PULL BACK from the steering wheel on any head-turning supercar and you can pretty much guarantee there’ll be an equally impressive timepiece dangling from the driver’s wrist.
Fancy watches have always ridden shotgun with fancy cars, explains Aaron Sigmond, whose new book, DRIVE TIME, explores the intersection between cars and the watch world.
“From the early onset of the automotive industry mechanical watch makers were there, producing all the rst instrumentation, hence LeCoultre (now Jaeger-LeCoultre) gauges in early Aston Martins, Jaguars and Bentleys,” he says.
That shared preoccupation with technical innovation, performance and precision makes sense. But why does Sigmond think that horological obsessives invariably turn out to be hardcore rev-heads too? “There is a polymath approach to degrees of connoisseurship,” he suggests.
An appreciation for the ner things in life, in other words, expresses itself in many forms, whether on the road or the wrist.
Editor’s Pick
TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph
Inspired by F1, the watch’s black ceramic bezel has a tachymeter scale so you can monitor your speed and distance. $3100
Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control
Named after the classic car race, this watch is powered by an in-house movement and boasts a fuel-gauge-style power reserve indicator. $8540
Edox ChronoDakar III
The Dakar is the world’s most gruelling motor race. Encased in polished titanium, this is designed to laugh off heat, mud and sandstorms.
$2650