There are luxury watches and then there’s Jacob & Co.’s Chiron Tourbillon
by Kirby Garlitos, on LISTEN 03:06Bugatti is known as much for record-setting supercars as it is for establishing relationships with premium brands from other industries. Just recently, the French carmaker partnered with premium audio company Tidal Audio to create a new line of Royale home audio systems.
Not content with slapping its badge on these gargantuan speakers, Bugatti went ahead and reconnected with old-running mate Jacob & Co. to create a limited edition version of the latter’s already limited Chiron Tourbillon timepiece.
The timepiece is heavily influenced by the supercar whose name we all know: the Bugatti Chiron. In fact, the influence is so literal and straightforward that the watch contains actual parts that are inspired by the Chiron’s mechanical bits. The Chiron Tourbillon, for example, comes with a functioning crankshaft and pistons that mimics the supercar’s 8.0-liter W-16 engine.
The tiny powertrain assembly is a sight to behold, provided you know what you’re looking at. There are even four shock absorbers that hold the entire assembly in place.
All told, the limited edition Bugatti watch comes with 578 intricately laid out pieces that are powered by a flying tourbillon movement that’s inclined at 30 degrees.
Needless to say, a watch of this caliber will come with a hefty price tag.
Jacob & Co. only plans to produce 250 pieces of the Chiron Tourbillon with each one priced at a staggering $280.000.
Four different limited-edition versions of the Chiron Tourbillon are now available, and each offers something unique to the table.
First, there’s the Rose Gold limited edition. It’s limited to just 72 pieces, and each one is made of 18-karat rose gold with an 18-karat rose gold open casebook. Is your mind blown already? If you can still handle the staggering details, you’d be happy to know that this version comes with a 52-piece counterpart that’s set with white baguette diamonds.
Both versions of the Rose Gold limited edition Chiron Tourbillon come with a black rubber strap, though the “regular” version features a black DLC and an 18-karat gold buckle clasp. Meanwhile, the “alternative” version comes with an 18-karat gold buckle clasp that’s decorated with, you guessed it, more white diamonds.
If the Rose Gold limited edition isn’t to your liking, you can opt for the White Gold limited edition. It’s made of 18-karat white gold with an 18-karat white gold open caseback. It also comes with 391 individual back and white diamonds. The strap is also made from rubber, but it does come with an 18-karat white gold buckle clasp set that’s adorned with 18 white diamonds.
For those who aren’t into diamonds but are into sapphire, the Sapphire Crystal Chiron Tourbillon should be right up your alley. It’s made from a solid block of sapphire and comes with a sapphire crystal casebook.
An alternative version — our favorite — is made from the same block of sapphire, except that it’s colored blue instead of silver. Either way, both also come with a rubber strip that’s put in place by a titanium buckle clasp.
