2023-12-24 23:04:09
Two hands for the time, two hands for the chrono, two tourbillons, two pushers, two variations, two partners: the “Jean Bugatti” from Jacob & Co. is all about duets!
Do we always have to reinvent the chronograph to make it “new”? No, answers Jacob & Co. Because, to create its “Jean Bugatti” model, the brand used many already existing processes. On the other hand, their association is unique, in addition to being particularly elegant.
First observation: the piece, inspired by the automotive world like so many others, does not seek a racing, modern or 1960s spirit, as the trend sometimes imposes. Its partnership with the Bugatti firm, signed in 2019, gives it access to the stylistic heritage of the eminent manufacturer which was founded in 1909. Needless to recall the aesthetic masterpieces signed Bugatti: Type 41 Royal, Type 50, or the Type 57SC Atlantic, the most expensive collector’s car in the world, of which Ralph Lauren notably owns a copy. For Jacob & Co., the inspiration is therefore clearly retro/Roaring Twenties, which few chronographs can boast of.
Then, you don’t need to be an expert to understand that reading the hours and minutes is very incidental here. Jacob & Co. devotes two very shortened “hands” which point towards a curved flange graduated to 12, in Arabic numerals. We quickly guess that the main thing is elsewhere…
This essential thing is the two central hands which belong to the chronograph. They are associated with a third, discreet indication, located at 6 o’clock. The chronograph indications are read as follows: the large hand indicates the seconds unit; the little one, their ten; the window at 6 o’clock totals the elapsed minutes, from 0 to 30.
An atypical dashboard
The layout is not common, nor are the units of measurement. Very few chronographs have a dedicated hand for the tens of seconds, another for their units. The type of display is not either, combining retrograde hands and digital display counter, with discs.
However, reading is intuitive, natural. We can guess Jacob & Co.’s intention to favor short times. The spectacle of the retrograde hands is very beautiful and unusual – especially for the large hand which travels approximately 200° in 10 seconds, a segment and a presence that we are not accustomed to seeing.
Jean Bugatti Twin Tourbillon & Chronograph © Jacob & Co.
Coup double
But the Jean Bugatti still has other advantages. At 5 and 7 o’clock, we discover two openings closed by smoked sapphire crystals. Two tourbillons slide inside, the upper deck of which reproduces the initials of the founding father, Ettore Bugatti, father of Jean Bugatti, his only son. The double tourbillon is an aesthetic and technical signature that can be found in several Jacob & Co creations.
The idea is clearly to combine watchmaking excellence, precision and the neo-retro spirit of a grille. We also note that each escapement is clocked at its own frequency: 3Hz for that dedicated to the time part, 5Hz for that attached to the chronograph. A judicious idea, which is certainly not new but which makes it possible to offer a certain precision to the second, while ensuring a good power reserve to the first (two days).
The piece was released in 2022, in two series limited to 57 pieces, notably in pink gold with a cream dial.
Jacob & Co. Jean Bugatti Twin Tourbillon & Chronograph
HOUSING: rose gold, sapphire glass and back, water-resistant to 30m
DIMENSIONS : 46mm
MOVEMENT: mechanical with manual winding, Jacob&Co caliber JCFM09, column wheel chronograph, 470 components, 92 jewels, two one-minute tourbillons, 5Hz for the chronograph, 3Hz for the hours and minutes display
FUNCTIONS : peripheral hours and minutes, bi-retrograde chronograph with separate tens of seconds units, digital counter from 30 minutes to 6 o’clock
DIAL: cream lacquered
BRACELET: alligator, rose gold folding clasp
LIMITED EDITION: 57 copies
LAUNCH YEAR: 2022
This year, GMT Magazine and WorldTempus embarked on the ambitious project of summarizing the chronograph since the year 2000 in The Millennium Watch Book – Chronographs, a large and beautiful, beautifully illustrated book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book – Chronographs is available in French and English ici.
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