Pininfarina is an Italian car design firm that was founded in 1930 by Battista “Pinin” Farina, the uncle of Nino Farina. Based in Turin, the company has also had a history of designing watches.
The brand is known to have started a collaboration with Orfina in 1981, with print ads appearing as late as 1983. Pininfarina has been in a longstanding collaboration with Bovet since 2010.
Pininfarina Ferrari
At least two versions of a Ferrari-branded Pininfarina watch appear to have existed. One features a black steel case with black branding, the Cavallino Rampante logo, and indices on a red case. Another has a steel case, red dial, and with silver markings and logos. A Catawiki listing references 1985 as the year of release, but this cannot be independently verified at the moment. Whether or not this was meant to represent Ferrari’s Formula 1 presence is also not well documented.
It’s worth noting that Scuderia Ferrari was sponsored by Longines from 1980 to 1989, and the Cartier Ferrari Formula line was launched in 1983 by Enzo Ferrari.
Lotus Senna Fan Club
There have been two versions of a Pininfarina Lotus Senna Swiss Fan Club watch, one in silver (ref. 7020) and black (ref. 7020N). Both feature a Lotus logo, Ayrton Senna’s logo, and “FAN CLUB SUISSE” on a yellow dial, and a three o’clock date window with the Pininfarina logo on the case back. Online listings have referenced Orfina as the manufacturer.
Senna raced with Lotus during the 1985 and 1986 seasons. While details surrounding these releases are not well documented, they likely coincided with the Brazilian driver’s time with the team.
Related Pages
References
https://watchlibrary.org/en/details/ES-EUROPE_138_1983_002_103
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/collection-of-ferrari-wristwatches/
https://www.catawiki.com/fr/l/7829593-pininfarina-ferrari-montre-bracelet-pour-homme-1985
https://www.vws.fr/fr/automobile/101-pininfarina-lotus-ayrton-senna-by-orfina-silver-ref-7020-vers-1985.html
https://www.vws.fr/gb/motor-car/44-pininfarina-lotus-ayrton-senna-by-orfina-black-ref-7020n-vers-1985.html
https://www.automotivpress.fr/vente-de-montres-liees-a-lautomobile-a-bordeaux-le-4-juin-2023/
https://www.city-bijoux.ch/raritaeten-gegen-moneten/fundgrube-fuer-armbanduhren/pinifarina-tiffany-and-co-die-etwas-anderen-designer-uhren/
https://www.time2tell.com/en/history-of-the-brands/510-the-true-history-of-orfina-watches.html