Cars and watches: Sportlighting timepieces

Luxury cars and watches have always tasted better together

April 10, 2018 04:49 pm | Updated 04:50 pm IST

On the case back of Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona were inscribed the words: Drive carefully me. A gift from his actor wife, Joanne Woodward, it was auctioned last year for a record $17.8 million, putting the synergy of watches and cars back in the spotlight. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona was introduced in 1963 for race drivers to be able to measure average speed. But it isn’t the only one. Steve McQueen wore the square-dial Heuer Monaco in the racing film Le Mans, associating the watch with all things cool and irreverent. Here are five watches that have continued with the grand tradition of marrying watches and cars.

Breitling Bentley GT ‘Dark Sapphire’ Edition

Watchmaker Breitling introduced the Bentley GT ‘Dark Sapphire’ special edition last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show to celebrate the launch of the all-new Bentley Continental GT. Limited to only 500 pieces, the watch features a lot of design elements inspired by the third-generation Bentley grand tourer, including the diamond pattern on the rubber strap and bezel that echoes the design of the dial’s trim and the Continental GT’s cabin. The big 48mm case of the watch is made out of a special material called the Breitlight — a high-tech material that the Swiss watchmaker says is four times lighter than titanium but significantly harder.

Price: CHF 9500 (approx ₹6,50,000)

Richard Mille RM 11-03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph

Another Geneva Motor Show product, this is the first timepiece to have come out of the partnership between luxury watchmaker Richard Mille and McLaren Automotive. The RM 11-03 McLaren, with its papaya orange and slate colour theme, is limited to only 500 pieces and will be first offered to McLaren Ultimate Series clients. Richard Mille’s automatic RMAC3 calibre movement powers the timepiece and it also features a flyback chronograph and 55-hour power reserve. In terms of McLaren-themed design elements, the titanium pushers echo the headlights of 720S, titanium inserts are similar in shape to the McLaren F1’s air-intake snorkel and the grade 5 titanium crown is shaped like a McLaren wheel trim.

Price: $191,500 (approx ₹1,25,00,000)

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Aventador S Blue

Inspired by the Lamborghini Aventador S supercar, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Aventador S Blue is a blue version with red touches of the pink gold watch that came out of the partnership between the two brands last year. The watch is made out of the same carbon fibre used in Lamborghini supercars and features two escapements, a deadbeat seconds display, and a movement inspired by the engine block of the Lamborghini Aventador. It is also the only timepiece on the market to be 100% skeletonised, from the case to the movement. It is limited to only 88 pieces.

Price: CHF 180,000 (approx ₹1,22,75,000)

Bulgari Octo Maserati Mono-Retro GranSport

The two Italian brands have been collaborating on special edition watches since 2012, and to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the partnership, the watchmaker introduced the Octo Maserati Mono-Retro GranSport at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Retaining the very bold Bulgari design, the watch, in black diamond-like-carbon (DLC)-coated steel, draws inspiration from modern Maseratis. It is a time-only digital jump-hour watch with a retrograde minute display, in which the dial looks like the speedometer of a car. It has a black dial with a black leather bracelet.

Price: $12,400 (approx ₹8,06,000)

Jaeger-LeCoultre Amvox2

Before Aston Martin teamed up with Tag Heuer, the British carmaker had a 16-year-long partnership with Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre. In 2014, a smartwatch, straight out of a Bond film, was born out of the collaboration. Called the Amvox2 Transponder, the watch worked as a remote control module to operate different functions of the car. With the controls built into the cover glass, the wearer could lock and unlock the Aston Martin, flash its headlights to find it in a parking lot, and even tap the glass to use the chronograph for timing.

Price: $29,500 (approx ₹19,18,000)

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