Rolex demands cctn from Renzi re Black bloc 'slur' - update

(ANSA) - Rome, May 6 - Swiss watch giant Rolex demanded a "correction" from Premier Matteo Renzi and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano Wednesday for comments last week when they blasted "hooligans with Rolexes" and "daddy's boys with a Rolex" for taking part in violent Black bloc 'No Expo' protests.
    There was no immediate reaction from the premier's office to the request made by Rolex Italia managing director Gianpaolo Marini in an open letter published in full-page advertisements in Italian daily newspapers.
    But Alfano said he was "surprised" by the Rolex advertisements, saying the original comments were made to emphasize what he called "contradictions and inconsistencies" within last Friday's protest.
    "There is no controversy," said Alfano. Marini denounced what he called an "unacceptable conflating of the image of Rolex with the devastation of Milan and the universe of subversive violence".
    He asked the premier and interior minister for a "courteous declaration of correction".
    Photographs of a protester apparently wearing a luxury watch identified by the media as a Rolex were not good enough quality to ensure "reliable identification" as an authentic example of the famous brand, Marini added.