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Partnerships between the watch and motor sport worlds are well-covered ground, but one duo this year has truly gone the distance.
The Geneva watchmaker Roger Dubuis and Pirelli, the sole supplier of tires used in the Formula One championships, have created some limited-edition watches that put racing history on the wrist: The straps were made from the tires that were on Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes when it crossed the finish line last May to win the Monaco Grand Prix.
Two models have been created from Roger Dubuis’s skeletonized Excalibur Spider range: the 47-millimeter Double Flying Tourbillon, for eight watches, and the 45-millimeter Automatic Skeleton, for 88. The watches bear the Poinçon de Genève seal, an indication of quality craftsmanship and timekeeping standards for watches made in Geneva.
The straps, with inlays from a Pirelli Cinturato Intermediate tire showing its special tread pattern, echoes another feature: the watches’ titanium case with a black D.L.C. (diamond-like carbon) coating and detailing in vulcanized blue rubber.
Delivery of the watches will be done trackside, with buyers of the tourbillons collecting their timepieces in October at a two-day event during the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. “We wanted to expose the motor sport world to a special clientele that’s interested in incredible experiences,” said Jean-Marc Pontroué, chief executive of Roger Dubuis. “Our job is to create emotions.”
The watches were introduced in January, and anyone interested in the tourbillon model at 280,000 Swiss francs, or $278,000, will have to hope for future editions or opt for the 65,000-franc Automatic instead. All eight tourbillons were sold; Mr. Pontroué said he consciously sought a “limited club.”
“I had a Chinese guy wanting to buy all eight,” he said. “I had to tell him, ‘We only have one for China.’”