The most prestigious watch brands share the same values of power and value as the world of automobiles, revealing an exclusive group or membership club.
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The watch brand that has the closest ties to an automobile is undoubtedly Jaeger-LeCoultre, which from the very beginning has been supplying various car manufacturers with instrumentation. The factories of the Swiss brand also produced watches for aviation and, in 1915, Edmond Jaeger filed a patent for a tachymeter combined with a watch. Jaeger teamed up with Le Coultre in 1917, and ten years later the two designers gave birth to their first auto watch.
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Alfred Dunhill, a visionary British trader who founded his company at the dawn of the 20th century, was also one of the first to measure the fantastic potential of watchmaking in the motor racing industry, and proposed that watch instruments should be adapted to the needs of pilots. Other houses quickly followed suit, such as L. Leroy, the supplier of the Automobile Club in chronometers, or TAG Heuer, which looked at the timing of races and offered models openly inspired races, like the TAG Heuer Silverstone or Monaco.
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The mechanical aspect is a clear common point between the two sectors. Watch brands have been pushing extreme mimicry using high-tech materials, or a degree of complexity that could only be for prestigious automobiles. Some watches sport a mechanism similar to that of an engine, others rely on the visual identity of the car brand, and others are created especially for a famous driver, exuding elegance and luxury.
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Major car brands have understood that a watch has the power to overthrow any amateurs, and they sought partners at the height of their exceptional vehicles. Many sports and tourism brands now offer timepieces in their name, such as Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Bentley, Audi and BMW. The list is long. Generally, a watch company is chosen by the car brand to design a range of products, but sometimes a brand relies on a watch manufacturer and produces its watches independently, the best known example being Porsche Design.
Partnerships between the world of watchmaking and automobiles are varied, both in quality and intensity. From a complete fusion of the spirit of the two brands, through to the commemoration of a great event, the two universes continue to surprise amateurs, and automotive watch collectors can revel in the treasures that appear in the auction room.
