Jaguar Land Rover and British watchmaker Bremont have designed two new watches to celebrate the iconic design of the E-Type.
The MkI and MkII watches come after the two companies agreed to develop six chronometers to complement each of the six ‘missing’ lightweight E-Types being built by the carmaker’s special operations team.
Jaguar set out in 1963 to build 18 lightweight examples of the E-Type but only completed 12, of which 11 are believed to survive today. The six new models will be given the chassis numbers of the cars that never saw the light of day.
(• See ‘Jaguar to build the six ‘missing’ lightweight E-Types from 1963’)
Jaguar’s design director Ian Callum and the creative team at Bremont selected the E-Type dashboard as inspiration for the look of the new MkI and MkII watches which, unlike the six honouring the missing E-Types, will continue to be made.
Said Callum: “The result is a pair of watches which subtly relay some of the codes of the E-type, but which are also easy to recognise as having been created with the car in mind. They simply look absolutely right when you wear them in the driving seat – almost as if they had been designed alongside the car back in the ‘60s.”
The MkI responds to the call for a more accessible version of the original ‘Lightweight’ limited-edition watch by reproducing many of its design features, but eschews the white gold and aluminium of the Lightweight’s case for a slimmer version finished in polished stainless steel.
The MkII celebrates the golden era of 1960s sports car motoring, its black dial carrying the Jaguar heritage logo above the six o’clock position and its hour markings presented in the style of the numerals found on E-type instruments.
The 43mm, stainless steel case – which is fitted with a domed crystal to enhance the vintage appearance of the watch – is made entirely in Britain by Bremont.
MkI and MkII watches will be supplied with a perforated ‘racing’ strap in true ‘60s style, together with a traditional leather spare.
TV adventurer and author Bear Grylls has also worked with Jaguar Land Rover and Bremont. Grylls is a Land Rover ambassador and has endorsed Bremont for some years.
He wore a Bremont ALT1-Pilot chronometer when he joined the Land Rover Discovery team on the 2013 journey from Birmingham through the fabled Silk Road to India.