Launched on 8 June 2017, the Singer Reimagined Track 1 is a retro-futuristic design straight out of The Jetsons. The project was founded two years ago and based on two men’s mutual love of automotive design of the 1960s and 1970s. But how exactly did a Swiss designer and a California-based British automotive engineer come together?
Rob Dickinson: Marco emailed me out of the blue in 2015 and was very complimentary about our work at Singer. He asked if I liked watches and whether I would be interested in making one. I think it was as comprehensive as that. I told him that I loved watches but, if I was to be involved in a project, it would have to be a very special timepiece. I didn’t really know who this guy was but I quickly found out and I realised what he had done, what he was doing. I knew that I had to make friends with him and grab the opportunity to do something incredible.
We were already six years into Singer and I knew that to do very special things, you need some very special friends and partners. I have a mantra in life: ‘Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you are, keep your mouth shut, smile and learn.’ So, whenever an opportunity like this arises I grab it with both hands. As I learnt more about Marco’s background, I realised he was clearly sensitive to the things I was sensitive to from a design perspective – and, of course, we both love cars.
We are both clearly fans of what Jack Heuer did in the 1960s and 1970s and his entrepreneurial genius in connecting watches and motorsport – it resonated strongly with me when I saw the Heuer logos on the front of cars. That was 1970, the year my father introduced me to the 911 and I watched every Grand Prix, noticing Heuer, Longines and Rolex logos. I was watching The Persuaders and The Saint on TV and product placement was starting to take hold with cars being associated with debonair playboys. It was mana from heaven for a seven-year-old in England. My love for this period continued – it’s what we do at Singer and it led to our motto: Restored. Reimagined. Reborn.