Carlo Riva Italian High-End Boat Builder

Arrivederci!!!

Carlo Riva

Italian Luxury Boat Building Legend

Belongs To The Ages

1922-2017

Carlo Riva was a legendary high-end board and yacht designer and builder who passed away a few days ago. His Riva boats are considered by many to be the Ferrari of speedboats, despite the fact he made Lamborghini powered Riva speedboats.

Carlo Riva was born in Sarnico, Italy on February 24, 1922 into a famous family that made amazing boats. Riva was founded in 1842 on the shore of Lake Iseo in Italy, by Carlo's great-grandfaterh, Pietro Riva. Carlo is is pictured below in front of a classic Riva boat and he is wearing this trademark yellow gold Rolex Day-Date. Carlo Riva has worn a Rolex Day-Date for many decades, which is a timeless and iconic symbol of quality and elegance, just like his beloved Riva boats.

During the 1950s, Carlo Riva built a state of the art shipyard in Italy to build his beautiful luxury speedboats, that were made primarily from superbly crafted mahogany. Thus, began the golden era of Riva boats. 

Riva Speedboat Factory in the 1950s

Sun, Sea & Joy of Living

Riva boats were also unusually fast as some of them could go faster than 40 nots at full throttle. The super modern streamlined shape of the Riva boats personify the essence of fine Italian design.

Today, Riva still hand builds these amazing boats that are based upon the original 1950s Populux design language. The technology has changed and today the Riva boats hull is made from fiberglass, but they still have the trademark mahogany wood deck that Jeremy Clarkson once referred to as "The mahogany passport to the high life". Riva boats today go for around a million dollars. 

The Riva brand was acquired by Italian shipbuilder, Ferretti, which owns 7 other luxury yacht brands. Today Riva's slogan is "As it was yesterday, it will be forever."

Amazing Detail

Let's take a look at the details that make a Riva Yacht so amazing. They say God is in the details, and as I have mentioned so many time before, there is nothing in the world like fine Italian craftsmanship.

Riva Yachts stand testament to timeless design and functionality. The design language of the Riva Yachts is steeped in late art-deco from the 1950s, which is referred to as Populux.

I mentioned the Reva design is steeped in Populux design language, which was a late 1950s movement that represented the zenith of art-deco design. Populux is a conjunction of 'Popular' and 'Luxury', and is characterized by chrome and sharp modern lines as we seen in these pictured of the Riva Yacht.

Populux is also the kind of design language you would find in the tail fin of a 1959 Cadillac. When you look at the Riva boat craftsmanship detail in the highly polished mahogany deck it is exemplary.

Vintage Riva

An Amazing & Iconic Heritage

Let's get in the Rolex Time Machine and go back to in the past to learn about Riva's amazing heritage. Riva speedboats back in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were all the rage and then some. Many famous glamorous movie stars, celebrities, Royalty, heads of state, Sheikhs, and Billionaires were photographed in iconic Riva boats. In the photo below we see a vintage Riva magazine ad, which is so cool looking...

Michael Rennie

In the photos below from 1954 we see actor Michael Rennie in his Riva speedboat. Michael Rennie was an English film, television and stage actor, who is likely best known for playing Klaatu in the science fiction movie, The Day The Earth Stood Still, which debuted in 1951.

The image below confused me when I first saw it, as it appears to be a combination of the photo above, as well as the photo below it. In other words, I think somebody did a pre-photoshop comp of it, but it is interesting none-the-less.

La dolce vita

The movie La dolce vita, debuted in 1960 and was a huge hit. It went on to become one of the most iconic films that defined the early 1960s. The stars were Marchello Mastroianni and the stunningly beautiful Swedish model, Anita Eckberg.

Annita Ekberg is pictured below in her Riva Tritone speedboat, which was the first yacht to have two engines, and hers is complete with Zebra pattern seating. Indeed Annita was living The Good Life!!!

The video below was released by Tudor at BaselWorld in 2016, and it takes place in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, which is where La Dolce Vita was shot. In case you are not familiar, Tudor is a watch brand owned by Rolex. The video features Nat King Cole singing "LOVE" in french, which is beyond sublime!

Paul Newman

Paul Newman is pictured below in 1963 as he travels onboard a Riva to the Venice Film Festival. Of course, Paul Newman is considered to be a high priest of vintage Rolex today.

Sophia Loren

The Italian Princess

Next up we see the one of the most beautiful women that has ever lived, The Italian Princess, Sophia Loren hanging out on a Riva Speedboat back in the 1960s.

Peter Sellers

In the photo below we see actors Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland in 1966 in their Riva Speedboat in the port of Monaco.

Jean-Claude Killy

In the photo below we see legendary Olympic Ski Champion Jean-Claude Killy onboard his Riva in 1971.

Brigette Bardot

In the photo below we see Gunter Sachs with his wife, legendary actress, Brigette Bardot in their Riva speedboat.

In the photo below we see Brigette Bardot and her husband, Gunter Sachs, and notice he is wearing a Rolex GMT-Master.

In the photo below we see another photo of Bridgett Bardot in a Riva boat taken in Saint-Tropez in France.

Sean Connery

In this next photo we see James Bond actor, Sean Connery in 1967 haulin' ass with some friends on his Riva Rudy. 

Princess Grace

In this next photo below we see Princess Grace of Monaco with her husband, Prince Rainier II, along with their kids as the navigate around the harbor of Monaco in their Riva. Prince Rainier of Monaco purchased his Riva Triton in 1958, with Hull Number 62.

Aristotle Onassis 

In the photo below we see legendary Billionaire Aristotle Onassis's famous Christina O Yacht, with his personal Riva speedboat.

George Clooney 

In the photo below we see actor George Clooney on a Riva, and he is wearing a really cool Omega Seamaster Proplof. I believe this photo was taken during the filming of Ocean's Twelve. George Clooney also owns a Riva which he keeps at his home on Lake Como, in Italy.

RIVA

Aquarama Lamborghini

Riva partnered with Lamborghini to make boats from 1962 to 1996. Ferruccio Lamborghini's personal Riva is pictured above and below. I used twin 4.0-liter, 350 horsepower 12 cylinder Lamborghini engines, that were very similar to the engines found in the Lamborghini 350GT sports car. Together Riva and Lamborghini made a total of 769 boats together.

In the photo below from we see Ferruccio Lamborghini, founder of Lamborghini taking delivery of his personal Riva, from Carlo Riva. Lamborghini was a tractor manufacturer, and as legend has it, he complained to Enzo Ferrari about a Ferrari sports car he owned, and Ferrari told him if he thought he could do it better, he should. And that is exactly what he did.

In the vintage photo below we see Ferruccio Lamborghini in his personal Riva Aquarama Speedboat with dual 12 cylinder Lamborghini engines. 

Ferruccio Lamborghini in pictured below in his personal Riva Aquarama Speedboat.

In the photo below we see Fabio Lamborghini with Carlo Riva, an notice Lamborghini is wearing a Rolex.

Rolex & Yachting

After writing this story, the Rolex Yacht-Master kept popping into my head. In my recent story about the Submariner and SEA-DWELLER, I figured out Rolex named both models after Jacques-Yves Cousteau. This made me naturally start thinking about where the name, "Yacht-Master" came from? The most current version of the Rolex Yacht-Master is pictured below, and it is basically a Rolex Submariner variant.

In the past, I wrote a story titled, "The Complete History Of The Rolex Yacht-Master", which offered a unique look into the Genesis of the model. Then I started thinking about how Riva Yachts were at their zenith point around 1967, and this made me think about a 1967 Rolex prototype Yacht-Master Chronograph that Rolex made. This watch was only a prototype and was never offered to the public for sale.

This Rolex Yacht-Master prototype pictured above was 39.5MM in diameter and had a Rolex Reference of 6239/6242. The dial was made in 1967 and the case was made in 1969. I can't help but wonder if Riva Yachts were part of the inspiration for Rolex to create the Yacht-Master?

Dick Bertram

This Rolex ad seen below from 1968 shows Dick Bertram who was a pier of Carlo Riva as well as being a boat making pioneer and legend. Today, his company still makes amazing boats. Among other things, Dick Bertram pioneered inventing the 'Cigarette' speed boats. Basically, his boat were the American version of Carlo Riva's boats.

Tudor Orologi & Passioni Limited Edition of 50 Watches

Tudor

Orologi & Passioni

Limited Edition of 50 Black Bay Watches

The Tudor watch brand is owned by Rolex, and they came out with a very special limited edition watch made just for members of the Italian watch forum named 'Orologi & Passioni'. This special edition is a Tudor Black Bay Limited Edition, which was made available on to forum members, and they are already sold out. You can read all about this watch by checking out the Orologi.Forumfree.it. This interesting design features three lines of red writing, which would make it a triple red, and the tip of the second hand is also covered in red.

CLINIQUE SKIN SUPPLIES FOR MEN

...Rolex Deja Vu...

CLINIQUE 

SKIN SUPPLIES FOR MEN

The Longest Running

Rolex Magazine Ad In History

So this is a hardcore Deja Vu ad for me. I started reading GQ Magazine back in the early 1980s, around the same time I discovered Rolex. I remember this Clinique Men's Supplies ad was in GQ all the time, and I remember I would always trip on the Rolex Oyster Perpetual.  I think this Clinique ad ran for at least a quarter century, without any change. I also used to use Clinique face scrub, so now I have to go buy some, if they still make it, to fulfill my deja vu nostalgic curiosity. Do you remember seeing this add a zillion times, or am I the only one? I am serious. I can hear Duran Duran, Roxie Music, Haricut 100, Madness and the English Beat playing in my head when I look at this ad.

PHILLIPS ROLEX MILESONTES 38 LEGENDARY WATCHES THAT SHAPED HISTORY

PHILLIPS

ROLEX MILESTONES

38 LEGENDARY WATCHES 
THAT SHAPED HISTORY

Phillips Auction House just published their online auction catalog for their upcoming Rolex Only auction that will take place on November 28, 2017, and they have some outrageous watches. Let's begin by taking a look at an extremely apropos watch, the very first Single Red Submariner, which was made in 1955. Man, you want to talk about timeless design!?!!

Speaking of the Rolex Submariner, next up we see a yellow gold Submariner from 1971, that has a cobalt blue dial that has developed a gorgeous patina that faded into a purple sunburst, and looks crazy. 

I believe this Rolex only auction represents a new turning point for Phillips, as well as creating a new high water mark for watch auctions in the sense the Phillips completely 'gets it'. In other words, their catalog is a work-of-art in-and-of-itself. This is because Phillips turned to Italian watch photography master, Pucci Papaleo to shoot the amazing photographs of their watches. When I say they get it, they realize that vintage Rolex watches are really high-art, and they are treating it that way.

Next we see the Rolex Moonphase Triple-Date Reference 6062 in yellow gold with a Jubilee bracelet. 

ROLEX TOP HAT SINGLE RED SUBMARINER

ROLEX TOP HAT

SINGLE RED SUBMARINER

I have been going crazy talking about the all-new Rolex Single RED SEA-DWELLER that Rolex recently introduced at BaselWorld 2017 in Switzerland. So much so, I almost kind of like a cat with some catnip...Some things in life are absolute classics, even if their time has passed (pun intended ;-) 

Michael Stockton from Fratello Watches recently published a story about his Single RED Rolex Submariner, which is a fantastic read!!! Michael tells the story behind his Rolex Submariner Reference 1680, and talks about it's High Hat Crystal. The photo above is of the greatest male dancer to ever live, Fred Astaire, and we see him sporting his Top Hat, which is on point for the High Hat crystal that came on the original 1680 Submariner as seen in the two photographs below from Michaels Awesome Rolex Story.

I must admit I have never really been a big fan of the High Hat crystal on the Submariner Single red Submariner Reference 1680, which explains why I am a huge fan of the 1967 Single Red SEA-DWELLER Reference 1655 Prototype, which instead has a nice low-profile crystal that is slightly domed. This is another reason I am so happy to see on the 50th Anniversary Rolex SEA-DWELLER it has such a low profile crystal.

Single Red Rolex SEA-DWELLER Prototype

Note: I originally published this story back on November 17, 2012, and I am sharing it with you now as I am preparing to add it's content to the 2017 BaselWorld introduction of the Single RED SEA-DWELLER also known as the SRSD.

Another Ultra-Rare

Single Red Rolex SEA-DWELLER Prototype

Set's New Record Auction Record for Submariner

Sells for $518,000

There are only 6 known examples of the Single Red Rolex SEA-DWELLER prototypes in the world, and this one, which belonged to a Japanese collector just set an all-time Submariner auction record when the Antiquorum Auction house sold it for 490,000 Swiss Francs ($ 518,000). You can learn everything about the Single Red SEA-DWELLER history in my Complete History Of The Rolex Submariner & SEA-DWELLER–Rolex Conquest Of The Ocean 18 Part Series.

Antiquorum Lot 126 was described as:

ROLEX REF 1665 – THE SINGLE RED PROTOTYPE – PATENT PENDING – 500M-1650FT – ONE OF SIX KNOWN Rolex - Ref. 1665 - Single Red Sea-Dweller - Patent Pending, Rolex, "Oyster Perpetual Date, Sea-Dweller, Submariner 1650 ft. = 500 m., Superlative Chronometer, Officially Certified," case No. 1602931, Ref. 1665. Made in 1967. Fine and extremely rare rare, center seconds, self-winding, water-resistant, stainless steel diver's chronometer wristwatch with double red Sea-Dweller logo, helium escape valve, date and a stainless steel riveted Rolex Oyster Ref. 7206 bracelet with patent pending extension link.

Three-body, polished and brushed, screwed-down case back engraved: "Oyster, Gas Escape Valve, (Patent Pending)," helium escape valve at 9, graduated bi-directional revolving bezel for the decompression times, winding crown protected by the crown guard, inner case stamped IV.67. D. Black with luminous round, triangular and baton indexes, aperture for the date, "Sea-Dweller Submariner 2000" in red letters. Luminous steel skeleton hands. M. Cal. 1570, rhodium-plated, oeil de perdrix decoration, 26 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to temperatures and 5 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating free-sprung Breguet balance spring, Microstella regulating screws. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 40 mm. Thickness 15 mm. Approx. overall length 195 mm. Property of a Japanese Collector

The Rolex Sea-Dweller is one of the most purpose-fully designed watches that Rolex has ever made, and possible the most important diving watch of the second half of the 20th century. Born from a collaboration with various diving professionals, governmentally agencies, and Rolex, the watch was the fi rst to introduce the idea of the helium gas escape valve. This valve solved the problem of achieving deeper dives while maintaining the functionality and integrity of the watch. As an ongoing development, the Ref. 1665 Sea-Dweller saw many revisions and iterations with the most coveted being the very earliest examples. The watch offered up for auction here is one of those pieces. Never seen at auction before, including this particular example, there are 6 known examples of the “Single Red”. According to research, this may be one of the only two known examples with escape valve. The moniker is given for its one line of text on the dial, “SEA-DWELLER”. It is unique from other examples of the 1665 as the depth rating on the dial is 500m instead of the more common 600m. 

The dials also have a very rough and prototype feeling about their printing as the “DATE” in Oyster Perpetual DATE is much larger and seemingly added to the text as an afterthought. The luminous material on these watches also looks to be hand applied and many still glow, which is an attribute usually associated with the latest production gilt dial sports watches Rolex made in the late 1960s. These watches generally come in two confi gurations. The earliest ones have no helium gas escape valve, nor engravings on the outside of the caseback to denote this. These were the very fi rst examples that were given by Rolex to commercial divers to test in the fi eld. The subsequent ones that did have a gas escape value fi tted had an identical dial, but also bore a hand-engraving along the lip of the case that reads “OYSTER GAS ESCAPE VALVE PATENT PENDING”. This is very different from later examples (Including standard Patent Pending Ref. 1665s) as the engraving is done by hand and looks much more rough and hand made as opposed to being machined.

 The most signifi cant and important example would be this one, which can be argued is the very fi rst watch Rolex made to have the helium gas escape valve. These watches truly were the prototypes for subsequent production models of the Sea-Dweller. Their history, intertwined with the lives and contributions of important divers of the 1960’s make them one of the most historically signifi cant watches that Rolex ever made, and thus one of the most important dive Rolexes to have ever come for auction. A truly superlative example in rarity and condition. Bought by the current consignor in the late 1980's, the watch has remained unworn in the safe since its purchase and has remained in excellent original condition. Published in the Japanese magazine (illustrated above) in 1995, it is without doubt the most important SeaDweller offered at auction until now. We would like to especially thank Eric Ku for his help in researching this timepiece.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau The Living Manifestation Of The Rolex Submariner

The Living Manifestation Of The Rolex Submariner

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Exclusive Rolex Submariner History Photo

So if you have been following the story I have been working on below, you will now I am constantly updating it with new information. This exclusive image will be added soon, and it shows legendary French Explorer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau rotating the bezel on this Rolex Submariner prototype as he prepares to go for a SCUBA dive back in the early 1950s. 

"The sea, once it casts its spell, 

holds one in its net of wonder forever." 

—Jacques-Yves Cousteau

They say people get dogs as pets that look like them, and as Jacques Cousteau himself said, "People protect what they love." I would argue that if the Rolex Submariner and SEA-DWELLER were an actual man, it would be Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and in my story below you can learn much more about why I believe he is the living manifestation of The Rolex Submariner and SEA-DWELLER.