We’ve resisted blogging the upmarket marques’ brand-extending marketing mishegos: Bentley safes and laptops, Ferrari Barbies, Bugatti thongs, Pagani pagodas, etc. But this one takes the Maserati-shaped confectionery: a Jaeger-LeCoultre Amvox2 DBS Transponder watch. “The $37,900 timepiece, the first mechanical watch that serves as a car key, goes on sale next year,” Bloomberg reveals. Christine Giotto, a spokeswoman for Le Sentier, Switzerland-based Jaeger-LeCoultre, said the watchmaker and the car manufacturer spent 18 months creating the timepiece, whose dial resembles an Aston Martin’s dashboard counters. “A DBS owner can unlock the car’s doors by pressing the watch’s face between the numerals 8 and 9 and lock them with a press between 3 and 4. The timepiece is made from materials including 18-carat gold and ruthenium.” So it doesn’t actually start the car… Is there such a thing as suckeronium?
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The name is bond….james bond.
While it’s not uncommon for the most high end Swiss mechanical watches to cost that much looking at this one I can’t see where the 18 months went. Seems like they added some electronics to an automatic watch and did up the dial a bit. Super.
More bobbles for the rich…yawn.
With keyless entry and ignition systems becoming the norm, isn’t pressing a button so… passé?
Baubles or not, that Barbie sure does know how to dress. That description doesn’t indicate if Barbie is a ladies Rolex type or not…
$38k sounds a little high to have a car remote super-glued to a Timex.
But Rudiger, its SWISS super glue!
I love stuff like this. I mean I think keeping the money moving creates jobs no? Its about as productive as making Civic body kits or A cruise vacation, its life. It pushes some buttons in me for sure, but I can go without blaming them I perhaps. If I had Lutz money I don’t think I’d buy something I like this little, If I had Mulally money though, I’d take a closer look. What else is just as useful for the same money? That wacth must have a bunch of competition.
Hell, if I had a DBS, I’d buy one.
I’d rather have a new car than a watch that unlocks mine.
speedlaw : The name is bond…. james bond.
Don’t you mean bondage? James Bondage?
It just doesn’t like that big of a deal compared to Aston Martin’s previous merchandising efforts which in 2002 included handcuff key-rings and a silver handcuff buckle leather belt. Not to mention leather boxer shorts in either suede or perforated blue finishes for around $600 a pair.
Complaints from a handful of owners who received Aston Martin’s catalog caused a rebellion (led by Edsel Ford) within Ford, which owned Aston Martin at the time, resulting in the more racy items being removed from subsequent Aston Martin merchandise catalogs.
Rumor has it that Aston Martin unloaded the leftover perforated leather (intended to made into boxer shorts) to Mazda who used it on the seats of the European Mazda 6.
These luxury brands are really just testing the limit of human stupidity.
For 38k, you could build a school for 700 children in Uganda.
richard72, you meant “baubles?”
And I’d find a use for a Bugatti thong. Rawrr.
Wow – my pedestrian 9 yr old Honda does that from the factory. I hear I can get new key fobs for $65 each too.
I think I’d rather palm a cheap door remote and look like I’m opening the doors of my sports car with a $150 watch.
What will the super cars do as the daily drivers continue to reach the same list of conveniences?
Will they be stuck supplying matching luggage and fine leather interiors? Oh wait my 11 yr old VW has a pretty decent leather interior (though well aged – okay wornout).
I was in the market for a nice timepiece earlier this year (nice to me is less then 10 grand) and I saw a photo of this Jaeger-LeCoultre. Of course the price killed it for me. That orginal picture differs from the current ones on the web. Hopefully they delete the transponder feature from the original design, remove 28k from the price if they get good feedback on the design so it is more attainable. These are really nice items once you get into five digits, which the Amvox all do, but they really need to stand out more.