The FullCarbon Ivan Basso AB watch is the product of a collaboration between Italian watchmaker Federico Massacesi and Cannondale professional racer Ivan Basso. One of three watches in the Ivan Basso range, the AB (full model number IB0101-AB) features a Nubeck leather strap and a carbon-composite case and bezel.
The screen is made of Sapphire Crystal Glass, the diameter is a solid 40mm and the watch weighs 85g.
The Australian distributor for FullCarbon watches, Sydney jeweller JWLZ, described the watch as “the perfect luxury accessory for those who like cycling and style”. You can find out more about the watch at the JWLZ website or in the video below:.
RRP: $1,750
Our take
The FullCarbon Ivan Basso AB watch is strikingly packaged in a matte black case that looks like it could hold some kind of machinery. Flip it open and the watch is mounted front and centre, looped over a black cushion and housed inside a recess in the case’s centre.
If it wasn’t already obvious from the association with Italian pro Ivan Basso, or the fact that the watch is made largely of carbon fibre, this is a watch made with the cycling market in mind. It’s got the price to boot too — the $1,750 price tag puts this well into the realm of luxury items and makes it the perfect accessory if you don’t blink at the idea of a $10,000 carbon road bike for rolling down Beach Road.
In terms of its intended purpose — keeping the time — the watch does everything you would expect it to and the time and date are easily adjusted by way of the push-in-pull-out dial.
To me the watch is just a little too bulky — both in diameter and in thickness — to be comfortable, and I couldn’t see myself wearing it every day. But, of course, this is just personal taste — it is a sharp looking watch and the size won’t be an issue for many people.