7 Of The Best Racing Watches For The Car Enthusiast In You
In the world of racing, timing is everything. And in the world of men, cars are a highly popular hobby. Combine the two together and you get motorsports racers with heavily designed and sophisticated racing watches.
For many decades now, the watchmaking industry has maintained a strong connection to automobile racing. As a result, automotive watches are prevalent in the market. These watches are not like aviation watches, field watches, or dive watches. In fact, they are actually more exotic, flashier, and more casual. As such, they exude a rugged-yet-stylish vibe.
Like racing cars, racing watches tend to have either classic designs with features such as automotive gauges or sleek and modern designs that compliment present-day motorsports.
When it comes to racing watches, there are 2 essential features that all serious racers look out for: a tachymeter and a chronometer.
A tachymeter is a kind of bezel that allows you to calculate time and distance. By measuring the time (in seconds) of travel in a certain distance, the outer markings on the bezel display the speed covered by the wearer in that particular time. Whatever the unit you measure with, the tachymeter always displays the result in units per hour. Overall, it is a really helpful tool for racers when calculating lap time.
Meanwhile, a chronograph is a watch with an additional stopwatch function. Though you might find some chronograph watches with only one sub-dial for measuring seconds, most racing watches have three dials for seconds, minutes, and hours.
7 of the Best Racing Watches
Tag Heuer Caliber 16 Formula 1 Racing Watch
A dedicated speed racer should be speedy, agile, and strong. And so should racing watches!
This 44mm racing watch includes a fine-polished steel case with black PVD coating and an ebony dial with Rhodium plated luminescent indexes. Created for every enthusiastic racer, it also includes a tachymeter scale on its bezel and a self-winding movement.
This watch also provides its wearer with a 42-hour power reserve and remarkable racing chronographs including a 60-seconds sub-dial, 30-minute recorder, and 12-hour counter. Additionally, to ensure maximum accuracy throughout the day, it includes a small date window at the 3 o’clock position.
IW380902 IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Racing Watch
A classic, modish, and sporty timepiece, the IWC racing watch was created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mercedes-AMG. In line with its partnership with one of the most popular luxury car brands, it comprises of a number of interesting features.
This watch includes three racing chronographs for measuring seconds, minutes, and hours. With an 89361 self-winding movement, it also holds a 68-hour power reserve as well as a flyback function.
PFH340-1012700-HC3042 Rose Gold Parmigiani Bugatti
This automotive watch defies all limits by utilizing a number of astounding parts for power.
With regards to its movement, this racing watch uses a PF370 calibre, a feature whose composition is inspired by automotive technology. This movement allows the wearer to experience something akin to a Bugatti engine but on their wrist.
Furthermore, unlike other mechanical watches which use a wind stem crown, the Bugatti watch is manually wounded using a dynamometric starter. Not only that, but it has the ability to reserve power for up to ten days!
GMT-Chronotimer Monobloc Actuator
Created by Porsche with inspiration from racing cars, the GMT-Chronotimer Monobloc Actuator watch has a water resistance of up to 100-metres. Additionally, it includes a chronograph comprising of a single rocker switch which makes it highly functional and convenient. As such, it’s highly suitable for both road racing and water racing.
With an ETA Valjoux 7754 chronograph movement, this titanium watch makes 28,800 vibrations per hour and can reserve power for up to 48 hours.
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
Created way back in 1963, this mechanical Rolex racing watch is a popular choice among professional racers. Besides its brand, it is notable due to its chronographic features.
With a 4130 self-winding chronograph calibre, this watch allows its wearers to measure elapsed time and their average traveling speed by using the tachymeter on the bezel.
Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph Watch
This Omega racing watch is a watch unlike any other. With a special crystal, it also contains a small seconds sub-dial, a 30-minute recorder, and a 12-hour counter. Inside, it uses an OMEGA 1861 manually-wound mechanical calibre. In addition, this watch comes with a special moon-watch presentation, featuring a “NATO” strap as well as a bracelet changing tool.
Bremont MKII Jaguar Chronograph Watch
With a classic, sporty, and vintage look, this Bremont watch radiates an appearance that is reminiscent of 1960s Jaguar sports cars. In fact, it even has the Jaguar heritage racing logo at the 6 o’clock position.
This watch’s hour markers resemble the numerals on E-Type instruments. With a 28-jewel 13 ¼”’ BE-50AE automatic calibre, it can also reserve power for up to 42 hours. Its racing chronograph functions include a 30-minute counter and a seconds sub-dial.
Conclusion
In motor racing, every second counts. But before battling it out with your opponents, you must first battle with time. And to battle with time, one needs to have the best racing watch. Whether it be a special model like the Tag Heuer Caliber 16 Formula 1 watch or anything similar, what is important is that your watch possesses the best features needed for slugging it out on the speedway.
If you enjoyed reading this article, why not check out Exploring the World of Top TAG Heuer Watches.
