In early 2019, Jacob & Co partnered with the renowned French car manufacturer Bugatti. This collaboration brought together two legendary brands celebrated for their excellence in engineering, design, and luxury. As a result, they created a collection of extraordinary timepieces that capture the essence of Bugatti’s automotive brilliance.
Amid the buzz surrounding Bugatti‘s latest hypercar, the 1800-HP V16 Hybrid, Jacob & Co introduced the Bugatti Tourbillon watch. This exceptional timepiece takes complex horology to new heights, featuring an automaton that mimics a car engine and includes a flying tourbillon.
The Inspiration Behind the Watch
Recently, Bugatti unveiled its first hybrid car, the Tourbillon. This impressive vehicle boasts 1,800 horsepower from a 16-cylinder engine and comes with a substantial price tag of $4 million, or AED 14.7 million. Named after the tourbillon mechanism, the car features several elements reflecting horological craftsmanship, most notably its fully analogue gauge cluster, designed to watchmaking standards.
Breaking from tradition, this model is the first in over two decades not powered by a turbocharged W16 engine. Instead, it runs on a 1,000-horsepower, 8.3-liter V16 petrol engine supplemented by three electric motors—one at the back and two at the front—adding another 800 horsepower. Despite a limited production of 250 units, all cars sold out quickly.
The Timepiece
The Bugatti Tourbillon watch showcases a black-PVD titanium case that mirrors the car’s distinct elements, including the front grille, side radiator inlets, and large sapphire side windows. Additionally, measuring 52mm x 44mm and 15mm thick, the case displays the Bugatti logo on the caseband at 12 o’clock, offering a view of an engine inspired by Bugatti’s latest automotive creation through various sapphire crystals.
The sub-dials, designed to resemble the car’s dashboard in blue and silver, include a 30-second flying tourbillon on the left and a retrograde indication for hours and minutes at the center, mimicking the car’s rev counter and speedometer. Furthermore, a third sub-dial shows the power reserve for both the time indication and the automaton, with a larger red hand indicating the time mechanism’s power reserve and a smaller blue hand for the automaton.
The Engine Automaton
The watch features a new miniature V16 engine block, crafted from a single block of sapphire crystal. It houses 16 cylinders with titanium pistons. Pressing the push-piece integrated into the crown activates the engine animation.
The Bugatti Tourbillon, powered by the JCAM55 caliber, includes a hand-wound movement composed of 557 components. It offers a 48-hour power reserve and operates at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz). The watch comes with a black rubber strap and a black PVD titanium deployment buckle. Limited to 150 pieces, the watch is priced at USD 340,000, equivalent to AED 1,250,000.
