The latest timepieces from watchmaker RJ are downright villainous.
The young Swiss brand has debuted a pair of high-end watches that toast Batman’s greatest nemeses: Two-Face and the Joker.
The brand introduced the two-piece RJ x Batman Villians collection last week at an event held at the newly opened Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées concept store in Paris. The launch intentionally coincides with the 80th anniversary of Batman’s debut. Prospective buyers and curious window shoppers can drop by the store through Sept. 22 to check out the two timepieces, which were created in collaboration with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Consumer Products.
The commercial success (and instant collectibility) of RJ’s first-ever Batman watch, created to toast the Dark Knight’s 75th anniversary in 2014, prompted the company to create the villainous timepieces—which were each fabricated in 100-piece series.
“It’s always exciting to combine high-horology and iconic concepts of pop culture, and to bring [together] superheroes and infamous super-villains,” said Marco Tedeschi, CEO and creative director of RJ, in a prepared statement.
The Joker Arraw chronograph design nods to the villain’s lethal razor-tipped playing cards—and the dial is a stylistic reinterpretation of his face.
The 45 mm watch boasts RJ’s signature rubber bumpers, a titanium bezel laser engraved with an intentionally chaotic Joker motif, and hands with playing card aces at their tips. The back of the titanium case features a laser-engraved portrait of the Joker himself.
The watch comes with three interchangeable straps: two colorful alligator-skin bands and a rubber strap. They can be easily swapped out by simultaneously pressing on the Batman logo–engraved screws on the watch lugs. As part of the collectors’ edition, each watch comes with a deck of specially made Joker playing cards.
The Two-Face Arraw watch is an ode to the former Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, who was once one an ally of Batman’s but turned evil (he’s the one who suffered the sulphuric acid attack that scarred half of his face and drove him mad!).
The timepiece is also split right down the middle, with one side open and showcasing the watch’s manual skeleton movement, and the other underside tucked under a traditional plate. The 45 mm titanium case includes four rubber bumpers, arrow-shaped hands, a laser-engraved titanium bezel, and a calf leather strap also split down the middle—one side clean, the other side distressed.
Each Two-Face watch comes with a double-headed coin, Two-Face’s favored possession and his tool of choice for making life-and-death decisions!
(All photos courtesy of RJ)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
