These watches are made from crashed classic cars

An Aussie company is chopping up Ferraris and Aston Martins to make fancy wristwear.

You may have seen our story last week about a company turning the leather trim used in classic cars into amazing watch straps for your Apple Watch - but Australian company Fuoriserie takes the car upcycling concept to a new level.

The just-launched local brand - which translates to “custom built” - repurposes wrecked exotic and classic cars and turns them into stylish timepieces.

The watch faces are made from of the metalwork of cars, with the first two watches made by Fuoriserie being the Rosso Red, made from the doors of a sandwiched Ferrari 348 TB, and the Storm Black, constructed from the bonnet metal of an Aston Martin Rapide that was damaged in a fire.

One of the watches is constructed from the bonnet metal of an Aston Martin Rapide.

Just 150 examples of each of these watches will be made, at a retail price of $450. In other words, this is the cheapest way you’re ever going to find to get your hands on a Ferrari or Aston… even if it’s just a small part. Just note - these pieces aren't endorsed by any of the car brands. 

The man behind the brand, David Giammetta, told us he’s designed the watches to offer personal craftsmanship at an attainable price point, because “not everyone has $500k to drop on a dream car”.  

The watches are designed in Sydney before being assembled in China using a Japanese Miyota M203A quartz movement - the same clockwork that runs in the background of Citizen watches, and which is described by Mr Giammetta as being “as reliable as a Toyota Corolla”. 

He says he’s also working on a mechanical movement timepiece to be launched once this run of watches has sold out.

The Rosso Red is made from the doors of a Ferrari 348 TB.

The next cars earmarked for their time with the angle grinder include a pre-1974 Porsche 911 and an Alfa Romeo Montreal, the latter of which Mr Giammetta describes as the Italian marque’s muscle car - which is therefore the most likely for a more expensive and desirable mechanical movement. 

There are also plans for Fuoriserie to produce its own leather watchstraps from donor cars, and this is planned for future timepieces. 

So what about if you’ve smashed your car and just can’t bear to part with all of it? You can get Fuoriserie to do a custom-made, one-of-a-kind timepiece to keep to yourself or pass on as an heirloom. Hey, if you can’t pass the car on, why not pass on part of it?