Geared up!
Gearheads love watches, watch nerds love cars. It’s a simple equation, and grounds enough for watchmakers and car manufacturers to hit the road together.
One good mechanic deserves another. Why else would so many watchmakers continue to scour the world of supercars and gleaming bodywork in search of the ideal partner. But gone are the days when deals were brokered on the simple premise that two logos are better than one. Today’s partnerships are the prelude to joint endeavours between these specialists in “engines” large and small. Hublot and Ferrari, Bovet and Pininfarina, Richard Mille and McLaren are all cases in point. Legendary motor races are another inextinguishable source of ideas: take the Mille Miglia and Chopard, or the Daytona for Rolex. Others take the direction of an iconic model, as with Bentley and Breitling, or Bugatti and Parmigiani. Vintage fans, meanwhile, need look no further than Baume & Mercier which has found its alter ego in the Shelby Cobra. Not to mention the brand ambassadors who love nothing more than to burn rubber with a hot-rod chrono on their wrist – think Patrick Dempsey and his TAG Heuer. Rubber being the common denominator of Roger Dubuis and Pirelli. For better or for worse, watchmakers and automakers are tying the knot and, like Zenith and Land Rover, hoping for one long honeymoon. At 36,000 vph.
