A wise Gucci Mane once said, "Do you know what time it is? / Gucci time / 15 for every diamond b*tch." The Gucci designers in Milan must have been listening, because they've officiated the intersection between music and fashion on paper. The much rapped-about Italian label has recently inked a three-year partnership between their timepiece and jewelry division and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, a.k.a. host of the GRAMMY Awards. This month, Gucci has released special-edition Grammy watches and dogtag necklaces stamped with the iconic gramophone statue, just in time for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards nominations announcement on December 1.
But Gucci is not doing a mere design-and-ditch; the Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry site also has a section dedicated to the history of the Recording Academy and has vowed to support the Academy's music preservation program by digitally restoring recordings in need. The partnership also has plans for a travelling exhibit dedicated to the restoration program. This is not Gucci's first partnership to support the arts: Their prior collaboration was with Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation which has helped restore six classic films so far.
Like the music industry at large, Gucci went digital creating the I-Gucci Grammy watch, and is also the label's very first digital timepiece design. Fortunately, the watch can be hip-hop-ready with its diamond-encrusted option, but unfortuantely with the digital format, one cannot retort that it's "15 Minutes Past The Diamond." No word yet if these Grammy pieces will be part of the legendary presenters' gift baskets, which were worth about $50,000 each last year and were laden with jewelry, guitars, electronics, and island vacations, oh my. Regardless, these watches are a stylish way for the award show attendees to check how long 'til the afterparties start. Gucci Mane may not receive a Grammy nod, but now he can at least declare that it's Grammy-approved "Gucci Time."
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