Every watch brand that has collaborated with Ferrari

Buffy Acacia

Of the ten most expensive cars ever sold at auction, eight are Ferraris. It’s the go-to name on everyone’s lips when discussing luxury or sports cars, and whether or not you’re one of the Tifosi, it’s hard to deny that Ferrari is the most iconic automotive brand of all time. It’s set a precedent in excellence for over 80 years both on and off racetracks, even if there have been some rough patches.

Of course, the Ferrari name has been printed on watch dials for almost as long as it’s been making cars. So, to celebrate Ferrari’s recent win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, let’s delve into all of the brands that have collaborated with Ferrari, or otherwise produced Ferrari watches.

Richard Mille

As Ferrari’s most recent official watch partner, Richard Mille has set the bar ridiculously high. When the RM UP-01 was released in July 2022, it became the world’s thinnest watch – until it was beaten by Bulgari earlier this year. The 1.75mm thin case is still mind-boggling though, and its utterly unique display and setting system couldn’t have been designed by anybody else.

Some of the more “standard” Richard Mille tonneau-cased watches have also been flexed on the wrists of Ferrari F1 drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, perhaps to the latter’s detriment as it was stolen straight from his wrist during a swarm of fans. We’ll have to wait and see if Richard Mille has another official Ferrari collaboration in the works, and whether or not it’s interested in reclaiming the thinnest throne.

Hublot

The partnership between Hublot and Ferrari was not only a long one, but also incredibly prolific. Between 2011 and 2020, the Swiss rebels produced co-signed watches with Ferrari across all of its ranges, from novelty desk clocks to high-concept tourbillons. At the lower end, there were the tried-and-true Big Bang watches which placed a prancing horse on the dial, and usually picked out red or yellow as a highlight colour. Contemporary materials such as carbon fibre were used as a connection with motorsport, and the King Gold Techframe used skeletonised struts to evoke a race car’s frame.

There are too many references to count – however, one of the most memorable is also the most elusive. Released in just a few different limited editions, the Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari was designed to look like the hybrid V12 employed by the car of the same name. It doesn’t slack off technologically either, featuring a tourbillon at the base of the watch which acts as a seconds display. Rotating wheels display the hours, minutes, and the power reserve indicator, which lasts for a total of 50 days. Not 50 hours, but 50 whole days. Mamma mia.

Scuderia Ferrari / Movado

If you’ve seen those wild-looking Ferrari watches at sports merchandise stores, usually on sale for under US$200, you’ve discovered the budget end of Ferrari watches manufactured by Movado. Production of these watches began in 2012 after the Hublot deal had been struck, with the two existing in different stratospheres of price and quality.

While they’re definitely more than simple novelties, these watches are designed to be fun, design-driven accessories for lovers of the Ferrari brand. They’re the watch equivalent of wearing a Ferrari team jacket or hat, and although they may not be luxury products, they can be enjoyed just as much. There are countless references out there, and perfect to browse if you’re looking for a gift.

Panerai

Although modern Panerai watches are technically Swiss, the company itself clings to a proud Italian heritage dating back to 1860. When Ferrari was just starting up in the ‘40s, Panerai was supplying diving watches to the Italian Marina Militare, with manufacturing help from Rolex. When the two companies came together between 2005 and 2010, the Ferrari F1 team had just come off a six-year championship streak and proceeded to win two more in ’07 and ’08.

Panerai’s cushion-cased military aesthetic married Ferrari’s high-octane attitude considerably well, and together they produced plenty of models from time-only watches to the obligatory chronographs and even perpetual calendars. Most of them had black dials with some kind of grid texture, however, there were a few with bright yellow or red dials to make the Ferrari connection more obvious.

Girard-Perregaux

In 1993, Luca di Montezemolo and Gino Macaluso had a meeting thanks to a mutual friend. If you consider the context behind their respective leadership of Ferrari and Girard-Perregaux, neither of these men had been in charge for more than two years. Rather than playing it safe, they forged an incredibly fruitful connection that served both brands well for 11 years. The name “Girard-Perregaux pour Ferrari” created an important distinction from all of Ferrari’s previous watches, in that they were high-end objects with equal respect placed on both brand names.

Because Girard-Perregaux wasn’t a direct sponsor of the Formula 1 team, many of its releases were more focused on vintage Ferrari designs. The first of these was a 1996 reference 9025 which was dedicated to the Ferrari F50, with just one watch made for each of the 349 cars produced. In the 2000s, the collection expanded from typical round cases to rectangles and tonneaus, although they shared many of the same attributes. As always, those attributes were a range of complications, sporty aesthetics, and pops of red or yellow.

One watch that is particularly special is the Girard-Perregaux pour Ferrari Tribute Enzo Triple Bridge Tourbillon, utilising a movement architecture that is still an absolute icon for the brand. The partnership ended on good terms, with Girard-Perregaux determined to reclaim its identity outside of Ferrari (the brand now enjoys a partnership with Aston Martin).

Cartier / Ferrari Formula / Baume & Mercier / Seiko

The Cartier Ferrari collaborations are some of the best-known and most popular Ferrari watches in the second-hand market, so how were Baume & Mercier and Seiko also involved? Well, it’s a bit complex. In the early ‘80s, Cartier was split across several divisions under the Cartier International umbrella, helmed by Alain Dominique Perrin. He was the one who spearheaded the Cartier Must series which made its accessories more affordable, and thus far more successful.

Enzo Ferrari penned a deal with Perrin in 1983 to produce Ferrari-branded watches, even though Longines was still the official timekeeper of the Ferrari Formula 1 team. They were still considered luxury watches, but they were also supposed to be affordable merchandise.

The Cartier and Ferrari watches were produced under the name Ferrari Formula, with no mention of Cartier on the watches at all. In fact, if it wasn’t for their design being so obviously aligned with Cartier’s catalogue in the ‘80s, it would be difficult to truly find the Cartier connection. The watches themselves weren’t even manufactured by Cartier. There’s been no official confirmation as to who made them – however, Baume & Mercier is theorised to be the most likely candidate. The mechanical watches used ETA/Valjoux movements such as the 7750 for the automatic chronographs, but there were plenty of quartz-powered chronographs sold that also used Seiko movements.

Enzo’s gifts

It’s common knowledge that Enzo Ferrari was quite a character. Although controversial at times, one part of his legacy that sticks out was his habit of giving out Ferrari-branded watches as gifts. Before the Cartier collaboration, many of these were low-run or even one-off custom orders that simply put the Ferrari logo on a pre-existing watch. There didn’t seem to be any particular achievement that could earn you a gift from the boss, but you’d have been incredibly grateful if you did.

Some examples that have cropped up over the years have included Zenith, Longines and Heuer, but the holy grail was actually one of the Ferrari Formula/Cartier references. Commissioned specifically in 1988, two of the Valjoux 7750 chronographs with moonphase models were produced in solid 18k gold cases. One was kept by Enzo, and the other was gifted to Pope John Paul II on his visit to Maranello. Talk about friends in high places…

Longines

Longines was the official timekeeper for Scuderia Ferrari between 1980 and 1987. It also developed advanced (for the time) timing sensors at the Fiorano test track, because this partnership was more about timing than wristwatches. Longines logos could be spotted on the F1 cars, but also in amongst the pit crew as part of their larger telemetry collection.

There were a handful of collaborative wristwatch references released, bathed in pure ‘80s two-tone glory. These quartz-powered, rectangular watches had more than a hint of Santos de Cartier flavour themselves, and they displayed either the Ferrari logo or the prancing horse just above 6 o’clock.

Heuer

Before Heuer was TAG Heuer, it was the official timekeeper of Ferrari’s F1 team throughout the 1970s. Similarly to Longines, Heuer developed an electronics system known as the Centigraph, which could time cars down to the thousandth. It’s said that Enzo only hired Heuer for this in 1971 after suspecting the French Matra team of cheating.

Heuer produced a couple of novelties too, such as bedside alarm clocks in the shape of Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni’s helmets. The drivers were given Heuer watches to wear, but none were specific to Ferrari up until the Heuer Monza, which celebrated the Ferrari win in 1975. The only production Heuer watch to display the Prancing Horse and Ferrari logo was the LCD-display Chronosplit, released in 1977.

Cabestan

It was only a one-off collaboration, but the Cabestan Scuderia Ferrari One came just after the Panerai contract ended in 2010 and blew it away in terms of high-tech engineering. Based on the technology from its Winch Tourbillon Vertical, the Ferrari One was redesigned to evoke the look of an engine bay. This was clearly the inspiration behind Hublot’s LaFerrari, and it even has a similar layout of rotating time displays – although the power reserve here is measured in hours and not in days.

As for winding the watch, it requires a special winch to be attached to the side, so you can feel like you’re starting up a vintage car as you go. The watch was limited to 60 pieces in total, 30 in red and 30 in yellow, with a price tag of US$300,000. Between the carbon fibre touches and the case shape that almost looks like a stubby little car, it’s certainly an acquired taste.

Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet has never had an official relationship with Ferrari, however there are a few models around with ties to the Scuderia. Recently, a Royal Oak Chronograph commissioned by Jean Todt as a gift to Michael Schumacher in 2003 was sold at auction for US$457,380, with six stars representing his championship wins at 3 o’clock, the prancing horse at 6, and his race helmet at 9. Another prototype Royal Oak Chronograph meant for Schumi is up for sale on Chrono24 for just shy of US$1 million.

There are also approximately ten Royal Oaks with Ferrari-red dials that were supposedly an internal Ferrari order in the ‘90s, but there is no Ferrari branding on them. Finally, there are some 34mm models from the ‘90s in precious metals such as 18k gold and solid platinum with hand-engraved depictions of Ferrari classics. Among the cars included are the 330 P4 from Le Mans and the 315 S.

F.P. Journe

Jean Todt’s gift of a customised Audemars Piguet Royal Oak to Michael Schumacher wasn’t the end of his generosity, nor was it the end of Schumacher’s legendary success. He went on to win a seventh championship in 2004, and this time Todt reached out to one of the world’s most renowned independent watchmakers. A unique Vagabondage model in solid platinum was made highlighting the seven victories along with the Ferrari logo and Schumacher’s helmet, all dispersed on a backdrop of Ferrari red. That watch was sold in the same recent Christie’s auction for over US$1,500,000.

In 2008, there was also a trio of Ferrari-red Centigraphe Souverain 1/100th-second chronographs made exclusively for Jean Todt, Schumacher, and Journe himself. Todt’s sold in 2022 for over US$2,000,000.

Omega

Ferrari and Omega never officially collaborated either, but it would be remiss not to discuss the Omega Speedmaster Racing Michael Schumacher models. Launched in 1996, the same year Schumacher became a Ferrari F1 driver, this model had a reduced case size of 39mm but a bunch of punchy racing details. It’s cool that the chequered-flag track served as minute markers, but the most attractive feature had to be those bright red or yellow dials, undoubtedly tying them to the Scuderia. They’re still highly collectible today, commanding a premium over other Speedmaster Reduced references.