Ralph Lauren's Western Cushion Shrinks to 38mm: A Hand-Engraved Silver Watch from the New York Brand

On October 14, Ralph Lauren added a 38 mm size to the Western Cushion, part of its American Western collection. Until now the watch came only at 42 mm, and the larger version has since been discontinued. The collection debuted in 2018 for the brand's 50th anniversary and put hand-engraved silverwork on the wrist. Its references are the West Ralph Lauren has long loved: his Colorado ranch, concho belts and the turquoise of his 1980s Santa Fe collection.

The cushion case is sterling silver, engraved by hand with a mix of foliage and geometric motifs and then deliberately aged. No two cases look quite alike, and the silver keeps developing a patina with wear. Trade coverage notes that sterling is a rarely used case metal because it is soft and tarnishes easily. The engraving and aging are done in New York, the leatherwork in Texas. The crown carries hand-engraved RL initials, and the pin buckle is engraved and aged to match.

There are three dials: black lacquer with off-white numerals, off-white lacquer with black numerals, and natural turquoise cut and polished from stone, so the veining differs from piece to piece. All three mix Roman and Arabic numerals, add an inner 24-hour track and use Breguet-style hands. The interchangeable calfskin strap is tooled with saddle-inspired floral carving; the black dial comes on black leather and the off-white on brown.

Inside is the RL514, a self-winding movement Piaget makes exclusively for Ralph Lauren. It shows hours, minutes and central seconds, beats at 3 Hz with 26 jewels, and holds about 40 hours of reserve, finished with Côtes de Genève and perlage. The case measures 38 mm and 9.3 mm thick, with 50 m of water resistance.

Press reports give $26,000 for the two lacquer dials and $29,000 for the turquoise; Watchonista lists CHF 22,500 in Switzerland. It is not a limited edition. HiConsumption reports the discontinued 42 mm cost $40,100 in rose gold. The watch is sold at select Ralph Lauren boutiques and online. HiConsumption also notes that Ralph Lauren himself is a keen collector of vintage Cartier and that the label partnered with Richemont for its watchmaking.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by HiConsumption, Watchonista, T3.)