Bugatti makes the fastest production cars in the world. The Veyron is sold out and has been "top dog" in production car performance for the past 10 years. The long awaited follow up to the Veyron was introduced in 2016. It’s named Chiron. And along with the impressive stats and refinements in the Chiron, Bugatti maintains the relationship with Parmigiani Fleurier, even though the formula of attaching a haute horology timepiece to a supercar does not automatically translate into better sales for either brands.
The Bugatti Chiron and Parmigiani's Bugatti watch in titanium
Parmigiani and Bugatti are not the only watch/car brands with a long-term relationship. You don’t have to look far and you can find various Ferrari and watch brands relationships, which included Panerai and nowadays Hublot. Other examples are the long running one between Breitling and Bentley, and a more recent between Jaguar and Bremont. Some of these partnerships work well, as in the case between Ferrari and Hublot, but some a miserable failures, e.g., the Ferrari/Panerai watches are easily found discounted as no one seems to care nor want them.
So what makes a successful watch/car pairing? That’s not an easy question and I don’t claim to have a definitive answer. However, in my observations of the Bugatti/Parmigiani relationship for the past three years and informally talking to customers of both brands, as well as being somewhat informed about the watch industry, I think I have an answer, or at least an idea of what works.
First, let’s examine the new Bugatti Chiron. Creating a follow up to the fastest production car in history is no small feat. How do you top an already rare and amazing car. Well, the designers of Bugatti did not go far, for the uninitiated the Chiron would most likely look a lot like a Veyron, but upon quick examination one starts identifying differences. These get bigger as you listen to the chief designer of Bugatti, Mr. Achim Anscheidt, discuss what inspired them for the Chiron.
Mr. Achim Anscheidt, Chief Designer at Bugatti
In order to create the Chiron, the Bugatti designers and engineers adopted the motto: "form follows performance". At first this cheesy take on a common maxim seemed to be a "me too" marketing saying, but listening to the complete presentation from Mr. Anscheidt, you see that Bugatti engineers are uber-serious and the level of attention to details is not just outstanding but rather maniacal. For instance, the front and back lighting are all about making sure the car appears (form) unique when it passes you, but also makes sure the aerodynamic is perfect in the back as the car as no bumper which would typically be used to add tail lights.
Another way that form follows performance that is apparent in this car is the side swoosh like form that constitutes the side doors. This was done to allow not only for a unique look and separating the two colors of the car (all Bugatti cars have at least two colors) but also to allow for better airflow in the rear W16 engine and help cool down the 1500 horses that pushes this engine to the electronically-limited top speed of 260 mph.
The new BUGATTI two-stage quad-turbocharged 8 l W16 engine.
These small attentions to detail, while seemingly meaningless to most, are what I believe make a Bugatti such a impressive car and the performance, while arguably hard to prove, is the holistic result of the sum of the details. It's difficult to know which detail when remove would reduce the performance, so the whole is what is achieved even if some minute detail by themselves could be discarded with little impact, e.g., the use of LED lights in this version.
Let us now take a look at the watch that Parmigiani creates for this collaboration. It's a uniquely driver's watch with a tear drop shape that mimics the car's contour and also perfectly wraps one's wrist. Parmigiani created a matching movement for this shape, so this means the case and movement are completely made in house and match each other perfectly.
Another important aspect of this watch is that it’s a driver's watch, so the dial is perpendicular to the top and parallel to your eye when wearing it while driving. Perfect for the Chiron as you hit (or come close) to its vertiginous speeds. That way you never have to take your eyes off the road. The case is sapphire in all its corners, allowing you to admire the 10 days power reserve decorated movement from all sides. On top there is a dial indicating what is left from that reserve.
While the Parmigiani Bugatti watch is not entirely new for the Chiron, what is new is the case material and color scheme. First, for the first time Parmigiani offers the watch in super light titanium, matching the weight loss in the Chiron and also now in a Hermes blue crocodile leather. The entire color scheme works brilliantly and matches perfectly the first Chiron that was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
Of course, like the car, Parmigiani would be more than happy to supply you with a customize colored crocodile strap to better match your car if you decided to go with something more bespoke. During the event, I actually met one such Chiron Buyer who pre-ordered the car with a custom gold/chocolate color scheme.
Bugatti allows you to customize the car as you can for the watch from Parmigiani
So while the Chiron is a worthy evolution of the sold-out Veyron, the Bugatti designers and engineers did not find it useful to create a brand new model. Seeing it you know it's Bugatti and you also know its not a Veyron. Arguably, these small evolutionary steps are what help build brand and design equity and thereby allow the old models to be as desirable and valuable as they are.
Similarly, Parmigiani's decision to follow suite helps guarantee that the previous owners of the Bugatti watch still have a design and a watch that is as cool and desirable as their car while giving Chiron owners a way to differentiate with a unique take on the design. I believe these two points are what create a winning combination between car and watch. Matching the design and keeping its evolution slow so as to build equity together. Obviously this means you have a winning design to start with, as both Bugatti and Parmigiani have.
A final point to make, that is evident but worth highlighting is that Bugatti and Parmigiani initially created a unique design in their original Veyron and original Bugatti watch that is worthy of each other. Seeing either in person will trigger an emotion, guaranteed. You might like it or maybe even hate it, but it will solicit a reaction. And I believe this might be the key to these kinds of collaborations.
Either of these uber-luxury items are really about making the buyer feel something that otherwise they would not. And of course, driving the car or wearing that watch should continue to trigger emotional reactions of the owner and those around them. An easier said than done concept that is at the heart of all luxury goods. Limited to 500, the Bugatti Chiron is available to order and starts at $2.6M while the limited Parmigiani Bugatti in titanium with blue strap is available from Parmigiani's boutique in the Miami Design District starting around $250,000. parmigiani.com
The boys from Brooklyn are back with their (now annual) watch fair event in the heart of San Francisco: Wind^Up. Using the same location as last year, Zach, Blake, and the rest of the Worn & Wound crew managed to assemble 30+ plus watch brands to show their novelties and in some cases new watches being introduced for the first time at the fair.