bucolic, elegant existence, often conjuring up images of my
favourite memories. One, in particular, relates to a vintage car rally from Munich to Lake Como for the Concorso
d’Eleganza. But let’s first delve into the history of the Spritz, which was born during the Habsburg dominion of
Veneto. Veneto is the part of Italy that has Venice as its capital, and has always been one of the richest regions
because of its port. It was made part of the Roman Empire around 5 BC, and became one of the world’s foremost
maritime republics from 697 AD until 1797. All in, there were a total of 120 doges who ruled Venice, amongst them
Andrea Gritti (1523 to 1538), whose home is now occupied by the legendary Gritti Palace hotel. After the Napoleonic
Wars and the resulting Congress of Vienna, Veneto and its jewel Venice was ceded to Austria. It remained part of the
Austrian Empire until 1866 when it was united with the Kingdom of Italy.
History lesson aside, one of the things I love most about Venice is that it gave birth to the Spritz. Soldiers,
diplomats and merchants from Austria decamped to Veneto, but were unused to the more strongly fortified native wines
and as such, started the practice of mixing them with water. Amusingly, visitors soon brought the drink back to
their native Austria and today, bars such as Vienna’s iconic Black Camel or Schwarze Kameel serve some of the most
famous Spritzes in the world.
In 1919, the enterprising Barbieri brothers of Padua introduced Aperol, a fortified bitter with a sweet taste and
jewel-like orange colour, and by the ’50s, it had brought about an evolution in the Veneto Spritz, which now
consisted of this bitter, prosecco and sparkling water. And it is this succulent concoction that is the primary
source of my hydration and also the libation I associate most with the transcendent city of Venice. My standard
operational practice upon arrival is to enjoy one or three of these magnificent concoctions — flawlessly prepared by
head barman Cristiano Luciani — with my dear friend, the Gritti Palace’s beloved general manager Paolo Lorenzoni,
before I make my way to the ethereal Hemingway Suite. Indeed, there is nothing to me more meditatively bucolic than
to read Somerset Maugham on the terrace of the Gritti, where the author was known to ensconce himself enjoying La
Serenissima’s signature beverage. My favourite ritual, upon viewing Titian’s life-changingly epic Assumption of the
Virgin still found in situ at Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, is to retreat to one of the many nearby cafes in quiet
contemplation at the majesty of this seminal work with a Spritz and cigar.
