Worn by leaders and trend setters, it offers the wearer something a little different.
Carmaker Chevrolet, whose company logo is referred to as the Chevrolet bowtie, couldn't agree more.
Fastidious and a touch daring, the bowtie has leapt back to fashion with hipsters and rappers alike.
Never a fringe player, with origins dating back to the 17th century, bowties are now hot with American college-types and Hoxton fogey attention-getters who are pairing them in a contemporary way with slim-cut tweeds, cardigans, V-necked sweaters and razor-sharp brogues.
At Chevrolet, its golden bowtie emblem has taken pride of place on the front of every Chevrolet since 1913 and will celebrate its centenary in 2013.
Chevrolet's co-founder, William C Durant, was looking for a new way to brand his car when he found the perfect symbol in fashion, the iconic Chevrolet bowtie, and copied the design from the wallpaper of a Paris hotel.
Another explanation attributes the design's origins to a stylised version of the cross of the Swiss flag. The carmaker's other co-founder, Louis Chevrolet, was born in the Swiss city of La Chaux-de-Fonds on Christmas Day, 1878.
Whichever history tale it is, Chevrolet's golden bowtie has become a globally recognised super brand, appearing billions of times over the past 100 years on cars, advertisements and sales literature.
A century after its very first appearance, the golden bow tie is as legendary as the Chevrolet cars it appears on.
