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Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon has a miniature W16 engine inside the watch



In early 2019, Bugatti ended its 15-year watchmaking partnership with Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier and began a new collaboration with New York watchmaker and jeweler Jacob & Co. – once known for helping to define the glittering era of American music. When announcing the new collaboration at Baselworld last March, Jacob unveiled two new limited edition watches, both based on existing Jacob models. The Twin Turbo Furious Bugatti Edition reimagines the watchmaker’s Twin Turbo Furious watch, and the Bugatti Chrono Edition Limitee 100 Ans celebrates Bugatti’s 110th anniversary and is based on Jacob’s Epic X Chrono. However, as the partnership promised to push the “limits of what’s mechanically possible,” a new and incredible watch was needed, so Jacob spent a year developing it, the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon. Behind the sapphire crystal, inside the case hangs an automaton that mimics the movement of the Chiron’s W16 engine.

The animated engine isn’t used to tell time; it’s there for show—and it’s a show. Pressing the push-button crown on the bottom of the case causes the engine to run for about 20 seconds; a stainless steel crankshaft milled from a single ingot pushes stainless steel connecting rods and pistons inside a sapphire crystal block, and two spinning turbochargers are visible through windows on the side of the case. After three runs, the engine barrel needs to be recharged by turning the central crown counterclockwise, and then it’s ready for another three runs. Comprising 578 parts, the mechanism is so tiny and complex that it took more than three days to program the CNC machine that milled the stainless steel, and the animators weren’t sure it would work properly. These two facts are perhaps the best connection to the incredible wonder that is the Bugatti Chiron.

When we say “suspended inside the case,” we mean it literally. The movement of the watch sits on shock absorbers at the four corners, giving the movement a slight effect of floating up and down, necessitating the use of the Incabloc anti-shock system. Other Bugatti-themed elements include a titanium case, Chiron Blue hands, a 60-hour reserve dial for the watch movement that looks like a fuel gauge, a tourbillon window that resembles the Chiron grille, a black rubber strap, and customization possibilities, including the ability for owners to choose the color of the shock absorbers.