JEAN BUGATTI

In 2019, Bugatti Automobiles and Jacob & Co. entered into a partnership agreement to create unrivaled hypercar-inspired timepieces. Both firms share a unique focus on extreme luxury, mechanical performance and craft. Bugatti's cutting-edge ethos and designs inspired Jacob & Co. Our “Inspired by the impossible” philosophy has taken us to unprecedented levels of innovation and horological complication.

Jean Bugatti was the eldest son of founder Ettore Bugatti. Born in 1909, the same year when Ettore set up his new company, he became a ground-breaking designer and engineer for Bugatti. The Jean Bugatti celebrates an extraordinary innovator and his avant-garde and artistic automotive creations. The Jean Bugatti explores another facet of the hypercar brand's legacy. It feels classical while staying true to the relationship between Bugatti Automobiles and Jacob & Co., which is based on an horological interpretation of automotive design. The Jean Bugatti feels like the dashboard of a collectible Bugatti car. And the openings at the bottom of the dial feel like the grille and headlights of a 1930's coupé from Molsheim.

From a creative concept to design inspiration. To the first stroke of a pencil through hundreds of iterations. A timepiece like no other comes to life. Classical, elegant, with unique complications, Jean Bugatti is as refined as Type 57SC Atlantic.

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Calibre JCFM09 has been developed exclusively for the Jean Bugatti. It's made of 470 components and features a dual structure. On the same mainplate, two different and interconnected systems co-exist. One is the time-keeping part, with a dedicated barrel, gear train, twin tourbillons and a peripheral time display. The other is the chronograph part. It combines a digital minute display with a pair of retrograde hands in the center, one for the units of seconds, the other for the tens of seconds. The graphic impression left by calibre JCFM09 is impressive. The openworked components are highly-polished and beveled. They stand out against the backdrop of a circular-grained, all blacked-out mainplate. A forest of springs, levers, clutches and impressive mirror-polished bridges create a dense technical environment.

470 Components. Dual movement structure. Peripheral hands. Twin, flying tourbillons. High frequency chronograph with double retrograde hands and digital minute counter.

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Caliber JCFM09 writes a new page in watchmaking history and Jacob & Co.'s repertoire. It's one of the most advanced chronographs ever made. Its display, its mechanical architecture, its very functions are all in a class of their own. Its chronograph operates like an RPM counter on a vintage car dashboard.

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THE DOUBLE-RETROGRADE CHRONOGRAPH

The Jean Bugatti chronograph uses hands located at the center of the watch. When the start/stop pusher is activated, the first hand starts moving from 0 to 10. As it reaches 10, it jumps backwards to 0 and restarts its course. Meanwhile, the other hand has jumped forward, from 00 to 01. After 59 seconds, the shorter hand reaches 60 and jumps backwards to 00. When the chronograph is reset, these hands don't jump backwards instantly. They slowly continue their course to their final position, and then go to zero with a retrograde leap. This system is coordinated by a column wheel with horizontal clutch.

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THE TWIN FLYING TOURBILLONS

The two openings on the Jean Bugatti dial harbour a pair of one-minute tourbillons. Underneath a smoked sapphire crystal, their carriages enhance the Bugatti-esque nature of this timepiece: Jacob & Co. has given them the shape of the Bugatti EB logo. This component is manufactured in perfectly polished steel.

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THE PERIPHERAL HOURS & MINUTES

Two short, red and openworked hands tell the hours and minutes. In an unusual setup, they're pointing inwards, as they are located on the outside rim of the dial. The pair of short, blued hands anchored in the middle of the dial are the chronograph hands.

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THE DOUBLE-FREQUENCY OSCILLATORS

On the same mainplate, two different and interconnected systems co-exist. One is the time-keeping part, with a dedicated barrel, gear train, twin tourbillons, all of which drive the peripheral time display at a frequency of 3 Hz, or 21'600 vph. The other is the chronograph part. It possesses its own barrel, linked to a dedicated regulating organ, oscillating at 36'000 beats per hour, or 5 Hz.

The Jean Bugatti is a full-blown Jacob & Co. creation by its sheer size and set of complications. Its style is a perfect blend of Jacob & Co. 's exuberant performance and classical style. As a reference to a perfectly elegant, gifted, 1930's gentleman, it will appeal to the true connoisseurs of high watchmaking tradition.