Last week, we provided a review of the products currently offered by luxury brand CCCXXXIII. As of now, the fledgling company has confined itself to designing products for the discerning client, and more specifically the discerning businessperson who desires the most extravagant Italian-made attaché extant.
CCCXXXIII (333, if you like) is designing and creating functional works of art. For their first release is an attaché case, but that’s only the beginning. New arrivals, which look like a humidor and slipper, will soon expand the product line, and exciting collaborations with other luxe marques will elevate the brand’s cachet. For their first production run, CCCXXXIII is offering three options for the quintessential executive accessory in a well-defined hierarchy of materials, exclusivity, and price. Sitting at the top of the order is the Imperium.
The Imperium is hand-made using Australian Porosus crocodile skin and solid gold hardware. The Porosus—or saltwater croc—is the largest species of crocodile, and, further, the largest of all reptiles currently roaming this blue sphere. It is also one of the most prestigious exotic skins used in fashion and luxury items.
CCCXXXIII uses two massive skins from the Porosus to make each Imperium briefcase, focusing on the belly where the distinctive follicle markings that characterize the scales of a Porosus are most dramatic and desired. The use of two skins ensures that the entire bag is texturally consistent. Three gold bars not only protect the bottom of the bag from damage, they also give it an elegant and beautiful design element.
CCCXXXIII also sets itself apart from the competition with their distinctive closure layout—again, the emphasis is on trilogy, so numerologists take note. On the Imperium, the company uses solid gold for the trio of coin-shaped closures. Its unique crown closure design was a commission by Neil Bromly, the last know heraldic medieval calligraphy artist in the world; he has been commissioned by the royal House of Windsor and Queen Elizabeth herself. The design then went through a rigorous process to get the precision and detail to be perfect, using an ancient known family jeweler who is often commissioned by the Vatican for special gold pieces—including items for the popes.
At 53cm wide, the Imperium is generously sized—nearly 21 inches open—and large enough to carry a spare shirt, shoes, and even a make-up bag (yes, this is not gender-specific) when duty calls for hopping on a business jet on short notice. Interior features include separate laptop and tablet compartments secured by a crocodile-skin magnetic flap, a trio of general-use pockets, and two valuables pockets in the rear lined with shaved mink.
The Imperium is in a league of its own, and with only three ever made, there is no shock as to its rarity and status as a true collector’s piece. Priced at $175K. But you’ll never need another.
