Mario Batali's Ernst Benz Watch

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Look at Mario Batali's wrist - a close look - and you'll see a brand new Ernst Benz watch, 47 mm, number 1 of 250. The Mario Batali Limited Edition Ernst Benz Great Circle Automatic is an enhanced version of the original watch’s design, and features accents in Mario's signature color of orange. He's got the signature Crocs and now the orange watch to go with them. Mario has been a fan of Ernst Benz watches, and worked with Leonid Khankin, the brand’s managing director and chief creative officer, on the collection. The watches will benefit the Food Bank For New York City, Mario's favorite charity. They were introduced at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic. Mario's watch will come in three Great Circle sizes—36mm, 40mm and 47mm—each limited and numbered to 250. That means there are 749 remaining for sale. They range in price from $2,500-$4,500. Snap them up in August or September at authorized dealers and at Mario Batali's restaurants. (Let's hope a big percentage goes to the Food Bank.) Is it unusual for a chef to design a watch? Keeping time is often crucial in cooking. Just think of the description of Barry Wines at the Quilted Giraffe in Super Chef(pp. 179-180) . One of the most important ingredients to his nouvelle cuisine inspired American food was Time. All the chefs had a digital clock at their stations. Everything was cooked a la minute. Time is a crucial ingredient to many dishes from savory to sweet. Last year Nobuyuki Matsuhisa teamed up with Rado as a brand ambassador. Nobu praised the heat-resistant and scratch resistant quality of Rado watches. He even designed dishes around an exhibit of Rado abstract and design oriented photography. Now that Mario has the watch and the shoes, what so you think is next? The car... Previous articles: Mario Batali Bistro Crocs Nancy Silverton & Mario Batali's Mozza Mario Batali Tailgates NASCAR Style Mario Batali: 2 Brothers Mario Batali: Molto Italiano TIME for Mario Mario Batali Marketing Webcast Iron Chef Pizza Wars: Batali v. Puck Juliette Rossant: Forbes Tastemakers [Chefs & Branding - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef