As someone who doesn’t follow football in an office full of football nerds, my first question to the room upon discovering the Designa Individual custom Rolex Daytona for Kakha Kaladze was “who did Kakha Kaladze play for?” In short order the office buffs whittled it down to him being a Georgian player on an Italian side in the late 90s. They were almost correct because he joined Milan in 2001, going on to win Serie A and the Champions League with them (the first Georgian player to do so). Upon retiring from the sport he had a change of career and has been the Mayor of Tbilisi since 2017.
How do you encapsulate such a diverse life in a watch? Well, first of all, you talk to the man and discover what he likes and what design elements he wants to incorporate into the watch. Kakha requested that the watch reflect the highest milestone he has achieved in his life, winning the Champions League. At the same time he chose red as the main colour for the watch, as a connection to both the flag of his nation, Georgia, and also the home colours of the Milan football team.
As such Designa Individual developed a 41mm diameter Daytona case made from red quartz fibre. Quartz fibre is a material that is seeing increased use in high end sports watches due to its similarity to carbon fibre – supremely light weight and durable. In fact, it’s manufactured in an almost identical manner except that it’s made from silica instead of carbon. Richard Mille is perhaps best known for creating quartz-based cases with watches like the Aerodyne.
The rich red colour then adds an extra level of complexity but creates a striking visual when paired with the white striations visible along its layered edges. Completing the construction of the case is a black bezel and caseback ring, which is evocative of the black stripes on the Milan jersey. The caseback also features an exhibition window revealing the movement’s rotor with Champions League inspired crest.
Looking to the dial, it features the moniker “KALA” emblazoned at 12 o’clock set against a red backdrop with white subdials and a white hour and minute scale. The chronograph hands are also a matching shade of red. It’s a very vibrant combination of colours reminiscent of the Georgian flag which is red and white. On top of that, the hour markers themselves are split between red and white.
While the exterior has been totally customised, the movement inside is still the Rolex 4130. It’s an automatic movement with a 72-hour power reserve with a parachrom hairspring and paraflex shock resistance system. It’s equipped with central hours and minutes with chronograph seconds and the subdials for small seconds, 12-hour timer and lastly a 30-minute timer.
Customised watches, and especially customised Rolexes, often divide watch enthusiasts. On one side of the argument you have those who believe watches should be left as they are in original condition and conventional wisdom regarding resale value tends to agree with this too. However, if you’re looking for something truly unique that celebrates the personal achievements of your life in a bespoke manner, a customised watch from Designa Individual is a solid option – Kakha Kaladze evidently agrees. The custom Rolex Daytona for Kakha Kaladze is also a limited edition of 17 pieces, produced on request.
