Watch These Heart-Racing Collaborations

Within weeks of one another, Tag Heuer, Girard-Perregaux and Richard Mille have announced new notable partnerships with luxury automotive brands.

- Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle

The love for mechanical watches and cars often go hand in hand. Performance, precision, complex engines, material innovation, new technologies and the pursuit of excellence. The similarities are endless and horological brands are rarely without a carmaker or racing team by their side.

Not a new phenomenon, the two industries have a long history of collaboration. Arising out of necessity, watchmakers first began working with car manufacturers to supply dashboard clocks. This evolved into partnering with motor racing teams as official timekeepers, and automotive timepieces eventually became an accepted part of watch companies’ marketing strategies.

Rolex is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest motorsports sponsors, having partnered Formula 1, the Monaco Grand Prix, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Its iconic Cosmograph Daytona is named after the legendary speedway in Florida.

However, not all pairings are meant to last, enduring for only as long as they serve both parties’ interests. In 2015, Tag Heuer and McLaren concluded their 30-year partnership, one of the longest tie-ups in Formula 1 history. Parmigiani Fleurier became the official partner of Bugatti in 2004, and they mutually ended their collaboration 15 years later. Jaeger-LeCoultre, Aston Martin’s official watch brand since 2004, parted ways in 2016 when Richard Mille took over for two years before passing on the baton to Tag Heuer in 2018. Hublot’s partnership with Ferrari quietly came to an end last December after a 10-year run.