A $300,000 Watch for Your $3.26 Million Sports Car

Read Time:3 Minute, 4 Second

A spectacular piece unique for a one-of-a-kind hypercar.

Parmigiani Fleuerier has a long-standing relationship with Bugatti. The Parmigiani Type 370 was the first watch to be born from the partnership, and with its in-line, tubular movement and lateral, driver’s-watch display of the time, it was a head-turner. The Parmigiani Type 390 has been created in honor of the Bugatti Chiron, which by all accounts goes even the Veyron one better, and for the Geneva Auto Show, a special unique piece was created which reflects the livery of the latest 261+ mph Chiron: the Chiron Sport.

Initial Thoughts

The Type 390 is a tourbillon wristwatch with a very unusual tubular movement – the arrangement is very much unlike the Type 370, however. In the Type 390, the movement is arranged so that the gear trains lie in layers, from right to left, with the mainspring at one end and the tourbillon at the other. The time can be read as you would that of a conventional watch, thanks to a worm-gear system that translates the rotation of the movement gears from one orientation to another. This provides a much more readable time display than was afforded by the Type 370.

Winding crown of the Type 390, which telescopes into and out of the case.

Source: Hodinkee

In a conventional watch gear train, gears downstream in the power flow from the mainspring barrel turn more quickly than the gears that drive them. This is thanks to the fact that each driving gear engages with the leaves of a pinion on the shaft of the next gear, rather than directly with the gear itself. This, however, requires the gears to all lie in the same plane, and to achieve the same result in the Type 390, a system of planetary gears had to be used instead, which I can’t recall ever having seen used in a going train before, at least, not for this specific reason. There is a planetary gear system in the going train of Cartier’s ID Two Concept watch (see Ben’s story from 2012 for more) but there, the purpose was to eliminate side-load in the gear train.

The Type 390 under normal circumstances, comes with a very extensive customization program that basically puts the prospective owner in full control of almost every aspect of the cosmetics of the watch. This model, however, adopts the black and red livery of the Chiron Sport shown in Geneva to excellent effect. Automotive themed watches are the most mixed of mixed bags but if you’re going to do one, this is the way to do it; certainly, anything other than a very mechanically sophisticated watch would have withered before the Chiron Sport like a lily on a charcoal grill. A very unusual watch, and if you’re planning on putting a Chiron Sport in your undoubtedly huge garage, it’s got your name on it.

The Basics

Brand: Parmigiani Fleurier
Model: Type 390
Dimensions: 42.2 x 57.7 mm, articulated lugs
Thickness: 18.4mm at thickest point
Case Material: White gold and carbon fibre
Dial Color: Black
Indexes: Rhodium plated; numerals with red luminescent coating
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Red Alcantara

The Movement

Caliber: PF 390
Functions: Time; power reserve; 60 second flying tourbillon with horizontal movement
Dimensions: 25.0 x 37.5 mm
Power Reserve: 80 hours
Winding: manual, with retractable crown
Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vph)
Jewels: 32
Additional Details: Two stacked mainspring barrels; movement decorated with beveled flanks; black PVD finish