FASHION
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Drive Time
WATCHES INSPIRED BY AUTOMOBILES, MOTORCYCLES, AND RACING DELUXE EDITION AARON SIGMOND FOREWORD BY JAY LENO AFTERWORD BY PATRICK DEMPSEY
A thoroughly updated and deluxe edition of the first monograph of its kind to explore 120 years of automotive-inspired timepieces. Drive Time, Sea Time, and Air Time comprise the first horological lifestyle trilogy to survey highperforming timepieces through the lenses of the cars, ships, and planes that inspired them. With curated new watches to reflect ever-more sophisticated timepieces and horological expertise, this deluxe third edition of Drive Time is a modern, distinctive update to the series. Housed in a handsome slipcase, Drive Time Deluxe Edition focuses on the iconic racing chronographs of the mid-twentieth century, such as the Rolex Daytona, Omega Speedmaster, and TAG Heuer Carrera and Monaco, through current timepieces from Chopard Mille Miglia, Breitling by Bentley, Porsche Design, and IWC Mercedes-Benz AMG collections. In celebrating two great twentiethcentury inventions—the mass-produced automobile and the wristwatch—Drive Time is perfect for lovers of timepieces, cars, and deluxe style.
CHOPARD + ZAGATO Watchmaker: Chopard Inspiration/Affiliation: Zagato Models: Mille Miglia Zagato Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Zagato 100th Anniversary (2019)
FOR MORE THAN a quarter-century, Chopard’s
Mille Miglia collection led the way for classic racinginspired wristwatches, and although the limitedproduction Mille Miglia Zagato (1,000 pieces; 500 in rose gold and DLC-treated stainless steel, 500 in all DLC-treated stainless steel) is a departure from the core collection, as a collaboration with the Italian luxury auto-design studio . . . well, it just makes you smile. Produced with Milan-based bodywork specialist Zagato, this foray into time mechanics was truly a collaborative effort: Chopard created the “engine” (a self-winding chronograph movement), while Zagato influenced the design of the “bodywork” and “interior” (the case and dial, respectively). The 42.5mm watch comes in all-black DLC-coated steel or a two-tone all-steel version with a rose-gold bezel featuring a red insert bearing the 24-hour dual-time gradation; both sport the Zagato logo on the case back and crown.
The Zagato and Chopard story continued six years later, when, in Kyoto, Japan, at the Concours d’Elegance held at Nijo Castle—with the theme “100 years of Zagato”— the COSC Chronometer Certified Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Zagato 100th Anniversary Edition in steel, with a vibrant red Zagato “Z” motif dial, debuted at a gala dinner with Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and Zagato CEO Andrea Zagato, grandson of founder Ugo Zagato. This second limited-edition Chopard Zagato collaboration was limited to 100 examples. English carmaker Aston Martin and Milanese coachbuilder Zagato have been working together for almost 60 years—since the 1960 DB4 GT Zagato. Other collaboration highlights include the 1986’90 V8 Vanquish Volante, 2002-’03 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Zagato, 2003-’04 Aston Martin DB AR1, 2011-’12 Aston Martin V12 Zagato, 2013 Aston Martin DBS Coupé Zagato Centennial, and 2013 DB9 Spyder Zagato Centennial. The latter two were one-off cars to celebrate Aston Martin’s centenary. Opposite page: 2016 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Coupe.
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AFTERWORD by
PATRICK DEMPSEY
about cars and watches is the level of meticulous design, engineering and savoir faire behind the manufacture of each. They’re both investments spurred by passion and emotion, heritage and futurism—vintage models are sought after like cult totems, while modern innovation ensures a steady evolution into the present and beyond. There’s no limit to the connoisseurship inherent to each.
remarkable, each of his watches would become archetypal in its own way. His love for air and automobiles, combined with his ardor for speed and racing, inspired the astonishing Carrera chronograph. Nothing represents the eternal quest to go faster, to prove you’re the best—symbolically and practically—more than an auto-inspired watch. Every time I look at the Carrera, I am reminded of an amazing decade, and Heuer’s extraordinary history overall.
So, it makes sense that this is the third curated edition of DRIVE TIME in under a decade. Automotive-inspired watches are forever being refined, with equal deference given to the breathtaking accomplishments of the past and the innovations of the current moment. That’s the remarkable story DRIVE TIME tells.
Mexican racing brothers Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez were rock stars in the early 1960s. They were incredible drivers. Their exploits were how Jack first heard of the Carrera Panamerica rally, and thus was the Carrera watch born. What a great, sexy name for a new timepiece with a clean, sophisticated, beautifully styled bezel and dial. So innovative, so timeless. What amazes me most is how Jack’s passion for perfecting race timekeeping has utterly transcended the sport itself.
WHAT’S SO ALLURING
It goes without saying that I’m partial to both vintage Heuer and TAG Heuer chronographs. They’re the category-defining epitome of the fusion of cars and watches, and Heuer’s achievements in the field are legion. When it comes to the synthesis of motorsports and mechanical watches, I can’t help but think about the Carrera in particular, and in a romantic way. It’s fascinating that such a classic chronograph came to be after a simple trackside conversation about a notoriously dangerous race that would change the course of the motor industry for generations.
Today, when I look upon the sheer breadth of the chronographs in DRIVE TIME that keep the Carrera company, it strikes me how profound this symbiotic merger of time and speed—physically embodied not just in cars themselves—really is. And how wonderful it is that this, the third and final edition of DRIVE TIME, brings it all together in one place beyond the track.
This is the great gift and genius of my friend Jack Heuer. What Jack produced in just one decade lives on. Even more
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—Patrick Dempsey Racecar Driver, Actor & Watch Enthusiast, Los Angeles
Aaron Sigmond is an award-winning luxury lifestyle publisher, editor, and best-selling author (and coauthor) of numerous luxury lifestyle books. Jay Leno is an Emmy Award–winning former host of NBC’s Tonight Show and the current star of Jay Leno’s Garage on CNBC. He is a renowned collector of both cars and watches. Patrick Dempsey is a Screen Actors Guild Award–winning television and film actor, as well as a race-car driver and co-owner of the FIA World Endurance Championship Dempsey Proton Racing team. A collector of vintage chronographs, he serves as a TAG Heuer global brand ambassador.
FASHION 304 pages, 10 x 12K” 150 color and b/w photographs HC w/slipcase: 978-0-8478-6946-6 $150.00 Can: $200.00 UK: £110.00 March 29, 2022 Rights: World RIZZ OL I
