SIHH 2015: Bugatti Anniversary, Ten Years of Partnership
SIHH 2015: Bugatti Anniversary, Ten Years of Partnership
The meeting between Parmigiani Fleurier and Bugatti took place in 2001. At this time, the prestigious Molsheim-based firm was seeking to build a strong association with a watch company that fulfilled very precise criteria. It needed a brand with a propensity for technical excellence, but also artistic flair, a heightened awareness of design and the elegance of forms. This brand would also need its own independent manufacture, giving it the kind of manufacturing freedom conducive to boundless creative potential.
It was therefore a logical move for Bugatti to link its destiny with Parmigiani Fleurier, as the brand met and exceeded all its expectations. The partnership was formalised in 2004. Since then, the Fleurier-based manufacture has striven to create timepieces for the Bugatti collection which are far more than a watch stamped with a car marque logo; they are cars reborn in watch form.
BUGATTI ANNIVERSARY – Three Editions to celebrate one decade
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the partnership, in 2014, Parmigiani Fleurier is unveiling three limited editions of the Bugatti timepiece. The brand has decided to take the iconic Bugatti 370 model, and its transverse tubular movement, as its basis. This watch, which marked the creation of the partnership in 2004, demonstrates the brand's cutting-edge creative spirit and the quest for technical excellence that underlies it.
The Bugatti Mythe, the Bugatti Victoire and the Bugatti Révélation are the new versions of this Anniversary Limited Edition. Each of these three pieces sheds a different light on an aspect of the partnership or a particular facet of the automotive world that influenced its creation.
The Bugatti Mythe is where industry meets the craftsmanship inherent in the automotive world; the Bugatti Révélation embodies the search to find a link between the Car and the Watch that has guided the entire partnership; lastly, the Bugatti Victoire conveys the notions of speed and power that have defined Bugatti cars since the company was founded.
HISTORY OF THE PIECES
BUGATTI TYPE 370 – The creation of an immense tradition
It was the Bugatti Veyron, a super car whose bodywork reveals an imposing engine, that inspired the first watch created in the Bugatti collection.
After six years of research and development, in 2004 the Parmigiani Fleurier manufactures presented the unthinkable. The timepiece, christened "Bugatti 370", contains an immense tubular-shaped movement that is worn like an engine block on the wrist, with the time being displayed laterally.
This movement, which can be clearly viewed by the wearer, takes after automotive mechanics more than their watchmaking counterparts as it is assembled on a transverse axis rather than being placed on the flat surface of a single main plate. The movement's various different modules – the regulating organ, gear train, power reserve and double barrel – are built in sections on no fewer than five main plates, which line up in the tubular extension of the block. These modules or "floors" communicate in synergy thanks to a drive shaft that crosses the entire watch from one end to the other, allowing actions to be synchronised, following the exact principle of a car engine.
Creating this absolute world first involved the reconsideration of all watchmaking conventions and required several challenges to be overcome. For example, the barrel is no longer accessible as its module is found at the centre of the block. Forced to renounce the traditional crown-operated winding and adjustment system, the Parmigiani Fleurier manufactures developed a world-first pen-shaped tool that accesses the double barrel via the crystal case back. This tool stores a force which it transmits to the movement so that it can be wound or the time set, constituting another world first inherent to the Bugatti 370, an elegant solution which is completely new in the watchmaking world and has since been patented.
The wearer of the Bugatti 370 can observe every minute detail of the 337 components comprising the engine block on his wrist thanks to the six sapphire crystals that surround the piece. These crystals mostly have a shape known as "warped", which follows the contours of the movement without corresponding to a pure geometric formula. The production of these atypical sapphire crystals is unusually complex.
The Bugatti 370, which celebrated the creation of the partnership in 2004, truly is a car reborn as a watch. It alone illustrates the potential of a brand whose watchmaking centre is independent and verticalised. Each of its entities communicate and combine their expertise in order to overcome the challenges that arise when we dare to stray from the beaten track and succeed in bringing the most immense of creations to life.
BUGATTI ATALANTE – First Flyback Chronograph
In 2005, the partnership was enhanced with a new timepiece inspired by the Type 57S Sport Atalante coupé, the most iconic touring car of the 1930s. In tribute to the vehicle, Parmigiani Fleurier produced its first flyback chronograph, which brought a sporty touch to the budding collection.
The aesthetics of the piece are entirely governed by the car's distinctive lines. The classic round case has been designed so that its profile forms a satin-finished area reminiscent of the air intakes found on the sides of the Atalante coupé. Its dial evokes a car grille and behind its automotive façade, a few glimpses of the watch's mechanical heart – the gears of the movement and the calendar disc bearing the date – can be seen.
The flyback chronograph complication – a chronograph that is reset and instantly restarted with a single press – adopts the priorities of the world of motor sports, where each and every fraction of a second is precious.
BUGATTI SUPER SPORT – One more step into the immense
Firmly fixed to the wrist of a test driver and launched forward at 431 km/h, the Bugatti Super Sport was unveiled in 2010 in a suitable immense fashion.
Bearing the same name as the racing car that inspired it, this watch is an engine block for the wrist which adopts the spectacular shape of a Parmigiani Fleurier lug as viewed from the side. It follows the same principle as the first Bugatti Type 370, which involved dividing the modules of an immense movement over several main plates. Yet rather than a transverse succession, the Bugatti Super Sport presents mechanics designed in a stepped structure so as to fit the spiral shape of the case.
In a world first, the time display has been shifted by 90° with respect to the movement's axis thanks to a system of pinions with bevel gearing. These highly complex pinions ensure synergy between the two perpendicular planes of the Bugatti Super Sport's movement, playing the same role as a drive shaft in automotive mechanics.
To create this piece, Parmigiani Fleurier's watchmaking manufactures designed the most complex dynamometric crown to date – with no fewer than twelve components – which ensures two essential functions. First of all, it functions as a disconnecting gear which disengages the movement when fully wound. This protective system, situated outside the movement, is a patented invention and a world first which guarantees that excessive winding has no adverse effects.
The second function is a bayonet system which enables the crown to move to the side for winding and adjusting the time, and then return to just above the case middle once the adjustments have been made. This innovative solution gives the piece an obvious aesthetic harmony as well as protecting the crown and its winding stem, which are less exposed.
All the aesthetic details of the Bugatti Super Sport have been considered in order to bring the automotive and watchmaking worlds as close as possible. The power-reserve indicator suggests a fuel gauge, every train wheel is shaped like a wheel rim and the silhouette of the entire piece resembles the contours of the car.
The Bugatti Super Sport once again exemplifies a brand with a completely independent watchmaking centre capable of developing the most immense creations.
BUGATTI AÉROLITHE – A mystery, recreated
The Bugatti Aérolithe vanished from the earth shortly after it was unveiled in 1935, leaving behind the memory of its futuristic bodywork made from a magnesium alloy that was incredibly light and strong, but also dangerously flammable. This danger had shaped the car's entire aesthetics. As it was impossible to solder the pieces in a conventional manner, Bugatti designed the bodywork as two longitudinal pieces that were riveted together using a backbone structure which crossed the car from tip to tail.
In response to this revolutionary design, in 2013, Parmigiani Fleurier has created the Bugatti Aérolithe, a flyback chronograph inspired by this mysterious car. The timepiece's four lugs and the chronograph's two push-buttons are shaped to form an edge evoking the Aérolithe's riveted bodywork.
In harmony with the racing car it represents, the Bugatti Aérolithe timepiece is equipped with a flyback module that, like the Bugatti Atalante watch, features the distinctive characteristic of being rotated by 180° to make it easier to use. The push-buttons are easier to grip and located at 8 and 10 o'clock to be accessible by thumb rather than index finger, instead of at 2 and 4 o'clock as they would normally be.
THREE ANNIVERSARY EDITIONS
In tribute to the first watch produced by the partnership, the Bugatti type 370, the three Anniversary Editions adopt the same tubular shape that created such a stir in 2004. They signal a return to the very first interpretation of a wrist-worn engine block.
Each one of these three watches, christened Bugatti Mythe, Bugatti Révélation and Bugatti Victoire, sheds light on one of the partnership's striking aspects.
BUGATTI MYTHE
The aesthetics of the Bugatti Mythe embody the collaboration between the industrial and artisanal spheres in the automotive world. It conveys this strong symbol through the two distinct surfaces which form its case middle, creating a harmony in two colours. The first surface is a mottled anthracite grey, which represents its "raw" aspect, the industrial side of automotive work; the second surface is burnished and golden, suggesting the refined touch of the master craftsman making his unique contribution to the work as a whole.
This fusion of industry and craftsmanship exists at both Parmigiani Fleurier and Bugatti. The potential of these two worlds are combined in every watchmaking or automotive creation, thereby reinforcing the strength of both brands and of their partnership.
In another nod to its roots, the aesthetics of the Bugatti Mythe are based on the emblematic type 57 grille. This iconic grille, which graced the very first Bugatti cars, presents a structure formed of lines rather than mesh, unlike the classic grilles that followed. These lines are echoed on the dial of the watch, which they draw downwards to extend beyond the oval perimeter of Bugatti watches. This dial harks back to the Art Deco styling of Bugatti's first creations and ensures the watch is a true tribute to the Molsheim workshop's legendary cars.
BUGATTI RÉVÉLATION
The quest that has underpinned the entire partnership, to make a car reborn as a watch, is celebrated in the aesthetics of the Bugatti Révélation.
Its design is based on the grille of the Bugatti Veyron with its honeycomb structure comprised of tightly-packed diamonds. This motif is reproduced in three places on the timepiece: on the dial, above the movement, and on the strap – with each appearance having a different meaning.
The watch's dial embodies a car grille in a quite literal way. Previous Bugatti watch dials have been inspired by the grille, but never has the structure of its honeycomb-style mesh been as clear. The tiny proportions of this miniature grille necessitated ultra-precise laser cutting.
The diamond motif can be found above the tubular movement, where it is hinged in a removable manner, concealing or revealing the watch's impressive engine block. This cover is designed to represent a car bonnet and exactly reproduces the relationship between a car's bodywork and its engine. It is entirely produced by hand using a traditional master jeweller's technique that contrasts with the laser cutting of the miniature grille.
Finally, the diamond motif is reproduced lengthways on the strap in a much larger form. Through the use of a leather-making technique known as "debossing" which imprints a recess forming the motif, Bugatti Révélation's unique strap suggests the tufting of car seat upholstery.
BUGATTI VICTOIRE
There is meaning in every aspect of the Bugatti Victoire motif. It is formed of concentric Vs that seem to whisper Velocity and Victory – words that could have been used to describe the prestige of the Bugatti workshop since its very beginnings. It also evokes the skid marks left on the track by a racing car in pursuit of victory. Lastly, due to its concentric structure, the motif draws the eye towards the heart of the piece, the movement or "engine block" responsible for the watch's success.
These extremely pure geometric shapes were produced by means of impressive engraving work on the case. The artisan who has patiently engraved each section of the motif is the very same one who worked on the Bugatti Centenaire in 2004, one of the very first pieces in the collection.
The side sections are also stone-set and offer a striking contrast to the engraving which is neither polished nor rhodium-plated and almost resembles black gold. The satin finishing which emphasises the raw material provides an even more striking contrast with the decorative work of the motif.
The leather strap has been cut with the same V pattern, taking it around the entire wrist. This is a unique piece obtained using a water jet cutting procedure – given that laser cutting would irreparably burn the leather.