L’Epée T35 race car clock
We usually focus on writing about watches; however, after seeing the L’Epée T35 race car, a beautifully engineered table clock, we felt the sublime Swiss creation deserved to be featured and justified a rare off-piste departure. When selecting the most appropriate writer for the job, one name came to the fore, Mark McArthur-Christie, a self-confessed horophile and lifelong petrolhead.
L’Epée 1839 – a firm of notable standing
If you’re more of a watch person than a clock connoisseur, L’Epée 1839 might not be a familiar name, but it should be as it’s the oldest Swiss Manufacture specializing in making high-end clocks. The fact it supplied Concorde with wall clocks to fit on the cabin bulkheads gives you an idea of this company’s esteemed standing.
The Sword 1839 x MB&F
However, the firm also makes contemporary clocks. For instance, it teamed up with MB&F to produce the remarkable Octopod and more recently the Albatross, something L’Epée 1839 likes to call ‘creative art’. In essence, these are highly engineered timepieces that are as much about aesthetics as clockmaking – and humor too. It’s a firm that’s sufficiently good at what it does to be able to raise a wry smile or two.
Image – Octopod
Image – Albatross
L’Epée 1839 – from carriage clock to creative art
Given its history, collaborations like this are nothing short of remarkable. Until 13 years ago, the firm specialised in carriage clocks. If you want a serious carriage clock, the sort that strikes every hour and 1/2 hour, repeats on demand, has an alarm, tells you the day and date and has a moonphase, L’Epée 1839 is the company to speak to. But it’s not exactly a high turnover market. After all, unless you’re one of a tiny number of dedicated collectors, you’ll likely only buy one and leave it on your mantlepiece until you pass it on to your children. Not an ideal basis to build a lasting business. So owner, CEO and Creative Director Arnaud Nicolas decided to change not just the range of products the firm offers, but also its entire approach.
As part of this, Monsieur Nicolas realised he needed a combination of artisanal expertise and cutting-edge know-how. That’s why the firm now runs three and five-axis CNC milling machines alongside a formidable range of hand-watchmaking skills. The level of hand-finishing that goes into a L’Epée timepiece is remarkable. As he comments, ‘Every component is hand-finished to perfection. Not just the ones you can see but the surfaces you don’t notice – everything.’ And one watchmaker assembles everything from start to finish.
L’Epée T35 race car – introduction
If you know your early 20th century racing cars, the Bugatti Type 35 which inspired this clock will be familiar. Although originally introduced at the 1924 Lyon Grand Prix d’Europe, the Type 35 wasn’t just a flat-out racer. Ettore Bugatti would design and make you a car able to tour, rally or simply tootle to the shops and back. Now, here’s one you can put on your desk, although it might prove quite the distraction.
L’Epée says, “The T35 is more than just a kinetic sculpture that tells time; it is the ultimate gentleman’s accessory.” That’s fighting talk with so many toys on offer, but then again, the firm might just be right.
L’Epée T35 race car – indicating the hours and minutes
Despite appearances, this is an eminently practical timekeeper. Look at the window on the side of the body. The two ‘engraved stainless steel discs’, one for minutes, the other for hours, sit where the gearbox would be on the real car. Behind that is the in-house movement. If you know the firm’s Time Fast DB car, you may recognise the feature.
Where the driver’s head would be, under a hand-blown glass dome, is the escapement, described by Monsieur Nicolas as ‘the brains of the car’. The going train runs through the open cockpit of the car as it does in L’Epée’s ‘Time Fast’ models.
L’Epée 1839 1855 MHD in-house calibre
The movement is the L’Epée 1839 1855 MHD in-house calibre that runs at 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) and has 26 jewels. It also features an Incabloc shock protection system and is made from nickel and palladium-plated brass and polished stainless steel painted with automotive lacquers.
You set the time by – what else – turning the three spoke steering wheel. Even at this level, there’s detail to make you smile; the wheel is assembled just like the original, with a center rim and two outer rims held together by 12 rivets to mirror 12 hours. To set the time, just turn the steering wheel counterclockwise and re-center it afterwards.
So how do you wind your Type 35? Arnaud Nicolas explains, “When I grew up, I didn’t have a remote controlled car – I had a pull-back car. And so this is how you wind it – by turning the rear wheels.” So just pull the car back like a vintage clockwork racer and you’ll put enough power into the movement to run it for eight days.
The T35 Sword race car – remarkable attention to detail
There’s more smile-generating detail when it comes to the wheels too. As well as reflecting the original Bugatti heat-dissipating design (that saved 45% of the original car’s weight), the tires are made of soft rubber and filled with a foam compound. This means you get optimal desktop grip when winding the movement, but they also deform under the car’s weight so they’re slightly flat on the bottom; just like a proper sportscar’s tires on a real track. If you were a fan of remote control cars as a kid, you might recognize the tire maker’s name; Tamiya. If they’ll work for hardcore remote control racers, they’ll be just fine for this use.
Just like a normal-sized car, the T35’s body is formed from solid aluminum parts, with the engine components and chassis made of stainless steel and palladium-plated brass. Each component is, as you’d expect, individually finished by hand with polished, satin finished or sandblasted parts. Like the real thing, there’s also a choice of colors – traditional French Racing blue (surely the only color for a Bugatti), British Racing green, Obsidian Black and ‘Red’ Rosso Corsa.
Unlike the real car, you can take the straight-8 cylinder engine out simply by pulling the handbrake lever. It’s worth doing, too. The engine conceals a gas cigar torch within. It even has a fuel gauge so you can view the level of the remaining lighter fuel. This is the ‘twist of humor’ that Monsieur Nicolas talks about.
The T35 Race Car Sword – Closing Remarks
The Venn diagram covering ‘watch people’ and ‘car people’ must be pretty close to a perfect circle, so this offering from Delémont-based clockmaker L’Epée 1839 should be a winner. Does anyone really need a combination cigar lighter and watch delivered in the form of a vintage Type 35? Of course not. But nevertheless, having seen one, it’s very hard not to want one.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Dimensions: Length: 439.7 mm – Width: 180.5 mm – Height: 119 mm
- Weight: 4.52 kg
- Limited Edition: Available in a choice of Racing blue, British Racing green, Obsidian Black and ‘Red’ Rosso Corsa – each color limited to 100 pieces
- Price: CHF 35,000 excluding taxes (RRP as of 10.12.2024)