There’s nothing new about watch and car pairings, but the truth is that most watches matched to vehicles are dizzyingly expensive, and perhaps the result of corporate brands looking to unite in search of deeper profits, rather than what I would consider a good fit for the personality of each.
But what if enthusiasts like us got to decide which cars and watches work best in tandem? In the spirit of fun, here are a few of my fantasy pairings …
The Uncle Monty
If you’ve seen the cult classic film Withnail and I, you’ll know who Uncle Monty is and why he’s the inspiration for this pairing, which might appeal to someone who: lives off investments; likes to drive around with cats in the back seat listening to Brahms or Tangerine Dream; has figs, cheese and Champagne for dinner; and is terrified by the idea of a supermarket. If this is someone you aspire to be, then all you need is $30,000 for a beautifully restored/maintained vintage Rolls or Bentley from eBay or Bring a Trailer and $1,095 for the limited-edition Breton watch from Bulova, which features an open caseback showcasing the Swiss-made 26-jewel automatic movement, the Joseph Bulova signature and a custom-designed rotor. A brown leather lizard-grain strap and curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating complete the look.
Can a car that costs as much as a house be worth the price tag? That’s the question prospective buyers of Rolls-Royce automobiles must ask themselves, and it’s not hyperbolic. The starting price for the British marque’s lineup is just north of $300,000, about the same as the median home price in the U.S.
Writers Simon Van Booy and Harvey Briggs didn’t set out to answer this question with their new book Rolls-Royce Motor Cars: Making a Legend. Instead, they wanted to invite the world into the halls of the first-name in vehicular opulence — and they succeeded, providing an exclusive look at the company’s home in Goodwood, never-before-seen archival materials, interviews with the artisans and engineers, and profiles of some of the most decadent vehicles to ever bear the Spirit of Ecstasy.
However, we posed that question to Van Booy and Briggs after they embedded themselves with the Rolls-Royce team, and they explained — from the paint to the engine to the “magic carpet ride” — why these cars are, in fact, worth the price of entry.
Paint Shop
“As I learned more about the bespoke car-building process, I wasn’t surprised that Rolls-Royce offered paint matching, or will send out potential colors to the locations where the cars will be driven, so clients can see how they work in the light before fully committing. However, I was shocked by how a vehicle can receive around 30 layers of paint while not exceeding half-a-millimeter in thickness, and that if anything is found in the paint, such as an eyelash, the process has to start again.” — Simon Van Booy
Air Suspension
“Before writing this book, Rolls-Royce let me borrow a Black Badge Dawn. Even though that vehicle has been tuned for a sophisticated fierceness, I still felt what’s called the ‘magic carpet ride,’ which if you’ve never experienced it is like floating naked in a fast river of warm butter. I’ve driven many luxury vehicles and have to say, in all fairness, no one beats Rolls-Royce when it comes to ride. How a machine that big can feel so light and nimble is something I still don’t understand.” — Van Booy
Woodwork
“Harvey and I spent a good deal of time in the Woodshop, and even visited the humidors where the woods are stored. What I found interesting was the grain matching, where the wood from a single tree is matched to give a mirror effect. The fact that wood changes shape with its environment is also taken into consideration. In my opinion, many modern cars I test drive seem plastic and cheap — even on some models from traditionally expensive brands. I think it’s a nice contrast to see beautifully worked wood and the latest automotive technology in the same cabin. Not many car manufacturers combine performance with old-world elegance.” — Van Booy
Starlight Headliner
“This is my daughter’s favorite part of the vehicle (she helped proofread the pages), especially now with shooting stars as a possibility, though I don’t think I’d have the patience to thread up to 1,600 fiber-optic cables, one at a time, through pre-made holes on a template. There’s something quite romantic about this part of the process, in how a client can have the night sky recreated in the Starlight Headliner from any date they wish. But it’s details like this which made me realize that a Rolls-Royce can represent something quite personal for the owner. In that way, it’s not just a tool, but rather an extension of one’s own experience, and something that’s kept for life, then passed on.” — Van Booy
Embroidery
“What amazed me about this stage was how often a client’s request results in some new embroidering technique being invented. I liked how the people in this department care what other professional embroiderers think of their work. In that way, each part of the process feels like it’s handled by a different guild of craftspeople, with enormous pride in what they do. Talking to the people who make these cars, it was very clear early on that although they are engineers and designers, they see themselves as artisans pursuing a vocation.” — Van Booy
Chassis and Drivetrain
“Walk onto the assembly floor and the first thing you notice is how quiet it is. I worked in GM factories when I was in college and was required to wear hearing protection. At Rolls-Royce there are no robots on the assembly floor, all the work is done by hand, even tightening the bolts that connect the body to the chassis. This hand work is quiet and precise. The people who work at these stations have the mentality of the craftspeople who work in leather, wood and paint. They are also obsessed with perfection.” — Harvey Briggs
Engine
“I once heard someone define luxury as ‘more than enough.’ That’s a perfect description of the hand-assembled 6.75-liter, twin turbocharged V12 engine that’s in every Rolls-Royce. Specifically tuned for use in each vehicle, the engine is the main reason the company describes the performance of its cars as effortless. What struck me as I saw this behemoth of an engine outside the car was just how artistically put together it is.” — Briggs
Preuf Cube
“Quality wasn’t always a strong point of Rolls-Royce cars. Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the lack of it is one of the factors that nearly drove the company into the ground. One of the big indicators for me that this had really changed is the Preuf Cube, a million-dollar, life-sized replica of the car that’s milled from a single block of pure aluminum. It’s used to test every part of the car before it goes into production and check parts when problems crop up in production. Between that and the lasers they use to measure in the testing center, I was really surprised at the sophistication of testing equipment deployed to ensure every car is as close to perfect as possible.” — Briggs
Noise Testing
“Customers expect their new Rolls-Royce to be quiet, but they probably don’t realize how much work goes into making sure that’s the case. It turns out it’s more than just adding sound insulation to the car. In fact, when road and engine noise is reduced it makes the job harder because the small squeaks and rattles are more easily heard — so they have to track down even smaller issues. One of the most interesting things I learned was it’s not just about removing noise, but tuning the sound that’s left over. In the new Ghost, they call it the ‘Ghost Note,’ and it’s a very specific frequency of sound to be more pleasing.” — Briggs
Water Testing
“Like seemingly everything in the Rolls-Royce manufacturing center, the water testing chamber is custom made to simulate all different types of rainfall, from gentle spring showers to the monsoons that regularly strike South Asia. Watching the Cullinan go through this process I started thinking about all the water that’s used and was pleased to discover they recycle it all, regularly testing its pH and treating it before the cycle begins again.” — Briggs
Spirit of Ecstasy
“While the Rolls-Royce manufacturing center at Goodwood is the very picture of a modern industrialism, the foundry where the Spirit of Ecstasy is made feels like stepping back in time. Watching them pour molten steel into the molds and feeling the heat from the 1,500-degree ovens, you gain a great appreciation for the history of the technique which dates back thousands of years. After she’s cast, but before she’s polished, the Spirit of Ecstasy is a beautiful matte gray with a feeling of raw silk. I only wish I would have been allowed to bring one home with me.” — Briggs
The Peter Pan
This is the perfect combo for someone in their late forties who is newly divorced with adult children and who has come to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth growing up. The only thing to do now is play out their childhood dreams with the help of a Casio watch and a 1988 limited-edition Chevrolet Corvette Callaway with only 14,000 miles on the clock. (This black diamond recently sold for $26,600 on eBay.)
There can be no other watch for this person than Casio’s highly underrated stainless-steel G-Shock DW5000C with the laser-engraved grid pattern, which retails for a staggering $800.
The King of Suburbia
This pairing is for the man who lives in the suburbs of a big city because he wants a garage, pool, pool house, patio, terrace, garden and a dog he doesn’t have to walk. This person has a serious wad of disposable income and a sense of style, but lacks the time for research or creative pursuits, and so is forced to rely on brands that almost always deliver the goods. The watch, a 39mm Rolex Cellini Moonphase (featuring a real sliver of meteorite), is a solid choice over the now over-subscribed dive and tool watches and comes in at $26,750.
The vehicle in this pairing is BMW’s 430i X-Drive Coupe in Portimao Blue Metallic at $51,950, which needs no introduction and looks way more expensive that it is.
The Progressive Modernist
You hug trees, love tech, own Bernie mittens and spend weekends in Montauk. Therefore you want a vehicle that boasts the quickest 0-60 mph time and quarter-mile acceleration of any production car ever, for which you’ll have to fork out $139,990 for a Tesla Model S Plaid with the tri-motor AWD that goes from 0-60 in less than 2 seconds and has a top speed of 200 mph, for when you have to make it to Whole Foods before it closes.
Your matching timepiece, for only $1,300, is the Hermès Apple watch. It connects to all your devices and features the latest Apple tech in a stainless-steel case polished to a mirror-like finish so you can actually see yourself at the wheel. Your Achilles heel, however, is the ‘Attelage Single Tour’ strap made from handcrafted leather which may raise some ethical concerns about the treatment of French cows.
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The Die-Hard Adventurer
You could have been in the Winter Olympics, but during your tryout you stopped your luge to rescue a disoriented migrating bird sliding around on the track. You live now only for weekend adventures, for which you are accompanied by your trusty $99.00 Casio G-Shock GA700-7A, which uses resin molding technology that makes it possible to form analog hands and a multi-dimensional dial. On the coldest winter days, you are that one person skimming along the freeway in your $33,000 white Jeep with the doors off, wearing some kind of World War II Arctic onesie that you bought from an army surplus store in Utica.
The Lush
You moisturize. Your sheets are silk. You make the perfect cocktail, and always smell amazing. If you had been in your prime decades ago, Blondie may have written a song about you. Whether in Southampton or Palm Beach, you always lunch at Sant Ambroeus, then hit the gym still wearing your classic quartz Cartier Tank Solo, which was ‘a gift’ from a mysterious older acquaintance and which currently retails for $2,610 (and will soon be replaced by the newer Tank Must), not that you would have looked up the price or anything.
The Mercedes W113 SL (a two-seater roadster manufactured from 1963 to 1971) you keep garaged in Greenpoint was your grandmother’s “fun” car, but today is worth somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000, as it’s in good enough condition to be your daily driver.
The Rookie
You’ve done well for yourself, but it’s early days, you want a cool car and can’t afford the Lambo on your calendar. While the Dodge Challenger GT AWD may only be around $35,000, something tells me it’s going to age nicely in your future four-car garage, especially if you get a color to match your watch.
Your watch pairing is the Swatch Futuristic Green, which retails for $115, and shows your style, your sense of fun and your financial wisdom for investing any spare money in your IRA.
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The Operator
For anyone who works on the front lines of anything, this jet-black Ford Ranger STX Special Edition Package is the business — especially when it comes in around $29,000, which is just a little more expensive than one of the watches in this guide.
Match it with the 40mm, PVD-coated Hamilton Khaki Field King, which for $695 is one of the best all-around automatic watches currently available for anyone who considers himself a bit of a badass.
The Noble Father
The new Land Rover Defender needs no introduction, chances are you either love or hate what has become automotive pornography for dads worldwide.
The timepiece Land Rover recently chose to promote is an interesting one, as it the watchmaker behind it has created pieces for the British Armed Forces, as well as the team at Mountain Rescue England and Wales. The Land Rover x Elliot Brown Holton Professional Watch is a bit of a mouthful, but I decided to include it because it does actually go with the Defender, plus it’s only approximately $575, and fairly decent in terms of looks and function. Like its automotive companion, this watch is a bit of a civilized tank. It can survive the impact of a 3kg stainless steel mallet imparting a force of around 5000G, while also being capable of a deep dive on account of the bolted-down compressor caseback system and triple-sealed crown. The sapphire crystal is attractive and virtually scratch-resistant, and while the Swiss quartz movement is almost certainly precise — one wonders if it wouldn’t have been better to upgrade the movement. This watch is so good-looking and on-brand with Land Rover that anyone paying $70,000 for a new Defender 110 would probably fork out another 500 bucks for an automatic.
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