Watches

French watchmaker BRM is not a newcomer to the world of motorsports. Many people may associate this name with the legendary British Racing Motors. However, BRM actually stands for Bernard Richards Manufacturer, after the man who has been making mechanical watches inspired by racing and automotive themes for over 25 years. The company's latest endeavor, done on behalf of Abarth, has been dubbed the BRM V12-T-44 Chronograph.

Sporting a 44mm black titanium case, this limited edition timepiece takes many accents from the Italian car company including a black Nomex strap featuring red stitching to resemble the Abarth fascia along with their scorpion logo placed on the watch-face and chrome hands. BRM will only be producing 49 examples, keeping in line with their small production runs of about 2,000 watches total per year. Each BRM V12-T-44 Chronograph will be individually numbered and is available on the BRM website for €4,900 or roughly $7,333.

Back in 2004, TAG Heuer unveiled the Monaco V4 Concept Watch to widespread exaltation. But at that time, insider speculation indicated that a commercial version would never be forthcoming. The watch was the world’s first featuring a belt driven transmission instead of the classic pinion and wheel movement. It also pioneered the use of linear mass (mounted on the smallest ball bearings ever made) instead of normal oscillating mass. Five long years later, on the eve of the company's 150th anniversary, TAG Heuer has unveiled the production version of the Monaco V4 Limited Edition.

In the world of motorsports, your image is only as good as your watch sponsor. Well, not exactly, but basically the better the racing team, the more prestigious the timepiece. Ferrari is matched up with Panerai, McLaren is with TAG Heuer and Williams is cozy with Oris. Brawn GP has been an amazing standout this year and is in the lead to grab the Formula One championship title. So if you are blitzing the rest of the field you absolutely must have a watch sponsor that sets you apart from the competition as well. But unfortunately, this team has a rather barren sponsorship list. However, all things come in good time. Enter a new partnership with Graham-London that lets Brawn GP show everyone that they have officially arrived.

If you keep up with motorsports, you may be familiar with Tudor Watch as a timing partner for Porsche. If not, its parent company, Rolex, is a household name and one of the world's premier luxe timepiece manufacturers.

Until recently, Tudor, featuring ETA movement and a pared down aesthetic, was a compromise for those who couldn't scrape up enough dough for a Rolex. Now, it looks like Rolex is taking its sister brand in a new direction with revamped product lines including the Hydronaut Series of water-sport watches that feature Rolex quality standards. 

First unveiled in concept form at BraselWorld 2008, one of the newest members of the TAG Heuer Grand CARRERA collection is the Calibre 36 RS Caliper Chronograph. This timepiece applauds the longstanding collaboration between TAG Heuer and legendary Japanese car designer Ken Okuyama, the driving force behind many outstanding GT cars such as the Ferrari Enzo and Maserati Quattroporte (while at Pininfarina), and more recently, under his own studio.

If you have seen the new Lamborghini Super Trofeo single-make racing series you know that Blancpain is its premier sponsor. Their livery, with large clock faces brandished on every hood and side panel, covers each and every car. So, it's no surprise that they have finally come out with a watch to celebrate this partnership, the Blancpain Super Trofeo Chronograph. Looking at the skin of the Lamborghini Gallardo racing cars you would expect Blancpain's new watch to be outlandish, but it is very low-key. In fact, besides the large numbers 9 and 12 on the face of the watch, which match the same style displayed on the cars, you probably wouldn't put two and two together.

The Rolex name obviously needs no introduction. Quality, fit and finish are top notch. Over the years, a great number of watchmakers have gotten involved in the automotive cross-marketing and race inspired luxury timepiece wars. And, for the most part, the execution across the board has been phenomenal. But the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona is still one must-have watch for any true collector. It's something about the back-to-basics steel band and casing, bright tachometer readouts and simple design that gives it an edgy, sporty look that never gets old.

1969 was an innovative year for the watch brand Heuer. Kicking of a trend that continues to this day, Heuer was the first watch company to sponsor a race car driver. That individual was none other than Swiss legend Jo Siffert. Heuer launched their Monaco edition in Geneva and New York in March of that year as well. The big square case, blue dial and red chronograph were particularly radical at the time. The guts of the watch shared the same progressive nature. The famous self-winding Chronomatic "Calibre 11," an ultra-exact chronograph movement with microrotor, a watch making first, was tucked inside.