Created as a tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant on the 2nd anniversary of his passing, the Black Mamba edition of the Viper Watch sports a black design as a hat-tip to Kobe’s nickname, the Black Mamba, against a purple background, representing the color of the LA Lakers. The watch even has a hovering black reptile above the dial, with the words Mamba Is Back inscribed underneath.
The Viper Watch has a serpent wrapped around its dial, hovering immediately above the shimmering diamond embedded in the watch’s center. Designed by Salvo Lo Cascio along with Fabrizio Torchia of Maecenas Studio, the watch comes encased in a gold-and-black coated 316L stainless steel body, sandwiched between sapphire crystals on the front as well as on the exhibition back. The watch’s dial comes fabricated from aluminum with a coat of shimmering purple paint which contrasts beautifully against the rose gold hands, numbers, indexes, and a beautifully ornate viper that instantly draws your eye to the watch’s magnum opus, the exquisite gemstone located at its center.
The 12-hour watch features a single hand movement that points at each hour while also giving you a sense of the minutes simply based on its location between two numerals on the dial. The idea, Salvo implies, is to focus more on the watch’s sheer artistic appeal than on purely accurate chronometry. Underneath the dial sits the Viper Watch’s ETA 6497 movement, which Salvo modified with skeletonized gears that are visible through the watch’s exhibition back. As another hat-tip to its reptilian inspiration, the Viper Watch comes with leather straps too, although snake leather would probably really hit the mark. (I’m more of an animal-friendly faux leather person myself, if I’m being entirely honest)
The Black Mamba-edition Viper Watch exists only as a concept right now, although I’m sure Salvo could produce a few units if there’s enough interest from willing buyers. You can follow Salvo Lo Cascio’s work on Instagram and contact him for more information.
