Top racing watches for your collection

Both race cars and racing watches are powered by amazing machinery. A racing watch represents precision and accuracy, and they are not similar to other watches such as field and aviation watches. The TAG Heuer Aquaracer - the perfect watch for the racetrack is not bound by a ‘uniform,’ so their look tends to be more outgoing and flashier.

An excellent racing watch is defined by a chronograph and a tachymeter. If you are a racer, you know how important these features are. If not, you should know that one is a separate stopwatch function on a racing watch, while the other allows for speed calculations.

True watch enthusiasts would surely like to round up their collection by adding a pristine racing watch. If you’re not sure which watch deserves a place in your collection, keep reading. This article will provide guidelines for a perfect purchase.

Characteristics and Features

In 1902, the world witnessed the first races at the stretch of Daytona Beach in Florida. Sir Malcolm Campbell proved to be one of the most successful racers at that time while wearing a Rolex Oyster. Subsequently, Rolex came into a direct association with racing.

Other brands joined in the racing ventures, such as Omega, Chopard, and Graham. At the turn of the century, Heuer, now Tag Heuer, invented dashboard timers that became extremely popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Most racing watches incorporate high-contrast dial — necessary to tell time and read speeds at high speeds. As we mentioned, no racing watch is complete without a chronograph. A chronograph is a separate function that has two or three pushers at the 2 and 4 o’clock positions used to start, stop, and reset the second hand.

Tachymeter is essential to measure the number of seconds needed to reach a known distance, and it calculates set units per hour. Additionally, an angled case is essential because it allows racers to tell time without taking their hand off the wheel.

Collectible Racing Watches

Not all racing watches are worth your attention and money. But there are a few that made history and that you should consider if you’re building a timeless collection.

Rolex Daytona

The watch was created in 1963 after the famous Daytona races. It’s one of the most popular choices among races, especially because of its chronograph feature. The original versions are no longer in production, so the demand for them continually increases.

The 4130 self-winding chronograph calibre allows racers to measure time and traveling speed by using the tachymeter on the bezel.

Heuer Monaco

This watch is also known as the Steve McQueen Monaco. This Tag Heuer-produced watch is probably most popular thanks to Steve McQueen who wore it in the 1971 Le Mans. There are a few versions of this watch, with Calibre 11 having the most similarities with the original McQueen watch.

The case is quite distinctive because it’s square, unlike the usual round racing watches. The watch has Swiss automatic movement and chronographs, just as you’d expect.

Omega Speedmaster

Omega went above and beyond to create the ultimate racing watch unlike any other. The watch contains a 30-minute recorder, a 12-hour counter, and a small seconds sub-dial. You can expect the classic manually-wound mechanical calibre, as well.

It comes with an additional NATO strap to change the bracelet — that’s why it’s sometimes called the Moon Watch.