Step aside Apple (and Hermès), Bugatti just revealed a carbon fibre smartwatch

Bugatti has announced a new smartwatch, called the Carbone Limited Edition. As you might well expect, the digital timepiece is made from carbon fibres, and is allegedly the first to do so.

Priced at £2,299 and limited to 2,500 examples – with only the first 500 due to be delivered in December – the Bugatti Carbone is made by an Austrian firm called Viita, which produces watches for premium brands like Swarovski.

As well as a full carbon housing, the Bugatti Carbone features a 390x390 resolution touchscreen display protected by sapphire glass, 100 metres of water resistance, GPS and a battery life claimed to be up to 15 days (albeit with GPS disabled). Used as a regular smartwatch, Bugatti claims it’ll last for between two and three days before needing a charge.

This is Bugatti’s second smartwatch in as many years, and this model has a battery that is 22 percent larger than before, at 540 mAh, while the new watch is also 13 percent lighter than its predecessor.

The carbon case, which is milled from a solid block, features stripes of French racing blue, as used by Bugatti racing cars from the early 20th century. Various digital watch faces are included, with dials that resemble the speedometer of the Bugatti Chiron hypercar. 

Like most other smartwatches, the Bugatti Carbone has a heart rate sensor on the rear of the case, measuring beats per minute and heart rate variability. The watch also measures cardiovascular recovery, offers training recommendations, estimates the wearer’s biological age, alerts them to rising stress levels, and tracks daily steps and sleep.

The watch comes with a pair of straps included in the box. These are a grey silicone and nylon strap, and a black silicone option.

Unusually for a smartwatch, Bugattis is offering the Carbone with a five-year warranty. This is presumably a bid to help convince buyers that the wearable will not become obsolete in just a couple of years, and they’ll get at least half a decade of wear from their £2,299.

Wiebke Ståhl, managing director of Bugatti International, said: “At Bugatti the use of innovative technologies and materials is just as important as appearance, usability and reliability, The Carbone Limited Edition smartwatch incorporates it all, not just through its use of carbon fibre but also with regards to beauty, rarity and technology.”