About four decades ago (in the 1970s) Laurent Ferrier was a name that was famous in the prestigious motor racing circuit, than as a master independent watchmaker, which he is today. His legacy includes completing the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans seven times. He also bagged the main prize and stood first in the two-litre prototype category in 1977.
He soon befriended fellow driver and industrialist François Servanin, and the story goes that the two shared common interests in mechanics and fast cars. In 1979, they even raced together the Porsche 935T from the Kramer racing team. They gave professional Formula 1 drivers a run for their money, and came an overall third in the competition.
In 2009, both men shook hands over the Laurent Ferrier watch brand, which has been rock solid since then. Today, we talk about the new offering – a limited edition Tourbillon Grand Sport, which is dedicated to the ‘spirit of 1970s motor racing.’
The Tourbillon Grand Sport is very classy and distinct, thanks to the smoked taupe-colored dial, which is offset by the orange luminescent hands and indexes (white gold hands with orange superluminova). To me, this dial and hands color combination is perfect and it captures the essence of elegance very well.
The Assegai-shaped hands definitely catch your attention, and look very powerful under the spherical tinted sapphire crystal. Interestingly, the shape of the sapphire crystal gives a rounded profile when you view the watch from the side.
Crafted from Stainless steel, the 44 mm case is ample on your wrist and it provides water resistance up to 100m. Under the hood is a caliber LF 619.01 – double-spiral tourbillon, and can be seen from the case back. Functions include Hours and Minutes with a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock.
The power reserve area indicator is on the back side of the watch. The manually wound movement provides 80-hours of power reserve and has been chronometer certified at the Besançon Observatory.
Teamed with a rubber bracelet and folding clasp, snitch this one (Ref. LCF 041.AC.G1GO) up for $185,000.