Bugatti’s faithful will recognize the name La Voiture Noire as the one-off, custom-designed, twelve and one-half million-dollar car the French automaker unveiled to much hullaballoo last year—at about the same time they announced a collaborative effort with Swiss watchmaker Jacob & Co.
Jacob & Co. has apparently been busy at the drawing board developing its own one-off since that time, and now—very nearly a year exactly since the Black Car rolled darkly into Pebble Beach—comes the functional wrist wear homage to the striking hypercar. The watchmaker calls it La Montre Noire; like the car that inspired it, it features a unique ‘twin turbo’ tourbillon complication.
The watch casing is made from 18K gold—black gold, bien sur—and embellished with almost 350 black sapphire gemstones; the strap, too, is decorated with black sapphires, and features a black gold and titanium closure. Underneath the crystal 832 individual mechanical parts are at work, as well as the pair of tourbillon cages.
Whether or not the watch was commissioned by the shadowy buyer of La Voiture Noire, we do not know. If so, that person owns a matched set that is among the most exclusive in the world.