Our Men's Jewellery collection for McLaren F1 using their Championship winning car parts.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of McLaren in Formula 1, Alice Made This is proud to have partnered with McLaren to design a collection of steel cufflinks and a keyring made using genuine McLaren car parts.
McLaren entered Formula 1 in 1966 under the leadership of Bruce McLaren. For 50 years, McLaren has been one of the most successful teams in history. To commemorate this anniversary, we are giving supporters the chance to own a part of that history. Using genuine car components, we have partnered with McLaren, and created a number of specially designed accessories.
The project began with Alice Made This delving into the McLaren archives for parts from unique cars that also offered interesting materials, forms and details. From this, we created a set of limited edition cufflinks and a keyring.
Designed by Alice Made This, unique McLaren car parts have been integrated with our precision turned process and transformed into these limited edition products.
Championing engineering and innovation in Britain, we are excited to bring to life a part of McLaren's history using these methods.
Each McLaren component has been hand selected for its suitability and heritage so it can be translated into clean, precise, honest and refined accessories. The process starts with initial concept sketches, and is developed using 3D printing techniques to fully understand and access proportions. Finally, we match material quality with product function, and through precision turned technology, manufacture the items in our Aerospace factory in Hertford.
To celebrate the launch of the collection, we spoke to Nigel Moss, Merchandising & Licensing Director at Team McLaren Ltd, about the project.
“McLaren is renowned for creating engineering art whereby function always follows form, but the end-product is a thing of beauty. Due to the continuous process of development, McLaren engaged with a young British design talent – Alice Walsh, who heads Alice Made This – to transition redundant McLaren components into ‘objets d’art’ that can be utilised in everyday life in the form of cufflinks and keyrings, for example. The limited edition launch collection was inspired by McLaren’s commemoration of its 50 years of grand prix racing in 2016.”
By combining our industrial processes and precise design aesthetic with raw McLaren parts, representing the heritage of one of Britain's most recognised and innovative brands, we have created wearable pieces of Formula 1 history - refining McLaren's components into clean, honest accessories.
We also chat to the McLaren team about the project and McLaren values and routes in innovation.
In celebration of McLaren Formula 1's 50th anniversary, Alice Made This is proud to have partnered with McLaren on a limited edition collection of steel cufflinks and a key ring, made using genuine McLaren car components.
The pieces use parts from the MP4-23, the car that won the 2008 World Drivers' Championship in the hands of Lewis Hamilton, and the MP4-27, the car that Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button drove that had success in the Constructor Championship for the team in 2012. The cufflinks are made using precision turned technology and combine raw industrial parts with a clean, refined aesthetic. The key ring comes from the Mp4-28, driven by Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, and allows the owner to carry a piece of McLaren history - an honest example of British racing heritage and industrial innovation.
It may be 50 years since McLaren made its Grand Prix debut in Monaco, but the values of technological innovation and British engineering still remain at its core. The second oldest active team after Ferrari, McLaren has been pivotal to the history of Formula 1 and is built on success and pioneering advancement. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of McLaren Formula 1, and the launch of the new collection, we speak to Suraj Patel, Product and Supply Chain Co-ordinator at McLaren Technology Group Ltd, about what McLaren stands for today.
What does the word ‘innovation’ mean to McLaren in 2016?
Innovation to McLaren means being creative and clever, and to be one step ahead of the rest. We pride ourselves on being the best and are always striving for perfection. By being innovative, we can set the trend rather than follow it, and it allows the company to showcase its dynamism and the talent within it.
How do you think millennials who are just starting out at McLaren view the brand?
Innovative, driven and dynamic. Once inside, it becomes clear to see how passionate the employees are to be the best, and how its dynamic nature is shown through Formula 1 technologies being applied in other industries such as healthcare and business.
Which values do you think McLaren had 50 years ago that it still prides itself on today?
A strong work ethic, great attention to detail and a desire to push the boundaries, to name but a few. Reading about McLaren from its inception to today, you learn how Bruce McLaren and the team worked tirelessly to continually improve McLaren’s first Formula 1 car, and after 50 years of grand prix racing you can still see that value is still prevalent today as you walk around the McLaren Technology Centre.
Speaking of the McLaren Technology Centre, an incredible level of thought and detail went into designing it and, again, you can see this value through the work each individual employee carries out. The company is always exploring ways to push boundaries and push the limits, and this is something that has occurred throughout its history, from taking the knowledge of plane wings and applying it to the M2A, McLaren’s first Formula 1 test car, to creating the world’s first carbon fibre chassis used in Formula 1, to now using predictive analytics and technology and applying it to KPMG’s audit and advisory services.
