Swiss watchmaker RJ will take part in Batman’s 80th-anniversary celebrations in the newly opened Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées concept store in Paris. From the 2nd to the 22nd of September, fans will have the opportunity to meet two of the Dark Knight’s greatest nemeses under a new light with RJ’s collaboration watches with DC, ARRAW Two-Face and ARRAW The Joker — and live to tell the tale. Creating the RJ X BATMAN VILLAINS collection came as a natural next step: after all, Batman’s reason for being is protecting Gotham City from Super-Villains.
By joining forces with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, RJ combines high-horology and iconic DC characters. This time, RJ channelled its dark side with the RJ X BATMAN VILLAINS. This collection was built on the global success of the previous Batman watches, the tour de force from the first collaboration between RJ and Warner Bros. Consumer Products dating back to 2014 for the 75th anniversary of Batman. Each limited to only 100 pieces, both the ARRAW The Joker and ARRAW Two-Face are the first collaboration watches to be presented in an ARRAW watch case.
“It is always exciting to combine high-end watchmaking and iconic concepts of pop culture, and to bring Super Heroes and infamous Super-Villains to life,” confides Marco Tedeschi, CEO and Creative Director of RJ. “The Super-Villains of the DC Universe have always appealed to audiences around the world for their evil brilliance and ability to shock and thrill. Joining Batman’s 80th-anniversary celebrations in Paris with the RJ X BATMAN VILLAINS is the perfect occasion to honour the DC Comics hero.”
ARRAW THE JOKER
The Joker chronograph, limited to only 100 pieces, is inspired by the criminal mastermind and perfectly reproduces the aesthetic of the comic Super-Villain.
Design cues from his flamboyant character appear through the watch, from his lethal razor-tipped playing cards to his striking facial make-up. The dial itself is a stylistic reinterpretation of The Joker’s face, with a finish that is intricately airbrushed to evoke the make-up of the Gotham villain.
Distinguishable thanks to the iconic rubber RJ BUMPERS™, and neatly-shaped lugs, the 45 mm ARRAW case is crowned by a titanium bezel that is laser engraved with an intentionally chaotic The Joker motif. The ARRAW hands are also uniquely stylized with playing card “Aces” at their tips. The back of the titanium case features a bold laser-engraved portrait of the Joker himself.
Every Joker watch comes with three interchangeable straps. Two are colorful alligator skin versions in bright green or purple with contrast stitching to match the Joker’s hair and clothing, and a third full-rubber black strap. They can be easily swapped by simultaneously pressing on the Batman logo-engraved screws on the watch lugs.
As part of the collectors’ edition, each watch comes with an exclusive deck of The Joker playing cards.
ARRAW TWO-FACE
The Two-Face watch, limited to only 100 pieces, is a remarkable interpretation of the complex and conflicted villain who, as Gotham City’s district attorney, used to be one of Batman’s biggest allies.
The iconic character was attacked with sulphuric acid, which hideously scarred half of his face, and his injuries eventually drove him insane. With his face split in two like his personality, Harvey Dent became obsessed with the concepts of duality, chance and good versus evil. In that moment, Two-Face was born.
RJ designed the ARRAW Two-Face to be instantly recognizable with a distressed outer bezel, in which the laser-engraved titanium bezel and calf leather strap have been intentionally structured along the right-hand side to echo the symmetrical disfiguring of Two-Face. The clean, structured left side carries a laser-engraved coin, which Two-Face famously flips to make life and death decisions. On the watch, it serves as a rotating second hand.
The half-exposed manual skeleton movement sits within a circular, satin-brushed 45 mm titanium ARRAW case sporting the iconic features of RJ watches, including the four RJ BUMPERS™ made of rubber, contrasting lugs and arrow-shaped hands.
Like the watch itself, the calf leather strap is designed to have one clean and one distressed side. The straps that come with the ARRAW Two-Face can easily be swapped by simultaneously pressing the screws with the Batman logo on the watch lugs.
As part of the collectors’ edition, each watch comes with an exclusive double-headed coin, Two-Face’s favoured possession and weapon of choice to make life or death decisions.
ABOUT RJ
RJ designs and produces recognizable, ambitious, and culturally relevant luxury Swiss watches. RJ ARRAW, the brand’s core collection for men and women, is distinguishable by its RJ BUMPERS™ and ingenious interchangeable strap system.
RJ has made its own mark on modern watchmaking with its Collaboration watch series, which draws inspiration from icons of pop culture, from superheroes of DC Comics or Marvel, like Batman and Spider-Man, to beloved video game characters like Super Mario Bros., Space Invaders™, or Pac-Man™.
RJ has brought history-making material to the wrist with its DNA Concept watches, using steel from the Titanic, genuine moon dust, or remnants from the Apollo 11 spacecraft which first landed man on the moon.
The brand was founded in 2004 and re-launched in 2018 under the creative direction of CEO Marco Tedeschi. Ever since, RJ proudly manufactures its own in-house movements at the brand’s headquarters, RJ Studio, based out of Geneva, Switzerland.
ABOUT WARNER BROS. CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP), a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, extends the Studio’s powerful portfolio of entertainment brands and franchises into the lives of fans around the world. WBCP partners with best-in-class licensees globally on an award-winning range of toys, fashion, home décor, and publishing inspired by franchises and properties such as DC, the Wizarding World, Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera. The division’s successful global themed entertainment business includes groundbreaking experiences such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. With innovative global licensing and merchandising programs, retail initiatives, promotional partnerships and themed experiences, WBCP is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.
ABOUT DC ENTERTAINMENT
Home to iconic and globally recognized Super Heroes Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, DC is one of the largest English-language publishers of comics in the world and a creative unit of WarnerMedia, publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year. Founded in 1934 with the launch of Detective Comics, DC is charged with strategically integrating its stories and characters across Warner Bros. and WarnerMedia properties.
RJ X BATMAN VILLAINS TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
RJ ARRAW THE JOCKER TITANIUM
REFERENCE
CASE
Type
ARRAW « Collaboration ».
Diameter
45 mm.
Case
Grade 5 titanium, circular satin-brushed.
Bezel
Grade 5 titanium, circular satin-brushed with « The Joker » motif laser engraved.
Lugs
Grade 5 titanium, vertical satin-brushed and polished on the side. Inserts in black composite. Batman logo engraved on the side screw.
RJ BumpersTM
Black rubber.
Glass
Domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal.
Case back
Grade 5 titanium, circular satin-brushed. “The Joker” engraved on the weight.
Crown
Screw-lock in grade 5 titanium with black rubber insert.
Push-buttons
Grade 5 titanium, satin-brushed.
Water resistance
100 meters or 330 feet.
MOVEMENT
Calibre
RJ2042 Self-winding mechanical chronograph bidirectional movement.
Functions
Central hours and minutes, small seconds at 3 o’clock, central chronograph hand, 30 minutes counter at 9 o’clock and date window at 6 o’clock.
Frequency rate
28’800 alt/h (4 Hz).
Jewels
57 jewels.
Power reserve
42 hours approximately.
DIAL & HANDS
Colour
Plaster-textured white dial. Black counters. Inner flange with seconds indication in “The Joker” color red.
Appliques
Rhodium-plated and satin-brushed indexes with “green emission” SuperLuminova. “The Joker” ace-shaped indexes.
Hands
Rhodium-plated and satin-brushed with “green emission” SuperLuminova. Central chronograph hand in « The Joker » purple color and featuring the character’s logo.
STRAP & CLASP
Type
Interchangeable “ARRAW” strap.
Material
Alligator in either purple or green with stitches and black rubber.
Clasp
Titanium deployant buckle clasp, polished and satin-brushed, side plates in black composite and joint in black rubber.
RJ ARRAW TWO-FACE TITANIUM
REFERENCE
CASE
Type
ARRAW « Collaboration »
Diameter
45 mm
Case
Grade 5 titanium, circular satin-brushed and structured.
Bezel
Grade 5 titanium, circular satin-brushed and structured.
Lugs
Grade 5 titanium, vertical satin-brushed and structured then polished on the side. Inserts in black composite. Batman logo engraved on the side screw.
RJ BumpersTM
Black rubber.
Glass
Domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal.
Case back
Open with sapphire crystal and grade 5 titanium circular satin-brushed and structured.
Crown
Screw-lock in grade 5 titanium with black rubber insert.
Water resistance
100 meters or 330 feet.
MOUVEMENT
Calibre
RJ004-M Mechanical manual winding skeleton movement.
Functions
Central hours and minutes, small seconds at 9 o’clock.
Frequency rate
28’800 alt/h (4 Hz)
Jewels
21 jewels.
Power reserve
48 hours approximately.
DIAL & HANDS
Color
Black gradient paint and skeleton in NAC, anthracite or black chrome.
Appliques
Rhodium-plated and satin-brushed indexes with “blue emission” SuperLuminova.
Hands
Rhodium-plated and satin-brushed indexes with “blue emission” SuperLuminova. Small seconds as Two-Face coin.
STRAP & CLASP
Type
Interchangeable “ARRAW” strap.
Material
Plain and structured calf with rubber, grey and black stitches.
Clasp
Plain and structured titanium deployant buckle clasp, side plates in black composite and joint in black rubber.
Additional strap provided in black rubber
RJ X BATMAN VILLAINS GALLERY
