Watch of the Week: Ralph Lauren American Western Watch with Turquoise Dial

In the 1800s, cowboys and cattle herders would tell time by the sun, following its blazing trail across the sky. On night watches, stars would serve the same function — as would campfires, chronicling the passing hours through the smouldering of their embers. By the end of the 19th century, railroad-style pocket watches were gradually coming into use, although these were inexpensive, workaday timepieces.

The latest addition to Ralph Lauren’s ‘American Western Watch Collection’ is no such slouch. The range's cushion-cased model first appeared in 2018 — the brand’s 50th anniversary year — but last year saw the debut of a striking new variation, with a dial deeper black than those dark prairie skies. The 2025 edition maintains the cushion case shape (crafted in either rose gold or sterling silver) yet refreshes the dial once again; its Breguet-style hands ticking around a beautiful turquoise face.

Ralph Lauren has long been taken by turquoise. At the designer’s Double RL Ranch in southwestern Colorado, one room plays host to a display of antique ‘concho’ belts — those scalloped, silversmithed symbols of Native American craftsmanship. Lauren first rode out the blue-green gemstone on the runway in the 1980s with a range of women’s jewellery, but this new model (£26,500) marks the first time turquoise has saddled up for the Western Watch Collection.

Keen to avoid too vivid or vibrant a shade, Lauren personally picked out the approximate tone of the stone (as the mineral is natural, each dial will slightly differ in colour). The 42mm hand-engraved cases are still a thing of beauty — all floral motifs and zigzagging lines — and still meticulously engraved in Manhattan’s jewellery district.

After their New York minute, these cases are passed off to a classically trained metalwork restorer, where thorough rounds of sanding, polishing, painting, and waxing help achieve the watch’s oxidised-style patina.

It’s then down to Texas for the straps, where an El Paso-based artisan intricately hand-tools the vachetta leather bands in a concho belt style. Once finished, they’re sent to Italy to be burnished (there’s a global feel to the whole watch: the indices flit between Roman and Arabic). Finally, the straps are completed with extraordinary belt-inspired buckles with bespoke-cast prongs, delivering that rough-and-ready ‘Americana’ aesthetic.

“The spirit of Western style resonates with a rugged elegance and authenticity that people connect with,” says Lauren of the launch. “The combination of turquoise with precious metals speaks to the rich heritage of American Western craftsmanship — it embodies a sense of honesty and enduring appeal.”

The movement, exclusively made by Piaget for Ralph Lauren, is just as carefully crafted. Self-winding, with 26 jewels and a 40-hour power reserve, the ‘Calibre RL514’ beats at a frequency of 3Hz. It may be a world away from those fires and stars upon which old Western wayfinders would rely, but with vertical Côtes de Genève detailing and perlage decoration, it’s just as mesmerising to behold.

American Western Watch

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