A customized timepiece handcrafted by some of the world’s finest watchmakers stands on its own as a mechanical work of art. When you house such art in an equally unique Rolls-Royce, it becomes something else altogether.
Timepieces have taken center stage in mobility long before the advent of the automobile, but a handful of recent multimillion-dollar Rolls-Royce vehicles showcase this classical pairing of time and movement. The custom-ordered Coachbuild vehicles represent productions of one and one only, and timepieces are equally bespoke. Together, they add up to functional art estimated to be valued beyond $30 million for the four pairings listed below.
“The importance of watches has come to a new level,” Matthias Junghanns, Head of Interior Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, told Crown & Caliber.
Much like the old days, these modern marvels of time serve as both talking pieces and talismans for the larger vessel that contains them. They can be removed from the singular wood-grain dashboards of the vehicles and worn as wristwatches or displayed as clocks. They’re as portable as their matching Rolls-Royce vehicles are transportable.
What makes Coachbuild special? Most everything. The studio of Rolls-Royce modifies an existing chassis with a 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 that makes at least 563 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. From there, just about everything else from the woodgrain to the timepieces are custom-made to the client’s favorite watch brand and specification.
“A timepiece is a very very personal choice and personal preference so we are not making the choice for the client,” Junghanns said. “It’s the clients who ask us to work with the watchmakers, and the client then defines every aspect of the commission.”
These four commissioned cars and their clocks—with one more Droptail model to come—represent the pinnacle of bespoke craftsmanship and wealth.
“We try with both creative teams to create two masterpieces,” Junghanns said.
Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail
- Model: La Rose Noire Droptail is the first of four full-size two-seat roadsters
- Timepiece: Royal Oak Concept Split Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date by Audemars Piguet
- Introduced in: August 2023
- Estimated Rolls-Royce Coachbuild cost: More than $30 million, according to Bloomberg
The first Droptail in a Coachbuild series of four, the La Rose Noire aspires to be a love story on wheels shared between a husband and wife with deep ties to France. La Rose Noire references the Black Baccara rose of France and Rolls-Royce claims this Droptail is the most complex work it’s ever created. The expression of falling rose petals stems from 1,603 pieces of Black Sycamore veneer shaped into triangles that grow from small to large down the tail and again in the curved inner parquet panel behind the two seats. The intricacy of the black and red wood triangles throughout flows from the equally intricate timepiece.
Made exclusively for the client by Audemars Piguet, the Royal Oak Concept measures 43 millimeters and has a self-winding Calibre 4407. It features a flyback chronograph for a simple, single button push to reset and restart the timer. Another button powers a clasp that opens like talons to remove the timepiece from the dash and strap it to a wrist, so the owner can carry the essence of La Rose Noire wherever they go. The power reserve lasts 70 hours, and of course the titanium watch has custom red counters and a red inner bezel that matches the blood red hue of the La Rose Noire. Once removed, a handcrafted rose stands out from a white-gold coin in the opening in the fascia. Other subtle Baccara Rose engravings on the speaker frets were crafted by the Swiss watchmaker.
Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail
- Model: Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail is the second of four full-size two-seat roadsters
- Timepiece: Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon by Vacheron Constantin
- Introduced in: August 2023
- Estimated Rolls-Royce Coachbuild cost: $37 million, according to Hagerty
The Amethyst in this Coachbuild’s name honors the birthstone of the patron’s son. The patron, whose family business grew from selling precious gemstones into a multinational corporation, requested amethyst cabochons, or smooth, rounded gems, be inset into certain parts of the interior and exterior, such as around the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. The second of four commissioned Droptails, the Amethyst embraces nautical themes, with a split-deck and a removable hardtop that opens up to a lower rear deck outfitted with what Rolls-Royce calls that largest wood surface it’s ever produced. The rear deck was designed not just for beauty but to create downforce for better high-speed stability. The textured open-pore wood appears inside as well, curving behind the front seats and wrapping around the dash, door panels, and the timepiece, off-center to the passenger side.
The name of the timepiece represents two parts of the Geneva watchmaker’s storied arsenal. Les Cabinotiers is a specific workshop known for handmaking unique timepieces in consultation with the client, similar to Coachbuild out of Goodwood. The Armillary Tourbillon is bi-axial with a double retrograde display with lightweight titanium hands that move along arcs instead of full rotations. Derived from Reference 57260, which Vacheron Constantin says is the most complicated timepiece in the world, the display evokes traditional speedometers. The bi-axial tourbillon with two nested cages rotating at a speed of 60 seconds per rotation form a sphere of constant motion, which Vacheron deemed necessary given the watch’s vertical position in the dash. Rolls-Royce and Vacheron Constantin also designed a special holder so it can be removed from its place of prominence in the dash and showcased elsewhere. The oversized crown looks like a classic hand-wound chronometer, and it’s easy to wind to ensure 58 hours of power. The instrument dials flash bits of amethyst colors and the white-gold baseplate features a handcrafted sunburst in textured, geometric engraving known as guilloché.
Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail
- Model: Arcadia Droptail is the third of four full-size two-seat roadsters
- Timepiece: Custom-made clock by Rolls-Royce
- Introduced in: February 2024
- Estimated Rolls-Royce Coachbuild cost: $31 million, according to the New York Post
The third and penultimate installment of the Droptail belongs to a client with a “distinct affinity for architecture and design” and was presented to them in Singapore early in 2024. The cream-on-tan leather interior reflects both the duotone exterior and the open-pore Santo Straight Grain wood used in even more prominence and perhaps more natural understated elegance than the other two commissioned Droptails. The sensitive wood also stretches across the shawl panel that sort of walks the plank of the armrest tail then curves behind the seats where the tail starts, which is the only design element linking the commissioned Droptails. In the Arcadia, that wood section is said to be the largest continuous piece ever made in a Rolls-Royce.
The wooden dash fascia holds another Rolls-Royce superlative: the clock purports to be the most complex Rolls-Royce face ever created. The assembly took five months to develop and it stands out like a lavish piece of jewelry in a medium celebrating the natural world. The guilloché pattern here is three-dimensional metal and has 119 facets to reflect the brand’s 119-year anniversary when the client first saw their commissioned car in 2023. The 12 polished hour markers, or chaplets, are only 0.1 mm thick, but there’s a little inlet bridge in each chaplet that Rolls says ensures its reliability. Even though the bespoke British brand didn’t reference a watchmaker partner with this bedazzled clock, it says that its testing and validation standards are “higher than those of the watch world.”
Rolls-Royce Boat Tail
- Model: Arcadia Droptail is the third of four full-size two-seat roadsters
- Timepiece(s): A pair of Bovet 1822s in Amadeo cases
- Introduced in: May 2021
- Estimated Rolls-Royce Coachbuild cost: $28 million, according to a Rolls-Royce dealer in Florida
The Boat Tail followed the Sweptail in Rolls-Royce’s Coachbuild history of one-off multi-million dollar customizations. The Sweptail kicked off the Coachbuild’s modern series in 2017 and prompted Rolls to call it the automotive equivalent of haute couture, or hauto couture, if my editor allows such cringe. The Sweptail featured a handcrafted clock with titanium hands, but it lacked the exclusivity and rarity of the timepiece of its successor, the Boat Tail. The Boat Tail also ushered in Coachbuild as a permanent fixture in Rolls-Royce, blending car, yacht, and airline design with exclusivity of the highest order.
Similar to the Droptail, the Boat Tail consists of three commissioned models. The signature design element includes a kind of butterfly door that opens up out of the tail, hinged on either side at the center. A chest and double refrigerator lie in wait, as do rotating cocktail tables and built-in stools, and in the Rolls-Royce way, a parasol that telescopes up and out over the setup. This is tailgating of the highest order.
And the owner will never miss kickoff or the umpire calling “Play” with the his-and-her pair of Bovet 1822 timepieces. They measure 44 millimeters in diameter, and with their Amadeo case they can be reversible or made into a pocket watch on a chain, a pendant watch on a necklace, as a table clock, or serve as a dashboard clock. A 60-second tourbillon with a heavier balance wheel enables precise time in all those various uses, including the static one in the dash. It takes manual winding and has a five-day power reserve. A miniature Spirit of Ecstasy logo handcrafted in gold spreads her wings at the bottom.
