Wristwatches and Cars - A Lasting Connection

The association between watches and cars is, forthere are many more associations between the
many people, easy to place. There are womentwo industries than can easily be listed.
that will roll their eyes and assume it is theOne such association missed earlier was Jaeger
'gadget appeal', there are men that will assume it'sLeCoultre's connection to the Le Mans Aston
about image - while men do not wear fashionableMartin Racing team, which it sponsors. At this
earrings and handbags in the way that women do,year's race one of the team's drivers, Harold
the status of a watch, car or jacket proves thatPrimat, was wearing Jaeger LeCoultre's latest
fashion is not a one-gender issue.development, the AMVOX2 Chronograph. The
But the connection goes deeper. And it's not justonly chronograph in the world that doesn't require
a 'man thing'. Many women, too, will vouch that apush buttons to activate, the AMVOX"
love of good cars or bikes and a love of watchesChronograph is activated by pushing the sapphire
make perfect sense to anyone with more than acrystal dial at the 12 o'clock position to stop and
passing interest in either. Both require considerablestar the timer, and pressing the 6 o'clock position
expertise to run at their best. Both consist of ato reset. Two limited editions of 100 watches
myriad of specialist components and need regulareach are being released to celebrate the
maintenance, be it an oil change or a winding.association between car and watch.
There is something in the craftsmanship of aThere are a myriad of connections that have
well-made watch or car that stands out; it'snothing to do with racing, too. for example,
impossible to just rush the process along andBreitling has close ties with luxury car
expect anywhere like the same results.manufacturer Bentley, and produce a line of
Perhaps that is why so many watch brands havewatches designed to reflect the qualities found in
close ties to motor sports. Rolex, among its manytheir vehicles. Panerai have an affiliation with
sporting connections, is associated with anFerrari, and have a range of exclusive, high-quality
American championship, the Rolex Sports Carwatches which bear the legendary prancing horse
Series, which it has sponsored since 2002. On theand Ferrari name, although they do not sponsor
other side of the Atlantic, Tissot is the officialany of the Italian sports car manufacturers' racing
timer for the Moto GP, Oris sponsors Teamendeavours.
Williams in Formula 1, TW Steel sponsors andThere are connections throughout motoring to
times the A1GP, Tag Heuer has ambassadors inthe horological world, particularly between luxury
Formula 1 racers Heikki Kovalainen, Kimiwatches and sports car companies. And when
Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Bourdais,you boil it down, the link really does become
and Audemars Piguet also has a presence in theobvious. The degree of luxury in an exquisite
world's mot famous racing championships, withsports car and a truly magnificent wristwatch is
Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello and Sebastienthe same - they are both items that thousands
Buemi all being brand ambassadors. This seeminglyaspire to own.
comprehensive list just touches the surface -