Limited-Run Aston Martin Watch Has Transparent Case To Expose Movement

Aston Martin is the latest automaker to partner with a high-end watchmaker to create a luxury timepiece. Specifically, the company is working with Girard-Perregaux on a limited-edition tourbillon with three flying bridges. The firm is making just 18 of them.

The eponymous three bridges are easily visible when looking at the watch. The upper one holds the barrel in place. The middle supports the center wheel, and the bottom attaches to the tourbillon escapement. These pieces are titanium with a black PVD coating and polished angles.

The cage for the tourbillon near the six o'clock position of the face has a blue hand on it that functions as a running seconds display. The tourbillon cage consists of 79 components that weigh a total of 250 milligrams, and it measures just 10 millimeters in diameter.

Sapphire crystals cover the front and rear, which light through and exposes the mechanical aspects of the watch. The case is grade 5 titanium that is suffused with diamond-like carbon for a darker finish. It measures 44 millimeters wide. 

While the rotor on most automatic-winding watches occupies a large portion of the case, this timepiece has a gold micro-rotor beneath the barrel to retain an airy appearance. Girard-Perregaux engraves Aston Martin onto it and covers the name in luminescent material that glows blue in low light. The same substance is on the indexes and hands to make them incandescence.

The Aston Martin watch comes on a black calf leather strap that uses Girard-Perregaux's Rubber Alloy technology that uses a rubber insert that the company injects with white gold.

Aston Martin and Girard-Perregaux are not announcing a price for this limited-edition watch, but it's safe to expect a six-figure cost. As an example, a standard version of the company's three bridges watch sells for $153,150.