ROUGH AND READY
Heading off the beaten track? You can now get a wristwatch to match your wheels
If you like nothing more than spending your weekends up to your wing mirrors in mud and tricking out your x with knobbly tyres and a snorkel you might want to complete the look with an appropriate watch
The first question is whether to go for an old school mechanical or something newer that takes batteries In terms of utility the argument has already been settled modern technology keeps better time and is more robust It is also cheaper to produce But people are always paying more for less tech soaring sales of vinyl records is one example while other people are inexplicably buying up stacks of old VHS films
Most watchy people have similar feelings about mechanical movements They know it doesn’t make sense to wear a medieval curiosity on your wrist they just prefer owning something miraculously complex Even though the basic ticking principles are centuries old the mechanical watch has been refined to the point where it is accurate to a few seconds and tough enough to withstand more knocks than your BF Goodrichs
Plenty of watchmakers have embraced the world of x s A few years ago the Swiss company Ronda produced khakicased automatic watches celebrating the th anniversary of the Willys jeep Then the Swiss brand Zenith made a series of fancy mechanicals dedicated to Range Rovers Defenders and Evoques Currently the Danish company REC is selling chunky automatic watches containing bits shaved from old Land Rovers pictured opposite while the British brand Elliot Brown has a deal with Land Rover Classic also opposite
But do you actually need a watch to go offroading? Well no it is mainly about getting to the other side of the mud rather than slashing precious seconds off your time Besides you’ll be too busy clinging onto the steering wheel to check how long it is until teatime
We are not talking about need You don’t require a watch to go offroading any more than you can claim that tearing around the countryside in a x is a necessity You do it because you want to And if you fancy it you may as well take a nice watch Opposite is a small selection Most require batteries but not all One thing in common they can all happily take a muddy battering and keep going