Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/835995
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALESSIO LIN (SPEEDING CAR) Automobile enthusiasts' tight bond with timepieces dates to the earliest days of motor sports. Drivers would strap big, bulky pocket watches to their wrists to measure timing and speed, either while maneuvering new race tracks or hitting a straightaway on a dusty back road. But as car and timepiece technologies both advanced, drivers began looking to watch- makers for pieces that met their specific needs. Watch brands not only responded to this call but drew from it, with auto-design inspiration informing some of history's most highly engineered and iconic pieces. (In many instances, watchmakers teamed up with specific automakers, racing teams, or races to create ticking tributes to them.) Some of the world's most illustrious brands have revisited this racing tradition for summer, debuting exceptional timepieces that double as copilots for when the need for speed strikes. For more watch features and expanded coverage go to michigan avemag.com/watches- and-jewelry. . THIS SEASON, THE BEST OF AUTO-INSPIRED AND RACING WATCHES HIT THE OPEN ROAD WITH SPEED AND STYLE. BY ALDOUS TUCK TRACK TIME CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Baume & Mercier unveiled the Clifton Club Shelby Cobra 1964 ($4,450) at this year's SIHH in honor of Peter Brock, Ken Miles, Carroll Shelby, and the Shelby Racing Team, who designed and built the first American car to win its class at Le Mans, in 1964. The watch features an automatic Valijoux 7750 movement, a polished and satin-finished stainless steel case, and a sun-satin- finished Daytona blue dial engraved with the piece's number—out of a limited edition of 1964. Marshall Pierce & Company, 960 N. Michigan Ave., 312-642-4299; baume-et- mercier.com Rolex debuted the first Cosmograph Daytona in 1963 to satisfy the demands of professional drivers. This Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona in 18-carat white gold ($28,800), introduced this year at Baselworld, continues that auto- motive tradition with a self-winding mechanical chronograph movement powered by a 4130 Manufacture Rolex calibre. The watch has a 72-hour power reserve and is waterproof to 100 meters. James & Sons Fine Jewelers, 1457 N. Halsted St., 773-327-8800; rolex.com The RM 11-03 Automatic Flyback Chronograph by Richard Mille ($115,000) is inspired by materials used to build Formula One cars. The Grade 5 titanium crown borrows the design of competition wheel rims and tire treads, while the grooved pushers, coated in NTPT carbon, recall pedals. The watch features a new RMAC3 automatic calibre with a flyback chronograph movement, as well as a 55-hour power reserve. Geneva Seal, 112 E. Oak St., 312- 944-3100; richardmille.com Created to celebrate the new Continental Supersports, the fastest Bentleys ever built, the Breitling for Bentley Supersports B55 ($7,785), created in a limited edition of 500, made its debut at this spring's Baselworld. The sporty chronograph features an ultralight titanium case and carbon fiber dial, as well as a connected movement with myriad motorsport functions that can connect to the user's smartphone. Razny Jewelers, 109 E. Oak St., 312-663-8500; breitling.com AUTO-DESIGN INSPIRATION INFORMS SOME OF HISTORY'S MOST ICONIC PIECES. 96 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM STYLE TIME HONORED