Racing cars and luxury timepieces
In the world of watches we can distinguish different types, but the three most important are: ‘Aviation watches’, ‘Diving watches’ and ‘Race watches’. We have already talked about aviation watches and diving watches, let's talk about the third and last type: ‘Race watches’.
The connection between the world of watchmaking and car racing is strong. Many cars and their drivers functioned as an important inspiration for the production of race watches like the Rolex ‘Daytona’ and the Tag Heuer ‘Carrera’.
Many manufacturers both large and small have created unique and beautiful watches connected to the auto industry. Some pay attention to history as they take their inspiration from oldtimers while others more focus on the modern cars. Anyway, the wide collection of race watches please collectors and enthusiasts of all tastes. Within the line of race watches there are many variations. For example; there are race watches which could work with business casual attire, while other race watches are made for the sport and thus may not be appropriate for casual wear. The most important thing you should know is that most race watches are designed to honor race cars and their drivers. Race watches are not bound by uniformity, they tend to be much flashier. There are only two features which define a good race watch: a chronograph and a tachymeter.
Specific features
What to look for in a race watch?
- Tachymeter: used to make time & distance calculations. The outer marking on the bezel will show you speed in the unit measured per hour if you measure the number of seconds to travel a known distance.
- 2 pushers to start/stop & reset the second hand.
- Chronograph: Is a separate ‘complication’ (Stopwatch function).
We selected our top race watches for you. Take a look.