Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition – 48mm
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Game On! Purnell & Paris Saint-Germain Unveil the New Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition
The French football powerhouse and Swiss tourbillon specialist kick off their “lifestyle” partnership with their first collaborative timepiece, which spectacularly integrates elements of the soccer team’s iconic logo.
By Steven Rogers
Contributor
Mbappé, Messi, and Neymar are just a few of the distinguished names we currently associate with French football powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Now we can add a new silky performer to that illustrious list: Purnell.
Of course, we’re not talking about the arrival of a tricky new left winger or commanding center back. Rather, we’re talking about the stellar signing of the high-end Swiss watch brand Purnell.
Last month, Purnell and PSG announced the start of an exciting three-year partnership, which sees the Geneva-based tourbillon specialist become the official timekeeper of the famed Ligue 1 club. And what’s more, fans of both football and haute horlogerie have been promised special PSG-themed Purnell limited editions to celebrate the partnership.
Today, we can unveil the first timepiece to emerge from this pairing: The new Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition.
Hyper Horology
Four years ago, Purnell began a new chapter of what it likes to call “Hyper Horology” when it launched the Spherion, the world’s fastest triple-axis tourbillon, which uses its spherical, three-cage design to improve a watch’s chronometric rate by averaging out positional errors due to gravity.
Developed over four years by Eric Coudray – master of the multi-axis tourbillon and brains behind the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon – the Spherion features an inner cage that fully rotates once every 8 seconds, a secondary cage with a 16-second rotation, and an outer cage that takes 30 seconds to rotate.
Equipped with eight Incablocs to shock-protect the triple cage and a 3Hz balance wheel within, the high-velocity Spherion has appeared singularly in Purnell’s Escape collection as well as in a stunning double format within the brand’s Escape II series.
Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition
For the new Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition, Purnell has taken its solo triple-axis tourbillon Escape design and given it a Paris Saint-Germain-inspired twist. And it has accomplished this by cleverly integrating elements of the football club’s iconic logo – a depiction of the Eiffel Tower and Fleur de Lys symbol – into the design of the dial and highly visible Calibre P11.
Spectacularly located in a void in the lower half of the dial, the Spherion’s supporting bridge and outer cage – both in anthracite DLC-treated titanium – are now shaped like the soccer team’s Eiffel Tower emblem.
In the top half of the dial, the manually wound mainspring barrels have been engraved with the words from the PSG supporters’ anthem, “Oh Ville Lumière,” while the back of each barrel is engraved with a Fleur de Lys motif.
And superimposed atop the dial side barrels, the smoked sapphire hour-minute ring now incorporates an Eiffel Tower-shaped bridge in polished titanium and features an engraved and lacquered Fleur de Lys, in addition to applied hour indexes, also in polished titanium. As usual, the power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock functions via a suspended, mobile cone mainspring “sensor.”
Stealthy & Sporty
Housing the above ensemble is a lightweight, 48mm polished anthracite DLC-treated titanium case that takes its design cues from others in the brand’s Escape Primo collection. As such, it features lateral caseband windows at 9 o’clock and 12 o’clock as well as a gap at 6 o’clock covered by the monobloc sapphire crystal, affording multiple clear views of the 245-component movement within.
Additionally, the crown at 3 o’clock is adorned with PSG’s Eiffel Tower and Fleur de Lys logo, while engraved around the caseback are the iconic chant of the club’s fans: “Paris Saint-Germain” and “Ici c’est Paris!” And the watch comes on a sporty black natural rubber strap with a folding buckle in anthracite DLC-treated titanium.
Finally, the Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition’s launch will coincide with a global advertising campaign featuring a selection of Paris Saint-Germain’s star players. Included among those players are Neymar Jr., Marco Verratti, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and none other than Lionel Messi, all of whom will be seen sporting the new watch.
Performance & Elegance
Both Purnell CEO Maurizio Mazzocchi and PSG Chief Revenue Officer Marc Armstrong referenced how this first Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition represents top performance and a certain sophistication.
Mazzocchi said: “Our new Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition will symbolize both the high performance and the French savoir-vivre that PSG stands for. We’ve put our strength together for a fantastic outcome, a watch that will make history.”
Armstrong added: “We are thrilled with the Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition, the first watch to come out of our partnership with Purnell that embodies world-class performance, fascinating visuals, and that certain Parisian elegance we were looking for. We are delighted to add the Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition to our ultra-exclusive lifestyle line-up!”
Price & Availability
Ultra-exclusive indeed. Only 11 numbered pieces of the Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition will be made, each priced at CHF 390,000.
Of course, there is unlikely to be a lack of suitors among Paris Saint-Germain’s global fanbase: Since the state-run Qatar Sports Investments attained sole ownership of the club in 2012, it has become one of the world’s wealthiest football clubs and most valuable sports brands. It is now said to count the likes of Tom Brady, Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Gigi Hadid among its fans.
Now Purnell has scored a beauty with its first co-creation with Paris Saint-Germain, we can’t wait to see what the pair have in store for their second collaborative piece. Given the dark, monochromatic vibe of this first offering, maybe the next one will harness the club’s famous blue, red, and white colors?! Watch this space!
To find out more about the Purnell x PSG Escape Limited Edition, please visit the Purnell and Paris Saint-Germain websites.
(Photography by Pierre Vogel)
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