Photos: Apple iWatch Designer Crafts Beretta Shotgun
OutdoorHub Reporters 04.22.15
What happens when a designer for Apple joins forces with the world’s oldest gun maker? Well, the result is actually quite pleasant. That is perhaps because the designer in question is none other than Marc Newson, a legendary figure in the world of industrial design. In the past, Newson has worked on everything from bikes, to furniture, to timepieces, and even concept planes. Now Newson has employed his skills to design a new version of Beretta’s 486 shotgun.
“To be asked to design for Beretta, one of the oldest companies in the world with its roots in the Italian Renaissance, was a great honor,” Newson said. “One of the things I like most about my job as a designer is the opportunity I get to immerse myself in different industries and acquire knowledge about their manufacturing processes, materials and technologies. I am interested in the way things work—it’s a technical obsession.”
Compared to the 486 Parallelo, the Marc Newson variant has an edgeless reciever, slimmer forend, new guard fixing and lever design, and an exclusive engraving that pays homage to the pheasant’s ancestral homeland in Asia.
“My initial source of inspiration came from the idea that pheasants originate and are native to Asia, before being widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. For me it was important to somehow pay homage to this and incorporate a subtle Asian influence into the design.”
As one of the entries in Beretta’s premium firearms collection, this pheasant gun will not be coming cheap. The company is keeping mum on the shotgun’s MSRP, but seeing how a standard 486 Parallelo costs upward of $5,000, it is likely that enthusiasts seeking to acquire a piece of Marc Newson’s foray into the gun world will be paying a premium.
