Photos courtesy of Bugatti
As you may have learned back in February, Bugatti has a long history with the horological industry. Since 2019, the French company has been working with the watchmakers at Jacob & Co. Their newest collaborative effort, the Calandre (which translates to “radiator grille”) is a little different because it’s not only a table clock, but it also was made with the help of another company: Lalique.
You classic car fans out there are probably familiar with that last name. Frenchman Rene Lalique made a variety of glass automobile mascots/hood ornaments in the early 20th century, such as “Victoire” (“victory”) and “Tete d’Aigle” (“eagle head”). He was also known for his clock designs, many of which featured two figurines leaning toward each other over the dial in the middle. For the Calandre clock’s case, the company bearing Lalique’s name poured molten crystal into a mold, cooled it, then spent months sharpening the edges, enhancing the texture, and polishing it. The two figurines are Dancing Elephants, an homage to both the Bugatti Type 41 Royale, which had an elephant on its radiator cap, and the sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti, Ettore Bugatti’s brother. The trunks of those two Dancing Elephants draw the eye to the 30mm red gemstone at the top, which Jacob & Co. made nearly round with 288 facets and its patented Jacob Cut.
Bugatti’s signature horseshoe grille features the red “Bugatti Macaron” at the top and is filled with geometric mesh that serves as the dial for the rhodium-finished hands of the clock itself. The flying tourbillon directly below connects this timepiece to the V16-powered Bugatti Tourbillon hypercar while also doing what tourbillons were designed to do: maintain accuracy in clocks and watches in a fixed, vertical position. Jacob & Co.’s manually wound caliber JCAM58 movement has an eight-day power reserve, which can replenished by inserting a special key at the back of the clock.
Like any Bugatti, the Calandre will be exclusive and expensive: only 99 will be produced, each at a price of $240,000. It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “Time is money.”
