zelin0802 / August 8, 2023

In early 2019, Bugatti ended its 15-year Perfect Fake Watches partnership with Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier and opened a new partnership with New York watchmaker and jeweler Jacob & Co. — The latter was once famous for helping to define the bling-bling era in American music. When Jacob announced the new collaboration at the global watch fair Baselworld last March, it unveiled two new limited-edition timepieces, both based on existing Jacob models. Celebrating Bugatti’s 110th anniversary, the Bugatti Chrono Edition Limitee 100 Ans is modeled after Jacob’s Epic X Chrono. However, Jacob spent a year developing the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon because the partnership promised to push the “limits of what seemed to be mechanically possible” and required an incredible new watch. Behind the sapphire crystal is an automatic suspended within the case, mimicking the movement of the Chiron’s W16 engine.

The animation engine has no timing purpose, it exists to show – and it really is a show. Press the button on the bottom of the case and the engine will run for about 20 seconds; the stainless steel crankshaft milled from a single spindle pushes the stainless steel connecting rods and pistons into the sapphire crystal block, and the two rotations can be seen through the window on the side of the case turbocharger. After three rounds of operation, the cylinder of the engine needs to be charged by turning the center crown counterclockwise, and then it can run for three more rounds. Consisting of 578 parts, the rig is so tiny and complex that it took more than three days to program a CNC machine to mill stainless steel, and the animators weren’t sure it would work. These two facts are perhaps best associated with the incredible marvel of the Bugatti Chiron.

We mean the literal meaning of the phrase “suspended inside the box”. The movement of the watch sits on four shock-absorbing dampers in the corners, allowing the movement to float up and down to a certain degree, which requires the Incabloc anti-shock system. Other Bugatti-themed touches include a titanium case, Chiron blue hands, a 60-hour reserve dial for the Price luxury watch movement (looks like a fuel gauge), a tourbillon window in the shape of a Chiron grille, a black rubber strap, and customization possibilities among other things Including the ability for car owners to choose the color of the shock absorbers.