by Kenneth Lee
Up until recently, Boba Fett was, essentially, a glorified extra in the original Star Wars trilogy released back in the tail end of the 20th century. Armed with a blaster rifle and a glorious five lines of dialogue, the enigmatic bounty hunter somehow managed to become one of the saga’s most iconic characters.
The character was an exercise in less is more, an exercise somewhat dampened by a dive into his backstory during the prequel trilogy, and further watered down by a, ahem, recent series released on Disney+.
Switzerland-based Kross Studio has attempted to recapture some of that magic with a limited-edition tourbillon collector’s set, limited to 10 pieces around the world, each at US$120,000 (S$166,000).
Each comes with a Fett-inspired central tourbillon timepiece, plus a watch display inspired by the bounty hunter’s iconic vessel.
Fans might recognise it by its (not-so-politically-correct) name: Slave 1, which has since been tweaked to Firespray gunship. The diminutive starship rests serenely on a landing platform atop the central tourbillon’s cage, just as it does in the movies.
The piece is authentically weathered, thanks to an extensive engraving and hand-painting process that, along with other components, totals a 90-hour build time per piece.
Other bits of gloriously nerdy detail include Boba Fett’s jetpack-turned-hour hand, and a rocket – typically attached to said jetpack – as the minute hand.
Star Wars details aside, the base piece itself is no horological slouch. The complex manual wound central tourbillon movement, composed of 220 parts, was designed and assembled at Kross Studio’s HQ in Gland, Switzerland.
There’s also no visible crown to detract from the case’s symmetry, courtesy of a D-ring crown system placed on the watch’s back. In total, expect the collector’s item to have a maximum power reserve of five days.
Quick-and-easy strap changes are also enabled by hidden buttons on the underside of the watch case – black rubber and chocolate calf leather depending on occasion, or even a green polyamide strep embossed to look like the bounty hunter’s chestplate.
When you’re not wearing this, display it in a “gunship” courtesy prop replica experts EFX. Each watch display is hewn from aluminium and acrylic with resin detailing, and is made to look as close as possible to the on-screen version in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Buy it now, you should.