What’s the harm in wearing one if you have one parked in the garage?
2022 promises to be a good year for Jacob & Co.
This watch miniaturizes a Bugatti 16-cylinder engine for the wrist, and is the result of a year-long collaboration between the two businesses.
This watch is not just shaped like a hypercar’s engine, it actually runs like one as well. In addition to powering the watch movement’s timing functions and 60-second flight tourbillon, the right crown can be used to activate an automation system that activates 16 pistons and two turbochargers in order to make the engine “roar.” With Jacob & Co., you would expect nothing less. As well as producing a wristwatch that pumps oil, this company also created one that depicts The Godfather as if it was a movie, complete with a theme song.
“At Jacob & Co., we are always developing luxury watches which no one else can imagine,” said Jacob & Co. CEO Benjamin Arabov in a statement. “With the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon timepiece, we have done something no one has ever even attempted before, create the world’s first true engine on the wrist.”
A blue-hued sapphire crystal was used as the case for this watch to house its theatrics—a material notoriously difficult to machine and extremely expensive to produce. The mechanicals would not be seen in any other material. The clear case offers a 360-degree view of the 578 hand-decorated and hand-assembled components of the JCAM37 manual-wound caliber, including the tourbillon that is inclined at 30 degrees, a first for the company. In addition to displaying the 51 jewels that are required for the assembly of the movement, the caseback also shows the power reserve indicator with the universal gas pump symbol at 9 o’clock.
It goes without saying that this piece isn’t for wallflowers or people with shallow pockets, and it is presumed (although technically not required) that you have a Bugatti in your garage.
