Words: Gentleman's Journal
Big, brawny and built for life in the fast lane, the Audemars Piguet Millenary MC12 Tourbillon Chronograph is the result of a collaboration between a class leading watch brand and an elite sportscar manufacturer – but that’s nothing new. Car racing and watchmaking is a love story as old as time – or at least as old as motorsport – and the horological offspring of such marriages are considerable in number. What makes this particular watch so intriguing is the turbulent and ultimately triumphant common history of the collaborators behind it.
Audemars Piguet isn’t the first name that springs to mind when you think of the word ‘bankruptcy’. It’s a brand up there in the top three of fine watchmakers, synonymous with luxury, and far removed from the world of financial hardship. But back in 1972, it was a different story entirely. The quartz crisis was hitting the mechanical watch industry hard, and on top of this, the looming backdrop of a worldwide economic recession was putting a dampener on big money purchases – like expensive Swiss watches.
Another luxury item to take a hit was the supercar, and the early 1970s were equally as bleak for Maserati as they were for Audemars Piguet. It had made a name for itself making champion racing cars, as well as incredibly popular road-going grand tourers. But the company hit a proverbial bump in the road when the oil crisis in 1973 made demand for fuel-greedy sports cars plummet. Over the next few decades, and after a slew of decidedly garden variety cars, Maserati weaved ever closer to financial ruin.
So what do you do when life gives you lemons? You make lemonade. Faced with a dramatic drop in sales, both Audemars Piguet and Maserati needed to create a game-changing product to turn the tables – and that’s exactly what they did.
Audemars Piguet had to find a way to stay afloat amidst a sea of affordable quartz watches, while maintaining – and capitalising on – its heritage as a traditional Swiss watchmaker. The manufacturer rallied, and the Royal Oak was born. With a revolutionary design, this iconic timepiece saved Audemars Piguet, and has remained a benchmark for fine watchmaking ever since.
For Maserati, redemption came in the form of the MC12 – a hulking beast nearly 17 feet long, built over the ever-popular Ferrari Enzo’s monocoque carbon fibre tub. Now under the leadership of the prancing horse, Maserati came screeching back into the top ranks of elite car makers with a model so exclusive that the manufacturer hand-selected the owners for each of the 50 road legal models.
So, like all the best star-crossed couples in history, it was perhaps fated that Audemars Piguet and Maserati would come together to create something spectacular. The Millenary MC12 is a watch born of the shared experience of two kindred spirits – two pillars of their respective industries that came so close to spinning out before the finish fine.
The result is an unapologetically triumphant watch, combining facets of both brands. A streamlined elliptical case encloses a skeletonised dial with a distinctive blue and white paint job – cool, contemporary and sporting the familiar Maserati trident logo above a series of subtle louvres.
Under the hood, the similarities between car and watch continue. A twin barrel mainspring provides a massive power reserve, keeping the tourbillon ticking for 10 days – the horological equivalent of the 624bhp, 6-litre V12 engine of the MC12. In honour of its high-speed heritage, the watch features a chronograph complication, sporting a tachymeter bezel in the style of a speedometer.
Watch homages to racing cars aren’t exactly groundbreaking stuff. It’s been done before, but never quite like this. There’s something underneath the effortlessly cool design of the Millenary MC12 that speaks to the quiet determination of both Maserati and Audemars Piguet, and of their mutual understanding of what it’s like to come within inches of extinction.
This article was done in collaboration with Watchfinder. For more information, visit www.watchfinder.co.uk
Become a Gentleman’s Journal Member?
Like the Gentleman’s Journal? Why not join the Clubhouse, a special kind of private club where members receive offers and experiences from hand-picked, premium brands. You will also receive invites to exclusive events, the quarterly print magazine delivered directly to your door and your own membership card.
