Exotic automakers teaming up with watchmakers is nothing new. Think Bentley and Breitling, Range Rover and Zenith, or Bugatti and Parmigiani Fleurier. For its part, Ferrari has, for the past five-plus years now, partnered with Hublot. But their latest collaboration takes things a step further with an automotive-inspired timepiece that could be the most alluring we’ve seen yet.
In celebration of Ferrari’s 70th anniversary, Hublot has released the new Techframe Ferrari 70 Year Tourbillon Chronograph at the Baselworld expo now underway in Switzerland. Only instead of simply slapping a Prancing Horse logo on an existing wristwatch, or even crafting one specially, the Techframe results from a “a team effort that began with Ferrari in Maranello and ended in Nyon with Hublot.”
The design was lead by Ferrari’s creative director Flavio Manzoni to envelop Hublot’s most intricate movement: the tourbillon chronograph. Instead of a second hand, the entire movement rotates inside its case once every minute, negating the forces of gravity and capturing the attention of the most obsessive of timekeeping enthusiasts.
The 45-millimeter watch is also water-resistant to 3 atmospheres (100 feet), boasts an impressive five-day power reserve, and a single push-button chronograph timer operated by a red anodized aluminum lever. It’s all encased in an eye-catching skeleton frame made of either titanium, rose gold, or a special form of carbon fiber called PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone).
It’s a stunning horological tribute to a legendary automaker, and a suitable foil to McLaren’s Richard Mille titanium-graphene tourbillon chronograph. With only 70 examples to be made in each material, each is also sure to command a suitably Ferrari-like price. So the closest you or I may get will be to through the photos and video clip below.
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