Revered among collectors, prestigious jewellers, and watch enthusiasts, Locman’s meticulous design capabilities combine human activity with the natural world in a harmonious balance that promotes their ethical manifesto. From their center of operations on the island of Elba, the luxury watch company create stunning and innovative timepieces fashioned from materials and gemstones not commonly used in luxury watch design. Locman featured the first watch in the world to use a carbon fiber case.
After the brand was established in 1986, renowned watch factory Genesi became Locman’s production partner during the 1980s. This enabled the company to offer high-quality Italian-produced watches at prices well below those presented by their Swiss competitors. Largely due to the partnership with Genesi and its technical expertise, the Locman company started designing and producing watches under its own label. Their premier design featured wood from their home island of Elba; briar root, and incorporated gold elements into an entirely hand-crafted piece.
The Montecristo Open Heart collection has become an icon of Italian watchmaking and sits right at the intersection of ‘sporty’ and ‘naval.’ With its stainless steel and titanium construction, elegant look, and self-winding chronograph mechanism, the Swiss Sellita SW500 movement is enhanced with 25 jewels and a stop-second function. The transparent dial is protected by a flat mineral crystal, and a sapphire finish presents three individual counters, displaying hours, minutes, and seconds, topped with a discreet date aperture. A raised exterior case is framed by a circular blackened steel collar that displays the numerals and a tachymetric scale.
Montecristo Open Heart’s elegant case is crafted from alternating brushed and glossy stainless steel with a titanium case back set with a crystal aperture to reveal the movement of the watch in an ‘Open Heart’ view of the internal mechanism. Extended integrated horns have two hollowed sections bringing an elongated taper to connect the watch with the strap and blend the two elements seamlessly together in an unbroken line. Case options include Carbon Composite, Steel and Titanium, Steel and Titanium PVD Black, and Steel and Titanium PVD Blue. The various color options come with a choice of a silicone or leather strap. Each style variant is reflected on the face of the watch, visible through the eye-catching transparent dial, with delicate and subtle complimentary highlights which match the accompanying strap color.
Available as a limited-edition design, the technical and aesthetic appearance of the Montecristo Open Heart is cultured and sophisticated, with refinements that create an appealing yet practical effect. A large trio of stainless-steel buttons line the outer case of the watch and feature a protruding watch crown to the center. Each one performs different functions to activate or reset the dial counters, and the crown features an attractive raised milled edging in a triple-lined formation. Arabic numbers line the dial’s perimeter, and the tungsten oscillating weight guarantees the watch’s 48-hour autonomy. An Italian flag is neatly inlaid at the 6 o’clock position on the watch’s face in homage to Montecristo Open Heart’s heritage.
Photos: Federico Gariboldi, Lorenzo Frua, Stefano Campoantico | Words: Emma Hersh
