Jacob & Co., from the unrivaled names of the exotic timepieces, is under the spotlight with its new model exclusively designed to celebrate the 110th anniversary of its Italian super sports car manufacturer and brand partner Bugatti.
Luxury watches and super sports cars are two different objects of interest, offering quite similar features to each other. Both have examples that can be defined as exotic. And if the subject is those samples, the first names that come to mind are Jacob & Co. and Bugatti.
Jacob & Co., which had the most attractive fair booth (the ones who saw the booth will understand what I meant) at the recently ended Baselworld 2019 Jewelry and Watches Trade Show, introduced a pair of new model designed to commemorate the brand partnership with famous Italian super sports car manufacturer Bugatti. From those two novelties, Epic X Chrono Bugatti 110 Years Limited Edition (Ref. EC333.29.AA.AA.A) was the one that we chose for review.
It should not be easy to design a timepiece for a brand like Bugatti, since you will definitely drown in details. It is possible to see this situation in the model that we opted for review as well. Let’s start with the case as usual...
The new model is offered in a 61 pieces modular case measuring 47mm in diameter and 14mm in height. The case is made of super-lightweight Grade 5 titanium allow, which is a pretty good choice for a watch this size in terms of comfort. Black DLC coated to have a stealth look, the case is equipped with a pair of winding crowns (the one at 11 o’clock rotates the inner bezel) and chronograph pushers manufactured from glossy black ceramic.
On the front side of the case is a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflection coating. The case back features a sapphire display featuring “110 ans Bugatti” text. The case, which is quite comfortable to wear despite its bold presence, is water resistant to 200 meters / 20 bars.
When we get to the dial, we see that the overall black theme gets some action with the official Bugatti color stripes vertically placed between 12 and 6 o’clock. The dial, which is made of carbon like several components of the case, features Bi-Compax chronograph counters at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock.
Another detail about the dial of the model was the inner rotating diver’s bezel. Jacob & Co. Epic X Chrono Bugatti 110 Years Limited Edition is not listed as a diver’s watch. However, the Compressor style bezel is certainly a dive watch feature.
An engine is quite obviously is a very important part for a Bugatti sports car. Jacob & Co. Epic X Chrono Bugatti 110 Years Limited Edition is equipped with a movement that suits with that detail. 27 jewels self-winding movement beats at a frequency of 4Hz (28,800vph) and offers 48 hours of power reserve when fully wound. Beside time display, the movement is equipped with a column wheel Bi-Compax chronograph. In addition to the technical features the movement is full of beautiful aesthetic details like polished movement bridges; open barrel; column-wheel finishes: angled, polished and drawn; anthracite rotor with red lacquered engraving “Jacob & Co Genève”, circular grained bridges.
Jacob & Co. The Epic X Chrono Bugatti 110 Years Limited Edition (Ref. EC333.29.AA.AA.A) comes with a black rubber strap accompanied by a folding clasp made of black DLC coated titanium. The list price for the model, which is limited to only 110 units, is 36,000 CHF.