Parmigiani Fleurier unveils Bugatti Type 370
A world-first, the Bugatti 370 meant reconsidering all the watchmaking conventions. Share
In 2001, Bugatti was looking to partner with a watchmaking brand with a propensity for technical excellence, a heightened awareness of design and a truly independent manufacture. Three years later, the Molsheim-based carmaker and Parmigiani Fleurier logically formalised their association.
The first creation from the collection was inspired by the formidable engine on the Bugatti Veyron. After six years of research and development, the Manufacture unveiled the unthinkable – a timepiece with an immense tubular-shaped movement. Featuring a lateral time display, it is worn like an engine block on the wrist.
The movement’s various different modules – the regulating organ, gear train, power reserve and double barrel – are built in sections on five different main plates, which line up in the tubular extension of the block. These “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.
In place of the crown-operated winding and adjustment system, Parmigiani Fleurier developed a “pen” that accesses the double barrel via the crystal case-back. This tool stores a force which it transmits to the movement. This is a brand-new solution which has since been patented.
For further information, visit Parmigiani Fleurier www.parmigiani.com
