Announcement of the partnership with Jacob & Co. at Baselworld 2019
Today, the French hyper sports car manufacturer Bugatti announced a partnership with Jacob & Co., a leader in complicated timepieces and a renowned diamond and jewelry house, to collaborate on a series of exclusive co-branded products. This partnership brings together two companies that share a passion for cutting-edge design, pushing the limits of what seems mechanically possible. Stephan Winkelmann and Jacob Arabo, the Presidents of Bugatti and Jacob & Co., officialised the partnership at Baselworld 2019.
“For this project we found the right partner in Jacob & Co., because we are both absolutely dedicated to innovation with superb technology, absolute beauty, craftsmanship and the highest quality of the materials”, explained Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti, at the stand of Jacob & Co. at Baselworld.
“When I look at a Bugatti Chiron, the perfectly refined engineering is so powerful that sometimes the car appears to be moving even when it is standing still”, Jacob Arabo, founder of Jacob & Co., added. “That’s the same feeling I get when I wear our high complication timepieces: a rush, a sense of energy, movement and power that can barely be contained.”
The partnership begins with a limited edition of the Jacob & Co. high complication masterpiece the Twin Turbo Furious Bugatti Edition. The original Twin Turbo Furious electrified Baselworld when it launched in 2018, with its breathtaking twin triple-axis tourbillons, column-wheel chronograph and decimal repeater. Designed with high performance sports cars in mind, the Twin Turbo Furious Bugatti Edition features turquois around the dial that pays homage to Bugatti’s 110 year anniversary Chiron, positions the Bugatti logo proudly and prominently in the center of the dial and renames the power reserve indicator “fuel” and sports the colors of the French flag on the gauge. Only 39 timepieces will be made, each individually numbered: 18 in carbon fiber, 18 in rose gold, and three with diamonds.
The partnership will also see the release of a special version of a sporty “Bugatti Chrono Edition Limitée 110 Ans” in a limited edition of 110 pieces to mark each year since the founding of Bugatti by Ettore Bugatti in 1909. The defining technical element of the Epic X Chrono is the Jacob & Co. JCAA05 skeletonized self-winding chronograph movement. This high-end chronograph caliber is equipped with a column-wheel to launch the chronograph functions. Its counters are arranged in a bi-compax format, with the small running seconds on the left, at nine o’clock, and the elapsed minutes counter on the right, at three o’clock; the elapsed seconds are read on the central French Flag Red chronograph seconds hand.
The Bugatti version features a newly invented special forged carbon case and incorporates the colors of the French flag into its bold dial design underlining Bugattis heritage. The timepiece comes on a special rubber strap inspired by the iconic rear bonnet of the Bugatti Chiron and will feature the iconic “EB”-logo on the buckle to commemorate the partnership.
TIME TO SAY “AU REVOIR”
Bugatti and Parmigiani Fleurier thank each other for long-time partnership
French hyper sports car manufacturer Bugatti and Swiss luxury watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier have announced the end of their partnership. Parmigiani Fleurier had become an official licensing partner of Bugatti in 2004, marking the beginning of a successful and exceptionally long collaboration between the two luxury brands. From now on both brands will go separate ways in search of new business endeavors, but not without mutual respect and appreciation, proudly looking back on some of the highlights of Parmigiani Fleurier’s Bugatti line, and wishing each other the best of luck for the future.
“This partnership has been very special not because of the mere time of the collaboration, but because of the constant innovation and reinvention. To stay creative and successful over such a long time is quite remarkable”, explained Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann. “Now we both agreed it was time to look for new stimuli, and we will make room for new partnerships. However, we want to thank Parmigiani Fleurier for these last 15 years. They will always stay part of the Bugatti history and we wish them all the best for their future endeavors.”
Davide Traxler, CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier, added: “We also would like to express our thanks to Bugatti for 15 years of fruitful partnership and the successes we achieved together. Indeed, the great collaboration we had inspired us many horological developments and mechanical wonders. Today, we are focusing on new watchmaking fields. We wish Bugatti all the best for its future projects.”
The partnership between Bugatti and Parmigiani Fleurier resulted in the creation of unique watchmaking timepieces, inspired by the modern-era Bugatti hyper sports cars and that have become especially coveted among fine watch collectors. The highlights of the collaboration are without any doubt following Parmigiani Fleurier exceptional timepieces: the Bugatti Type 370 inspired by the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the Bugatti Super Sport inspired by the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, the Parmigiani for Bugatti Type 390 inspired by the Bugatti Chiron, as well as the Bugatti Aérolithe inspired by this legendary Bugatti model.
An absolute world first, the Bugatti Type 370 watch has completely revolutionized the way of understanding a mechanical watch since its presentation in 2004. Never yet had a watchmaking brand pulled off the feat of a transversely set movement. A unique watchmaking piece, it took no less than five years to bring the Bugatti Type 370 to fruition, with its 374 constituent parts, and the contribution of over fifty different professions. Since its presentation in 2004, it has constantly reasserted its commercial success, becoming over the passing months one of the watchmaking pieces most coveted by collectors and fine mechanism enthusiasts.
The outstanding concept of the Bugatti Super Sport became a world first with its exceptional shape and revolutionary mechanism which allows for a perpendicular time display. The exceptionally slender profile of the Bugatti Super Sport evokes the fuselage of a wing. Bugatti hence becomes the unmistakable signature of the Parmigiani Fleurier style, adorned with the symbolic curves of the brand.
A true phenomenon in the traditional watch design landscape, Parmigiani Fleurier’s Bugatti Type 390 is primarily an engine block on the wrist. No frills, no purely decorative elements: everything is focused on performance, on the essentials.
