When we recently attended the American unveiling of the Bugatti Galibier Concept, we came across this watch on display at the Ace Gallery and nearly pooped our knickers. Dubbed the Bugatti Type 370 Centenaire, the watch is one of 2 unique pieces created by Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Bugatti badge. Based on their highly successful Bugatti Type 370, these two unique watches — one made of 18 carat rose gold (above), the other of platinum 950 (below) — culminate the 200-piece run of the Type 370 model. Unique in the history of watchmaking, the Type 370 was the first watch to use a transversely positioned movement, which allows the driver to see the watch face while his hands are gripped to the steering wheel — a much needed alteration when you’re driving the car it was designed for, the Bugatti Veyron. (The logic being, when you’re piloting 1001 horsepowers at speeds upwards of 270 mph, you don’t want to have to remove your hands from the wheel to check the time. What you’re doing checking the time at those speeds is another question entirely.)

Requiring four years of research by specialists from around fifty disciplines, the Bugatti Type 370 has no external crown, which the designers thought would disturb the purity of its contours. Instead, “an ingenious movement winding system had to be specially designed for the watch. Using a dynamometric tool known as the ‘starter’, which is as highly complex as the watch itself, the user can set the watch’s time or wind the movement, which has an exceptional autonomy of 10 days,” according to Parmigiani.

Parmigiani entrusted the two anniversary models to artisan engraver Philippe Bodenmann, who explained, “The decoration is guided by the form. What came to mind immediately was an engraving inspired by the magnificent Venetian velour fabrics, where the geometric pattern would allow the interior curves of the Bugatti’s lugs to be followed in the most complex way.”

More than 300 hours of engraving were required to complete each of these two pieces, all done by hand. A single square of the pattern alone involves more than thirty grooves, worked two or three times in a row, to obtain the desired result. Similar work went into the platinum Bugatti Centenaire below, which displays a “chevron” pattern. While the regular Type 370s go for $250,000, the two anniversary editions are valued at over $400,000. Even if you’re driving a $1.5 million car, that still has to sting.

Check out the gallery below for detailed shots of both watches, which really need to be seen live to be fully appreciated…

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