On aBlogtoWatch, if a watch with “Ferrari” in the name is mentioned, you will probably think of Hublot. That is mostly accurate, since Hublot is an official partner of Ferrari and their official high-end watch making partner which started back in 2011. So while Hublot makes all of Ferrari’s most expensive timepieces, there needs to be a collection of Ferrari watches for everyone else. The company that has that privilege is Movado. In 2012, I covered the Movado Ferrari watches here that replaced the “sun” on the classic Museum Dial watch with the Ferrari prancing horse logo.
There is also the Scuderia Ferrari watch brand, produced by the Movado group but without any Movado branding and sold on Ferrari’s main merchandise site. These watches only have the Ferrari logo on the dial and may also say “Scuderia Ferrari.” Very affordably-priced and “Made in Italy,” the Scuderia Ferrari watches have been around for a while, and new for 2015 are the Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia and Formula Italia S model families. For racing, car, or Ferrari fans on a budget, there are some decent things to look at here.
The Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia collection contains both three-hand and chronograph models that are sized 43mm wide and 45mm wide, respectively. These have a tonneau-shaped steel case with a round dial and a retro dashboard instrument appeal. Little touches like the knurling on the outside bezel and the crown are nice details which I hope lend themselves to a higher-end feel for these sub $500 timepieces. Over the dials are domed mineral crystal and the cases are water resistant to 50 meters.
Why yes, the hour hands on all of these watches actually say “Hours.” This is likely borrowed from some car dashboard gauge, and I think it is sort of cool. Assuming decent materials and textures are used, the dials of these Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia timepieces should be pretty handsome. All they need to do is stay away from shiny or reflective elements and make sure the colors all contrast properly.
In addition to the vintage-style car instrument-inspired Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia watch collection that comes with a series of dial options as well as a black IP-coated case or a brushed steel one, the Scuderia Ferrari watch brand also has the more modern looking (but actually still retro-inspired Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia S collection. Given that these watches look so different from the standard Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia collection, I really would have liked Scuderia Ferrari to have used a different name rather than just add the letter “S” to differentiate the model families.
We don’t have pictures of all the Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia S watches, but we do have the limited edition of 1000 pieces model which is above in its bright yellow and black color tones. Even though this is a very modern looking racing-style chronograph watch, is has apparently been inspired by the instrument gauges on a 1961 Ferrari 156 Formula 1 race car. The Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia S collection will have 44 and 46mm-wide versions with slightly more intricate cases and dials. The added details are going to be hit or miss depending on your tastes. I happen to like the more simple looking Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia collection – especially because I know at these prices, more simple dials and materials tend to look better.
All of the Scuderia Ferrari watches have Japanese quartz movements (for now) and all say “Made in Italy.” If you know about watches, you know that there aren’t too many which are actually made in Italy. Even “Italian” watch brands like Bulgari, Visconti, Montegrappa, Panerai, and more are “Swiss Made.” I assume the Made in Italy element of Scuderia Ferrari watches is part of the marketing slogan and they have an assembly facility in Italy to put the watches together. In fact, near the Swiss border in Italy there are a lot of watch suppliers so it would not surprise me if around there is where the Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia and Formula Italia S watches are produced.
Retail prices for the Scuderia Ferrari watches start at $295 for the three-hand steel Formula Italia model. In the black-coated case, the Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia three-hand is $325. The Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia chronograph in steel is $395 going up to $425 for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia chronograph in black-coated steel. The limited edition Scuderia Ferrari Formula Italia S watch leads the pack in price at $595. store.ferrari.com
