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If you could, where would you go?
It’s the kind of question that comes up during a conversation that we start sitting on a terrace in the sun. It’s the starting point of a conversation during which our glance empties to plunge into the heart of our imagination and fly away to our dream destination.
Wouldn’t going there be the best way to be disappointed?
Lake Como is not one of my idealized destinations. But it is a destination that attracts me. Its landscape between mountains and lake reminds me of Switzerland, with the Italian style in bonus.
So, when Formex presented us with its new Essence Leggera, it was obvious that we had to go to Lake Como to experience one of the pieces in the collection.
Let’s discover this piece together throughout our Italian adventure.
Enthusiasm is a powerful emotion that takes hold of someone about a person or something and manifests itself in outward signs of admiration, contentment or elation. This is the feeling that came over me when Raphael Granito shared with us: “If there is one watch in our collection that shows what we do best, it is the Leggera (…). Personally, I consider the Leggera to be the ultimate fusion of elegance and sportiness.”
C'est baigné dans l'univers automobile et de la moto qu'est né Formex à la fin des années 90 début 2000. Mais c'est en 2016 que Raphaël Granito reprend la marque et décide de réveiller cette belle endormie. Dans ce podcast, vous y découvrirez la marque ainsi que Raphaël. De son parcours d'entrepreneur à ses futurs challenges, il vous livre son histoire.
The Italian blue sky, the blueness of the lake water and my love for the color blue made me lean towards the Electric Blue dial, it’s not that flashy. Its gradation of blue shades and its soleillage captivate your gaze and focus it on the center of the dial. You are hypnotized when you look at it.
Now that the Essence Leggera Electric Blue is on our wrist, let’s leave the City of Light and head to Milan. As we board our night train, my heart stops.
“Oh God, I don’t feel the watch anymore!!”
Without a watch on my left wrist, I feel like I’m naked. For a fraction of a second, I had this feeling. I must admit, with a carbon case that does not weigh more than 40 gr and because of the soft feeling it gives, my brain was fooled.
As the lights go out and the train leaves the station, I can’t get to sleep. The few rays of sunlight the dial caught were enough to recharge the markers and hands that are filled with SuperLuminova. No screen can compete with such a show.
The running of the second hand creates this regular show that lulls the eyes. It is in front of this spectacle that my eyes closed to be reopened by a female voice which announces with the microphone:
“Ciao a tutti e benvenutti a Milano “
To honor the watch, as well as the place we are going to, we could not take a simple rental car.
Alors que les lumières s’éteignent et que le train quitte la gare, je n’arrive pas à trouver le sommeil. Les quelques rayons du soleil que le cadran a capté ont suffi pour recharger les index et les aiguilles qui sont remplis de SuperLuminova. Pas un écran ne peut rivaliser avec un tel spectacle.
La course de la trotteuse crée ce spectacle régulier qui berce les yeux. C’est devant ce spectacle que mes yeux se sont fermés pour se rouvrir par une voix féminine qui annonce au micro :
“Ciao a tutti e benvenutti a Milano “
Pour rendre honneur à la montre, tout comme au lieu où nous nous rendons, nous ne pouvions pas prendre une simple voiture de location.
Thanks to one of you, we were able to find the one we needed. An Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 from the 1960s. The perfect combo. It’s in Milan that Alfa Romeo was born in 1910, and it’s with one of its most mythical creations that we’re going to drive around Lake Como, elbow on the door, sunglasses on the nose and hair in the wind! Of course, this beautiful Italian car is convertible.
In less than an hour, we’re there! The temperature has cooled slightly thanks to the bit of humidity in the air. The 140 kilometers surrounding the lake are done with such ease, the roundness of the engine noise lulls you while your eyes drown in the greenery of the mountain and the shine of the lake water. It is this same brilliance I find in the dial of the Essence Leggera Electric Blue. It is obtained thanks to the blue color and its soleillage, but also thanks to the polishing of the markers. Their angular shape bounces the sun’s rays and scatters them all along the railroad.
The lightweight feel is achieved both through the carbon of the case and the comfort on the wrist, which is enhanced by Formex’s patented suspension technology. This suspension system, hidden by the four hexagonal screws that connect the top to the back of the case, increases the comfort on the wrist by adapting to our movements. But this patented system is also a wonderful feature that can be played with by manipulating the watch. Does this feature have a de-stressing virtue? I don’t know what the doctors will say, but it does for me.
As the last kilometers are coming up, I look at the watch once again. Can we find any flaws in it? Answering no would not be honest. Any product can be improved, even Haute Horlogerie pieces. This piece appealed to me because I know how much love and effort the Formex teams put into it. The first one concerns the materials. The case is in carbon, the bezel and the crown are in ceramic. These materials are usually found on watches in a completely different price range. The second is the clasp. It is not like the others because it also incorporates a patent registered by the brand that allows to adjust the comfort of the bracelet to the millimeter. Having a small wrist, this patent makes all the difference in my comfort.
So, would inviting you to pre-order one of the Essence Leggera be a bad idea? The answer is no! If you can, I invite you to take the plunge because you won’t be disappointed! Discover all their watches and collections here.
How about you, what would you do with an Essence Leggera on your wrist?
