Meccaniche Veloci – Innovation in an Old Industry

Every once in a while, a luxury watchmaker like Meccaniche Veloci figures out how to use an alternative material in a new way. After all, consumers are familiar with timepieces constructed of gold, silver, and assorted precious and semi-precious stones. Watches constructed of ever rarer or unusual materials oftentimes garner a significant amount of interest, if only because they’re different. The Quattro Valvole by Meccaniche Veloci (translated as “Mechanized Speed”) does just that. Racing and watchmaking have a long storied history together. Oftentimes a lot of attention is paid to the inspiration that European automobile racing has had upon watch design. Famous vehicles may have watches crafted specifically for that model, such as the Bugatti Veyron. But Meccaniche Veloci takes this association one step further. Instead of merely being inspired by race cars, the Quattro Valvole is literally made of the same materials. Prestigious Italian brake manufacturer Brembo manufactures carbon fibre discs that are used directly in racing. After four years of collaboration between these two Italian companies, the first carbon fibre watch has been born. Extremely strong and light, it’s outfitted in Brembo’s attractive colours. Production is, as is standard with these sorts of specialized watches, quite limited. A fixed number of watches can be carved from each ceramic disc, and this restricted supply helps to keep the pieces exclusive. It also serves to drive up the price, although USD $15,500 doesn’t seem an unreasonable price to pay for such a unique watch. It will be curious to see what’s in store for these two brands going forward. The four years of research and development may mean that we can expect more products in the future. The key to predicting what’s in store lies in examining how the current product offering could be improved. A carbon fibre watch is certainly original, but how about a watch utilizing that and metal from old Ferraris?