Interview: Spike Lee Talks Paul Newman, Rolex, And His ‘Cool Hand Brooklyn’ Collaboration With Artisans De Geneve (VIDEO)
Spike Lee bought his first Daytona in Paris just before the Cannes Film Festival. He had always admired the watch because he’d seen it on the wrist of his favorite actor, Paul Newman, and he finally needed to have one of his own. At the time he would never have guessed that he would have the opportunity to design his own Daytona, but here we are and here is the aptly-named “Cool Hand Brooklyn.”
Through a chance encounter in SoHo, Spike met Artisans de Genève founder John Isaac and the two got talking about Daytonas. John invited Spike to collaborate with the brand on a special watch and Spike decided to make it a dual tribute to two of his favorite things: the city of New York and Paul Newman himself.
The result is the “Cool Hand Brooklyn,” a modern Rolex Daytona that has been heavily customized to the point where it’s almost a totally new watch. The case has been re-shaped to look more like that of a vintage watch, the screw-down pushers have been turned into pump pushers, and the steel bezel has been replaced with one in blue Bakelite, while the blue and orange color scheme rounds things out and really pushes the NYC inspiration.
Hearing Spike talk about his first encounters with Paul Newman, his long love affair with the Daytona, and his experience designing is watch is a fascinating look at the watch world through a rarely encountered lens.
Watch the video above for all the details. Enjoy.
For additional details on the watch itself, check out our original story here.
Video: David Aujero
