WATCH YOUR SPEED
From Tag Heuer to Rolex to Breguet, are there too many ‘motoring’ watches?
Back in the days when it was considered fine to shoehorn thousands of people into an exhibition hall to rebreathe the same air, the watch industry loved to hold a big old trade show. Retailers and journalists from all over the world would descend on the Swiss cities of Geneva and Basel to see everything new that watchmakers had to offer. The most notable things were, firstly, that there are more watch brands than any sane person would care to remember. Secondly, at least half those countless brands claim to have some link to cars. Has it all gone a bit far? Watchmakers are generally a quiet and unassuming bunch, but apparently they can’t get enough of continually pheromone spraying themselves with the cologne of burnt rubber to make their watches look cooler.
There is a lot of chat about which brands can claim to have ‘legitimate’ motoring credentials. Tag Heuer started an enduring relationship with motorsport in 1911, when Edouard Heuer started making dashboard-mounted chronographs used in cars, as well as biplanes. Rolex’s relationship with speed goes back to the Thirties, when Malcolm Campbell wore an Oyster on his wrist during his land speed records. In the same decade Breguet got a nice bit of long-lasting cred when it made a series of chronographs for Ettore Bugatti, one of which was fitted to the steering wheel hub of his Type 41 Royale.
Valuing history is all very well, but it is best not to take these things too seriously. Wristwatches and cars were intertwined through necessity in the 20th century – if you wanted to drive fast, you needed to know how fast. But nobody really needs a watch any more. And as the 21st century progresses and teleportation goes mainstream, fewer people will need cars. So the watch business, like the car business, is all about appealing to people on an emotional, rather than practical level. And what better way to soup up a watch than with a little bit of horsepower-by-association?
On the opposite page is just a small selection of the new car-themed watches out there. Some are from brands that have been in and around motors for ages, while others are new to the game. The endless wave of car-inspired watches doesn’t look like ending any time soon, no matter when the big trade shows start again. It is such a winning formula, it’s no wonder more and more brands are getting involved.