The name Zagato might as well be Italian for "exclusive"; that's exactly what their designs are. Although the carrozzeria has been designing cars since 1919, their most recent designs have all been extremely limited editions. Creations like the Maserati GS Zagato and Ferrari 575 GTZ had just one example made of each. The Spyker C12 Zagato was planned for 24 copies, but those plans have since been shelved. The design house recently announced that the Diatto GT Ottovu would be produced in a limited run of 99, like the 2002 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato, which seems like mass-production by comparison. So it makes sense that when the Milanese design atelier turned their attention to creating a wristwatch, they would only make 25 examples.
The striking timepiece you see here is the result of a new long-term collaboration between Zagato and Swiss watchmakers Wyler Genève, forged out of the childhood friendship between the heads of both companies. Zagato designed the titanium case which houses the mechanical "manufacture" – i.e., built completely in-house – movement suspended in a carbon fiber and resin frame on shock absorbers. The dial features an F-E power reserve indicator like a fuel gauge on a car, and like Chopard's Mille Miglia and Pirelli's P.Zero watches, is strapped to the wrist with a rubber tire-tread strap.
You can bet the pricing is on a "if you have to ask" basis, but if you have the means and missed the 25 Zagato watches being offered, don't fret – let your bank manager do that for you. The same case design is being used on Wyler's new tourbillon, a complicated rotating form of watch movement that typically sells well into a likewise very automotive five-figure range.
Click on the image gallery below to see more. Complete press release after the jump.
Automotive timepieces keep getting closer to the cars they're inspired by in terms of design, mechanics and price. The latest to cross our radar screen is the Quattro Valvole by Italian watchmaker Meccaniche Veloci.
If the model name sounds familiar, you're thinking back to the circa-1984 Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS Quattrovalvole, which incorporated the Italian name for the four-valve cylinder heads that the Maranello-based automaker pioneered. Meccaniche Veloci, literally "mechanical speed", recalls the still-prevalent technology with its wristwatch that features four distinct faces for tracking time in four different time zones, each with its own Swiss mechanical movement, all enclosed with titanium fixtures in a billet aluminum casing made in the same process as competition-spec pistons.
The Quattro Valvole watch is available in a wide assortment of color combinations, none of which are available without your dipping into Junior's college fund: its asking price is $5,500.
F1-themed watches tend to be very big, very shiny and named after a current F1 driver, or at least one living. The Hubolt Big Bang Ayrton Senna All Black Rattrapante fits just one of those categories, and we'll give you a clue: it's not the bling and it's not the pilot.
The exclusive chronograph flies in the face of fancy with its stealth-like matte black finish and black rubber strap, picking up on the contemporary trend of matte-finish cars. At the heart of the 44.5mm ceramic resin case is Hubolt's HUB44 RT mechanical movement, automatically powered and driving the full array of timing sub-dials.
This big, black muted timepiece is launching the watchmaker's foray into Brazil, Senna's home country, and the watch is the result of a partnership between the Swiss company and the Aytron Senna Institute, the foundation started by his sister Viviane. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the 500 numbered watches go to the Institute, and at $25,000 apiece, it had better be a big chunk.
Say what you will of the late John DeLorean, but when push came to shove, he never tired of searching for creative ways to promote his business interests.
One of the last initiatives he undertook was a time machine of sorts. Not quite like the one that immortalized his creation -- the stainless-steel, gull-winged DMC12 in the Back to the Future trilogy -- DeLorean Time was an initiative to sell a unique wristwatch. While you could certainly argue that any merchandising initiative – be it a timepiece or anything else – is simply another way for an automaker to raise income through alternative means, DeLorean was a little more direct about it. With the purchase of the DeLorean watch, the buyer would be entered into an unofficial contract to get first crack at the DMC2, the ill-fated sportscar which DeLorean had hoped to build before passing in 2005. By selling enough watches, DeLorean hoped, he could raise enough money to get the DMC2 into production.
Follow the jump to view a video of John DeLorean promoting the watch, or follow the link to view more photos.
It seems you just can't make an exotic sportscar these days without offering a wristwatch to go with it. Bugatti's got one. Koenigsegg has two. McLaren and TAG Heuer are on their third. And Ferrari's got a whole series. Is it a shameless ploy to capitalize on the merchandizing potential of their supercars, or do their creators simply want to provide their moneyed customers with an adornment for their pampered wrists as bold and unique as the hand-made supercars in their garage? The complication, exclusivity and, if nothing else, sheer price on some of these limited-edition timepieces would seem to indicate the latter.
Enter Pagani into the fray with what seems to be the first licensed piece of merchandise the independent carmaker has produced since first releasing the original Zonda back in 1999. Made in partnership with a likewise new craftshop called Cvstos, the Zonda F chronograph draws its inspiration from its namesake supercar. The crown is patterned on the dials in the Zonda's cabin; the sub-dials on the face are arranged to mimic Pagani's signature exhaust pipes; even the rotating disc, visible through the clear case-back, recalls the Zonda's wheels.
The Cvstos Pagani Zonda F chronograph is available in pink gold, yellow gold or titanium, at an unspoken cost and availability suitable to a creation bearing the Zonda's name.
You might have thought that building one of the very best-performing exotic supercars in the world would be enough to put a company like Koenigsegg on the map, but apparently no sportscar-maker has really made it until they've got their own laptop and wristwatch. Having already covered the former, the Swedish meisters of speed are taking the raps off their new range of timepieces.
Of course, Koenigsegg couldn't simply commission an ordinary wristwatch, slap on their logo and call it a day. Instead, Koenigsegg turned to Quinting, an exclusive Swiss watchmaker that produces completely unique transparent watches. We don't mean the case is transparent allowing you to see the movement; the movement itself is transparent, each component having been painstakingly crafted from fine-cut sapphire crystal.
For Koenigsegg, Quinting has created two unique timepieces, the Ghost chronograph and the Advance. Both are available only in limited quantities, and only to owners of Koenigsegg supercars, who can join the already-exclusive cadre of world presidents past and present who wear Quinting's innovative creations.
With the Baselworld watch show still underway, TAG Heuer released a trio of new driver's watches, including the latest SLR chronograph. Not to be outdone, the sketchers over at Porsche Design used to occasion to take the wraps off their latest timepiece, the P'6750 Worldtimer GMT.
Like any other GMT wristwatch, this one keeps track of two time zones – a handy feature if you're taking your Carrera on a cross-country tour, or want to know what time it is at the other end of your Cayenne. Instead of using a fourth hand like other GMT watches, however, the P'6750 uses an indicator window placed at 9 o'clock on the dial to display the secondary time zone, and another indicator window at 3 o'clock to select the time zone by city.
The unique features are driven by an Eterna ETA Valgranges automatic movement, enclosed in a titanium case in either matt finish or with black PVD coating. The dial can likewise be ordered in either titanium color or in black, featuring decidedly avant-garde numerals and detailing, while the watch fastens to the wrist with a wide black rubber strap.
The market for automotive timepieces has become flooded in recent years. Automotive what, you ask? Watchmakers have been clamoring to find ways to associate their products with cars and racing, to the point that selecting our ten favorites from the field was a difficult task, and several fine examples had to be left out.
Chopard, meanwhile, has been one company on the forefront of the convergence with their sponsorship of the famous Mille Miglia classic rally in Italy, producing a line of wristwatches in association. The Swiss watchmaker has just unveiled the latest, a pair of jumbo chronographs that commemorate the historic race.
The Mille Miglia GT XL Chronograph is being produced in two versions. The first has a steel case with Chopard's trademark rubber strap with a tire-tread pattern taken from vintage Dunlop racing tires, and will be produced in a limited run of 2007 editions. The more exclusive edition of 500 has a black leather alligator strap and a rose gold case. Since the extra large face is crammed with the chronograph sub-dials, Chopard laser-etched the numbers 12 and 6 on the sapphire crystal itself. Flip it over and you'll find a map of the race course – from Rome to Berscia to Ferrara and back to Rome – engraved on the case back. Inside the case is the ETA 7750 automatic chronograph movement, enclosed in an exclusive package which will go on sale at Chopard boutiques worldwide next month.
The crossover world of automotive timepieces is not short of mouthwateringly stylish examples, but some stand out more than others. Autoblog's Top 10 Car Watches featured the Breitling Flying B, a supremely stylish (and expensive) rectangular-faced wristwatch. The partnership between Breitling and Bentley has now given birth to a variation arguably even more stylish: the Flying B Chronograph.
The chrono features the same elegant shape as its unconventional conventional counterpart, but the face has been redesigned to accommodate the split-second timing sub-dials of the automatic chronograph movement. Its center features the same striking knurled metal finish you'll find on the switchgear of the most exclusive Bentleys (and surrounding the face on the aforementioned standard Flying B), graced with three square dials for timing functions and art-deco mother-of-pearl hour indicators.
In place of Bentley's usual 6.75-liter V8 or twin-turbo W12, the luminescent hands are motivated by Breitling's COSC-certified, 38-jewl Calibre 44B movement. The Flying B chronograph will be officially unveiled – in steel, white gold or rose gold – at the Baselworld watch show in November, after which it will likely sell for considerably more than its $10,000 counterpart...in true Bentley form.
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TAG Heuer is a watchmaker with a long history in motorsports, sponsoring racing events, drivers and teams for decades. Even Steve McQueen wore one. Now the Swiss watchmaker has unveiled the "TAG Heuer SLR for Mercedes-Benz", the third timepiece made in collaboration with the German automaker.
The automatic chronograph features the TAG Heuer Calibre 17 movement enclosed in a uniquely-designed case that takes its styling cues from the SLR McLaren and boasts a number of unique features. While conventional chronographs have the function buttons mounted on the side of the case, TAG Heuer patented a mechanism placing the buttons next to the bezel, like on the previous SLR wristwatch, only angled at 45 degrees. TAG Heuer managed to eliminate the functional tradeoff between a diver's watch and a chronograph by using two bezels: a black titanium bezel with markings against which the user can measure between mileposts to calculate the exact speed all the way up to 400 km/h (248 mph), and a unique second bezel for counting down – handy for qualifying sessions and rally-style timed stages. The designers avoided taking the easy way out: it's the inner bezel that rotates, adjusted by a second crown positioned at 9 o'clock.
Follow the jump for the rest of the details, an official press release, and a second photograph of the timepiece.
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