Cuervo y Sobrinos Watches

Introduction to Cuervo y Sobrinos

Cuervo y Sobrinos has a prodigious history, enriched with many significant milestones along the way. Founded in 1882, Cuervo y Sobrinos are the only luxury watch brand with a true Latin legacy. Inspired and animated by Havana’s golden years, Cuervo y Sobrinos watches evoke a flamboyant and legendary style to life. 2022 marks the brand’s 140-year anniversary, starting as a small jewellery store on Calle de la Amistad in Havana to becoming an international Cuban brand.

Cuervo y Sobrinos has a long association with cigars, many models are named after iconic cigars references and each watch is presented in a beautifully finished functional humidor. Cuba is at the heart of the culture and aesthetic of the brand, making these time pieces unique and something cigar aficionados will appreciate.

A Brief History

The life of the brand and the life of Cuba were intrinsically synced. In the brand’s 140 years, Cuervo y Sobrinos enjoyed their most glorious era during the 1950s due to Havana becoming the Caribbean’s most prestigious destination for clients from across the world, including Churchill, Hemingway and Einstein. The golden spell came to an unceremonious end as the Cuervo y Sobrinos boutique was nationalised by the government, coinciding with Cuba’s political reclusiveness from the Western world.  This caused the firm to suffer a period of decline. It continued to produce military watches for the Cuban army which were used during the country’s intervention in Angola.

The brand became dormant shortly after and made no watches for a few decades. Nevertheless, the company’s former models still attracted much interest among watch collectors. It wasn’t until 1997 that Cuervo y Sobrinos was revived in the hope of restoring the name to what was once a much sought-after business.

Cuervo y Sobrinos in the 21^st Century

Swiss manufacture, Latin heritage: the exceptional combination of Swiss savoir-faire with a vibrant Latin heritage conveys Cuervo y Sobrinos as unique asset within the Swiss watch industry. Its headquarters in Capolago overlooks Lake Lugano, where their highly skilled designers and watchmakers take inspiration from a variety of sources, including former models, elements of Cuban history and heritage.

The Watches: 

Historiador

Cuervo y Sobrinos Historiador is the brand’s primary collection, with many different lines and colours to suit all interested in the brand. In the main they all have a classic aesthetic, but each line has a unique style, not over-elaborate but just enough to differentiate what the style is meant to represent.

The role of the historian is to rediscover the past, looking closely at those factors which have influenced a particular era. Sometimes by exploring a bygone age, the historian can uncover a once forgotten beauty.

Cuervo y Sobrinos reopened its Havana boutique in 2009. Dr Eusebio Leal Spengler, Havana’s official Historian, proved instrumental in the restoration of the boutique as well as many of the glorious buildings synonymous with the ‘Pearl of the Caribbean’. Cuervo y Sobrinos wanted to recognise Dr Leal’s contribution to Havana’s architectural renaissance by naming its classical collection of watches, Historiador.

Churchill Collection: Yalta Edition

The Robusto Churchill ‘Yalta Edition’ was created to mark the 75th anniversary of the Yalta conference that took place in 1945. It marked the beginning of an alliance, that has become one of the most important to the world in modern times, between the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Churchill collection pays tribute to Sir Winston Churchill, a man who appreciated the finer things in life and who fell in love with Cuba and their way of life.

Hemmingway Collection

Their recent most recent collection launch was to commemorate American author and Nobel Prize of literature recipient, Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway lived in Cuba at ‘Finca Vigia’ from 1939 until he returned to America in 1960. Whilst a resident in Cuba, the literary genius frequently visited the Cuervo y Sobrinos boutique. Now, the watch brand known for its Latin soul, has chosen to honour the American author, a former patron of the firm, with a new series of watches produced in collaboration with Hemingway Limited. Cuervo y Sobrinos is the first watch brand to be officially licensed by Hemingway Limited.

Cuervo y Sobrinos watches are on display and available instore at our St James's Flagship store, 19 St James's Street. We will soon have a display at La Casa del Habano James J Fox in Harrods and will be listed on our website. We are also scheduled to have the brand ambassadors come in during our next event to discuss ore on the watches. More details will be announced shortly.