The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

Jada Brookes explores Nepto watches that offer the discerning watch enthusiast a different kind of shape and style of time.  bitewatches Nepto W ho would have thought that a chance meeting on the dance floor of Berghain, a notoriously famous club in Berlin, Germany would lead to a timepiece collaboration between two souls? The strong bond between CEO and designer Vincent Ifrah and CFO Florian Fernandez as friends and then harmonious partnership gave birth to Nepto, an innovative watch brand launched in December 2018, intended to be both Parisian and Berliner that is elegant and extravagant, as well as dark and colourful. Whilst most watch companies go for the familiar round face, Nepto wanted to bring something fresh and original in de- sign, hence the hexagonal shaped watch face in their Shield Collection. Vincent’s passion for product design and watches and Florian’s training at a leading Parisian business school and experience in the financial department at communication companies in Berlin and Paris has contributed to the success of the watch brand. Although Vincent comes from an engineering background, he was motivated in designing thanks to his grandfather who had a shoe shop in the 1970s, creating tailor-made shoes from start to finish; using the best leather and skin. His father was an industrial designer who ran a motorbike shop and pre- pared them for competitions. “He was really good technical- ly but he also always cared about the design and the look of his motorbike,” the designer said of his father to Frank Scott of DesignPRWire in 2019. Vincent had initially planned to go to design school in Paris after his baccalauréat (French national academic qualifica- tion) but chose to go down the path of engineering instead, something he says he does not regret at all. “It was pretty use- ful to understand the mechanical behaviour of material and how [to] work a clock movement for example. So, yes, I’ve al- ways wanted to be a designer, but it took time to really feel it and become one.” Designing the collections from scratch, the Shield Collection is a harmony of form, refined lines, and precise proportions. Its aesthetics are aimed at enthusiasts who embrace sexy, bold, and non-traditional fine watchmaking. The contemporary design and depth of the dial’s colours and the excellent fine gradations are accompanied by chevrons and indexes that are said to have “found their rightful place on the faces of Nepto watches.” Going hand in hand with the mighty Neptune, the god of the sea, the Shield watch symbolises strength and stature. It has a strong shape that has been carefully designed with scrupulous details so that the impeccable form is synonymous with the human body. “Above all, this is a shape that stands out from the rest, while maintaining elegance and style,” says the brand. When coupled with a formal leather or a vibrant coloured strap, the versatile Shield can complement virtually any style. The Black and White Reverso Limited Edition of 444 piec- es is inspired by an old Raketa model, manufactured by the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Saint Petersburg, Russia since 1961. The 40 mm watch features a black or white dial and two central ‘sword’ hands with a Superluminova treat- ment that allows you to see in both light and dark envi- ronments. They have a Quartz Miyota 1L22 movement and can be worn with a black quilt leather, soft orange rubber, black mesh metal, or stretchy NATO fabric strap. Black Eleganza stands out with its bright red colour dial. The finished touch presents a matte and a 3D impression. It has two central ‘dolphin’ hands’ which, just as with the Black Reverso, the Superluminova treatment allows the wearer to see it in light and dark environments. The chev- rons mark the corners of the dial and give it a modern and masculine touch. Eleganza has the same watch movement as Reverso and can be worn with a black zebra leather, black mesh metal, or black rubber strap. It may be green, but it certainly isn’t envious: a dark green and black hue symbolise the Green Spectra on the con- tours while the dial is sublimated by a sunray finish that will capture the light. The hands are dressed in khaki green

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