We’ve seen a lot of expensive timepieces in these pages, some more audacious while others literally scream "bling." However, stop us if you think that you’ve seen anything remotely close to what Hublot’s new BB Watch is bringing to the table. More importantly, do you have €2 million ($2.9 million) to spare?
The watch is, without question, one of the most expensive watches we’ve ever laid our peepers on. Rightfully so too, considering that the watch is made from 18 karat white gold and comes with over 140 karats of diamonds made from 637 individual-cut ’baguette’ diamonds that have been placed piece-by-piece together without any spaces in between.
Take a few seconds to look at that watch and just study how all those pieces are actually diamonds. Crazy, indeed.
According to Hublot, the watch took over 2,000 man hours to finish with 45 gem-cutters working on it. On top of all the bling that makes up the entire piece, this €2 million financial torpedo comes with a tourbillion movement and an offset hour and minute indicator.
And to justify just how exclusive this timepiece is, it’s the only one of its kind with F1 czar Bernie Ecclestone showing off the watch at the recent Monaco Grand Prix. The whole Hublot and Formula 1 partnership is yielding tremendous press for both parties and if you happen to have €2 million lying around, you can make a run for this exclusive watch at Zegg & Cerlati’s premier suite in Place de Casino, Monaco.
Back in October, news broke that two pioneering companies from vastly different industries, Lamborghini and Callaway, collaborated to develop forged composite, the lightest yet strongest material that both companies have ever used.
Fast forward to today and the results for both companies are no less inspiring as they are beautiful. Already used on the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept, forged composite is a lighter, stronger, and more precise version of both traditional woven carbon fiber or titanium. The material is said to be comprise more than 500,000 intertwined turbostatic fibers per inch that allow it to have a higher threshold for withstanding extreme conditions, something Lamborghini and Callaway are used to.
In the case of the latter, forged composite was used to develop their latest - and most technologically innovative - product yet: the Razr Hawk. Aggressively designed and polished in shape, form, and texture, the Razr Hawk offers an improved overall performance - its lighter, stronger, and more powerful.
Tests have even showed that the Razr Hawk can hit a tee shot of up to six yards longer than what a standard R11 is capable. Six yards may not look all that impressive, but in the world of golf where every inch matters, it could spell the difference between a contender and a pretender.
Remote-controlled cars - R/Cs for short - are one of those toys that never get old for us car-loving wackos. For a man like Nic Case - not to be confused for Nic Cage - R/C cars are more than just toys; they’re a calling.
The man’s obsession with these cars is no more evident than in his continued attempt to build the fastest and most powerful car in the world. A few years ago, Case and his very own Schumacher Mi3 set the world record for being the fastest remote-controlled car on the planet, doing so after posting a staggering top speed of 161.76 mph.
The Schumacher Mi3, a rocket-looking, streamlined bullet, took Case six months to build where he spent over $4,000 to pay for all the components. After all the work put in, the record-holding R/C car was outiftted with a handcrafted carbon-fiber chassis while being powered by an 11-horsepower motor and a 12-cell battery pack.
As a man that never seems to be satisfied, Nic Case has his eyes set on building an R/C car that could hit 200 mph and is in the middle of building and developing his latest project, called the "Streamliner". If and when the "Streamliner" is built, we’re pretty confident that this existing record will completely fall by the wayside. For now, though, the Schumacher Mi3 sits as the fastest R/C car in the world.
TAG Heuer is putting their watch-making expertise to work by creating a special edition chronograph to celebrate a very important time in history. This year marks the 100th anniversary of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” and in order to celebrate it in style, TAG Heuer has created a special edition TAG Heuer Limited Edition Indy 500 Centennial Chronograph which will be presented to the winner of the Indy 500 on Sunday, May 29, 2011. This chronograph will be produced in a run of 1,000 units, each priced at $1650.
This special chronograph will feature a gray stylized dial patterned after the famed "Yard of Bricks" start/finish line of the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a printed "INDY 500" logo inside the counter at 6 o’’clock. Its distinctive case back marks the 100 year anniversary of the great race. The watch’s dial is inspired by a racecar’s dashboard: a small second at 3 o’clock, a chronograph minutes counter with double hands at 9 o’clock, and a 1/10th of second counter at 6 o’clock. The date window, which is positioned at 12 o’clock, is flanked by hand-applied indexes, as well as luminescent hands and markers for optimum readability.
If you had any more skepticism as to how far Ferrari has expanded its merchandising arm, look no further than this special edition Ferrari helmet courtesy of Newmax.
Truth be told, the helmet isn’t actually for racing purposes, but more so for safety while riding two-wheeled vehicles. Yep, you read that right. Ferrari is getting involved in the dirty and grimy world of scooters, bicycles, and motorcycles by introducing a special edition Ferrari Style helmet designed by no less than fashion icon Newmax.
Ironically speaking, this particular helmet was designed as a tribute to
Ferrari’s historic Maranello tradition. Among the elements that make up this helmet include satin-finish aluminum and metalized thermoplastic details. The helmet has been dressed in a genuine leather trim with an embossed Ferrari logo providing the perfect finishing touch. Its outer shell is made from advanced thermoplastic polymer with a high gloss scratch-resistant finish while the visor is manufactured using injection molded scratch-resistant polycarbonate and offers excellent visibility in all conditions. Likewise, the helmet also comes lined with an anti-allergic and antistatic two-tone Dupont technical fabric just in case you might need it.
The whole point of this Ferrari Style Helmet by Newmax is to give consumers the feeling of Italian stallion leather on their body without actually having to buy an actual car. Together with Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina, the Italian automaker has produced countless of merchandising items, some more fit to their stature than others.
When it comes to safety, though, Ferrari doesn’t take a backseat to anybody, even if it means charging a price tag of €299, or about $420, for a motorcycle helmet.
Italian automaker Ferrari has never been bashful about its continued efforts in squeezing as many merchandising opportunities as it can all in the name of business.
Whether its a world-class theme park like Ferrari World or everyday items like mugs, keychains, and magnets, the Italian automaker has and continuous to explore every possible avenue to offer their products to the public that may not be able to afford their high-priced supercars.
One of the new products in the Ferrari catalog and one that should generate tremendous interest is the new Scuderia Ferrari World Time Watch.
Developed to be a watch that exudes both class and sportiness, the Scuderia Ferrari World Time Watch has the performance and functionality to make it a tremendous "everyday watch" suited for all individuals. The watch comes with a number of unique features, including a satin finish steel casing with underside screws, a bezel made from PVD treated steel with an accompanying Ferrari logo, an anti-reflection convex crystal, knobs made from PVD steel, a rubber band, a satin finish buckle, and water-resistant capabilities up to 5 atmospheres.
The Scuderia Ferrari World Time Watch comes in three color faces - red, yellow, and black - giving customers plenty of options to choose from. Not that one color is better than the other - all of ’em are awesome! - but it doesn’t hurt to have a choice in color, especially when you’re forking over $523.16 (shipping/customs not included) for the red and yellow-face versions and $584 for the black version. If you’re interested in the watch, it’s now available at the Ferrari Store website for a limited time only so you best be getting yours while supplies still last.
Somehow, we’ve gotten used to automakers releasing special edition bikes so it doesn’t surprise us anymore when another brand comes out with their latest two-wheeled offerings.
We’ve seen Maserati, Audi, McLaren, Range Rover, Mini, and even Shelby come out with their own bicycles in the past few months, and now German automaker Mercedes is getting ready to jump on the bandwagon. Best of all for Merc, they’re actually releasing a number of products instead of just one.
Some of the new products that have been released range from a full-suspension mountain bike to a high-end carbon fiber racing bike, to fitness bikes, and yes, even kid bikes with their own set of training wheels.
The full-suspension mountain bike weighs only 12.8 kilos and comes with a Fox Racing F32 RL suspension fork, a DT Swiss suspension strut, a 30-speed x.9 gear shift system from SRAM, hydraulic AVID Elixir 5 disc brakes, and DT Swiss X1900 wheels. All in all, the Mercedes mountain bike, and all the trinkets that come with it, will cost you an exorbitant sum of €3,299, which is about $4,650 based on current exchange rates.
Hit the jump for more of these two-wheeled creations.
When the name Carroll Shelby is brought to our attention, the first thing we all think of is the legendary Shelby Cobra, a car that has to be considered as one of the most popular and iconic in automotive history.
That car propelled the name Shelby to staggering heights. So much so, in fact, that Shelby has become a licensing juggernaut within the industry, having been involved with a number of companies - Classic Recreations and Superformance come to mind – who specialize in building replicas of the iconic vehicle. The latest company to strike a deal with Shelby is Felt Bicycles, which released a special edition line of cruiser bicycles called ‘the Shelby Cruiser’.
The bicycle is made from Felt’s very own hydro-formed aluminum tank frame that also comes with a three-speed Shimano Nexus internal gearing and 36-spoke wheels wrapped in “blue dot” tires to assimilate the look of racing tires. Each of the limited edition bicycles will also come with its own individual badging and serial number to ensure its authenticity. And to ensure that the Shelby image exudes in the “Shelby Cruiser”, Felt decided to splash the iconic Wimbledon White paint finish and accentuated by Guardsman Blue racing stripes in honor of Shelby’s iconic two-tone finish.
If you’re interested in scooping up this limited edition bicycle, you can get one through Felt Bicycles and its retailers for a princely sum of $999.
When Hublot and Formula One struck a partnership last year for the former to serve as the official timepiece maker of the latter, you kind of expected the watchmaker to roll out a slew of special edition timepieces. Since then, we’ve seen a number of limited edition watches from Hublot and now, they’re preparing to release their latest model. It is called the Hublot Formula 1 King Power Ceramic Watch and will only come in a limited run of 500 pieces.
Coming in a matte black ceramic King Power style case measuring 48 mm wide, the watch was given black and red tones with a strap mixed with titanium tones. There’s also a ceramic bezel placed over a carbon fiber plate and a black Nomex strap with red stitching attached to the case. All the elements used on the watch boast of premium quality, something that you would expect from the luxurious and extravagant world of Formula 1.
Aesthetically, it doesn’t get any better than this. It’s one of the best race-themed watches we’ve seen in a long time, and as a special edition, we expect it to be run dry faster than a Red Bull RB7 laps the Nurburgring.
Luxury timepiece-maker Girard Perregaux needs no introduction when it comes to creating some of the most lust-worthy watches in the world. Just like a lot of other luxury timepieces, the company has close ties to auto racing, probably even more than most considering that since 1992 until 2010, the Swiss company has had the late Luigi Macaluso as its president.
The 1972 European Rally Champion and later president of both the Italian Motorsport Federation and the International Karting Federation, Luigi Macaluso had oil and petroleum running through his veins. As one of the most influential figures in auto racing before his passing last year, Macaluso was also fond of high-end driver’s watches, none more so than the products of Girard-Perregaux.
The Swiss watchmaker’s latest creation, the R&D 01, is a chronograph that features inverted push-buttons, dials styled after a car’s gauges, a tough rotating internal bezel, and a crown field that takes the look of a Formula One air intake. The watch actually took more than a few years to build with lengthy time given to research, development, and feedback given by Formula 1 drivers.
In the end, the R&D 01 is exactly what Luigi Macaluso wanted for the perfect driver’s watch: sporty, classy, and functional with a touch of subtle luxury.
