A Tale Of Belt Buckles Starring Sylvester Stallone, Roland Iten . . . And Me

For those of you not aware of who, or what, Roland Iten is then the one two words − though not the only two − you need to know are “belt buckles.”

High-end belt buckles.

Belt buckles crafted like a very high-end watch.

Underside of Roland Iten Mark II Sport.Those rollers make the belt slide smoothly

Underside of Roland Iten’s Mark II Sport: those rollers make the belt slide smoothly

And there are also cuff links, credit card holders/dispensers and even tips for your shoelaces. All of which are all mechanical and do things that make you smile.

Roland has also designed the “Ion Tiriac Trophy” for the Madrid Open tennis tournament as well as easily adjustable watchstrap buckles for F.P. Journe, MCT and others.

Wondering what to buy for the man that has everything? Well if he doesn’t have Roland Iten, he doesn’t have everything.

Roland Iten Mark II Sport

Roland Iten Mark II Sport

Roland Iten crafts mechanical luxury for gentlemen. Sorry, ladies, but if you are looking for a present for that special man, then….

Sylvester Stallone wearing his Roland Iten solid gold R8 Sport

Sylvester Stallone wearing his solid gold Roland Iten R8 Sport

One big fan of Roland Iten is Sylvester Stallone. Sly has even auctioned off one of his Roland Iten buckles for charity.

Another much less known (and much less muscled) fan of Roland’s buckles is yours truly. I borrowed a buckle for a long-term test a few years ago and . . . so far so good.

The model I’ve been wearing daily for years − and by daily I mean virtually every single day for years with suit and tie (okay, I lied about the tie), jeans or shorts, at formal evenings, mucking out stables, gardening or working in the office − is the R8 MKII Sport, which is made from a combination of steel, titanium and rose gold.

Roland Iten Mark II Sport

Roland Iten Mark II Sport

After thousands of days of use, “my” buckle still looks and feels as good as the first day I wore it, and I cannot imagine going back to a normal belt buckle. Roland spends a lot of time getting the feel of every mechanical operation “just right” and even with your eyes closed his buckles remain a tactile pleasure.

But there is one downside: price. Just like a high-end mechanical wristwatch crafted in small numbers from high-quality materials, Roland Iten’s buckles are expensive.

Roland Iten Mark II Sport

Roland Iten Mark II Sport

How expensive?

Well, you know what they say, “If you have to ask the price you can’t afford it.” But since I asked for you: the R8 MKII Sport  in steel, titanium and rose gold is $23,000; the R8 MKII Sport in solid gold (like the one Sly’s wearing in the photo above) is $41,000; and the top of the range Bugatti model  is around $87,000, though there is a steel Bugatti rumored to be coming soon,  a bargain at $55,000.

These are big numbers by any calculation, but then complicated, high-end wristwatches are also very expensive and there is a reason for that: they are very expensive to make. But if you do have the means and are wondering what to treat yourself or a friend (a very good friend) to, then from long personal experience I can highly recommend a Roland Iten belt buckle. And that’s one more thing I have in common with Sylvester Stallone. Now perhaps if I start working out a little bit….

For more information, please visit http://www.rolanditen.com/.

4 replies
  1. carol
    carol says:

    Indeed Ian, your MK II Sport looks like you’ve been wearing it daily for years! Maybe time for a re-polish? And don’t forget– that’s the second buckle you’ve been test-driving for us. The first one was the R8 Mark I Sport. BTW, you might have to trade it in soon to start test-driving a piece from the Mille Miglia collection 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] For more on Ronald Iten’s mechanical masterpieces, please see Photo Essay: Making Of The R822 Predator By Roland Iten, The World’s Most Expensive Belt Buckle and A Tale Of Belt Buckles Starring Sylvester Stallone, Roland Iten . . . And Me. […]

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