Detomaso was founded 20 years ago by its owner Richard, who had quit his IT job in pursuit of something more. After setting off to Italy on a road trip in his 60s convertible he was inspired by the freedom he found during his journey, and decided that he wanted to translate this feeling and the Italian attitude into a watch. And boy am I glad he did! A few years later Richard formed a partnership with Mark to inject something new into the brand, it was jump started and once again it started to thrive. Their core values are sustainability and customer service, and their handmade bracelets are produced in Italy using naturally tanned leather. Using vegetables, the strap linings are soft and boast beautiful, unique colours. This method avoids the use of toxic chemicals.

As you can see they are a very intriguing brand so I was extremely eager to receive my parcel from Detomaso. I was sent the Viaggio automatic green with leather brown strap. When I opened the box I was blown away by the look of the green face against the tan leather strap, such a stunning combination. I love the style of the hands with the second hand that stands out. It is an automatic watch powered by a precision movement from Seiko, guaranteed to always tell the right time. The dial is very clearly inspired by a speedometer which I thought was a lovely touch, plus the housing is scratch resistant and water resistant to 50m. The gorgeous leather strap is handmade in Italy and is naturally tanned by plants…how cool! But not only does it look good, it feels good. The leather is soft and hugs your wrist so comfortably that you could almost forget it was there! One of my favourite features is that it displays the date and, with this feature, it displays three dates, yesterday, today and tomorrow – something that I am always having to get my phone out to check. The glass bottom reveals the rotor, something that fascinates me and I think it also adds a bit of class to the watch. I don’t know much about vintage cars but I do know that this watch definitely has a sense of the 70s, I love the dome shaped casing; something the modern watches don’t tend to have.
I think Detomaso watches are in a league of their own, with so much thought and effort put into the look and feeling that they portray. If you or a special someone wants a little bit of vintage in their life this is the place to look.