Artisans de Genève « La Barrichello »
For their latest project, Artisans de Genève has partnered with Rubens Barrichello, one of the greatest Formula 1 car riders of all time.
Artisans de Genève would have never imagined the challenge that awaited them when Rubens Barrichello came to them with the project to revisit his Rolex Daytona. Together, they designed modifications that would give this timepiece a highly mechanical style, reflecting the pilot’s love for racing. Through this collaboration, Artisans de Genève aims to offer all automotive enthusiasts, in a limited capacity, the unique personalization of Rubens Barrichello.
Throughout this project, Artisans de Genève and Rubens Barrichello strived to reimagine the legendary Rolex 4130 movement. Each part of the movement has entirely been reworked by hand.
Each part has been disassembled one by one with an extreme precision, then skeletonized and beveled by hand. Nothing was forgotten, each screw, each bridge, each deck, each wheel has been finished by hand in order to enhance this unique caliber.
The main characteristic of « La Barrichello » is its straight lines, emphasized by the beveling, a know-how requiring a perfect execution that only a few craftsmen manage to achieve.
Artisans de Genève and Rubens Barrichello, worked with Philippe Narbel, the beveling expert and went for inner bevels, an extremely meticulous technique that requires hours and hours of work, giving « La Barrichello » its unique sharp and edgy style.
« La Barrichello » is entirely modified by hand. To make Rubens’ watch unique, Artisans de Genève thought about every detail: sandblasted lugs, inner angles, DLC black pushers. The counters feature three red and white arrow shaped hands, entirely decorated by hand.
For a perfect finish, the marking of the seconds counter is painted by hand in red. The raw look and straight lines of «La Barrichello» perfectly reflect the world of racing. Its monochrome style, defined by notes of black and gray, as well as the subtle touches of red, give it a timeless look. ‘
The asymmetrical, beveled, and hand-skeletonized dial is a reminder of the automotive world. Aiming at simplicity, Rubens Barrichello wanted a matte dial, with an intense black that would reveal each detail of the skeleton.
Artisans de Genève developed a ceramic bezel in their workshops in Switzerland. The inscription «tachymeter» is painted by hand in white then in red in order to give it a sporty look.
The rotor is inspired by the shape of Rubens Barrichello’s car trim. Made from a piece of 21ct gold, the open-worked rotor is fully machined and beveled by hand and is treated with a Black DLC coating.
Artisans de Genève has developed a steel balance bridge, manufactured, beveled and polished by hand. It takes about 7 hours to make one bridge. This piece is the result of the collaboration with a young watchmaker from the Vallée de Joux, Julien Tixier, who brilliantly combined the most accurate watchmaking techniques with the most delicate finish.
