Gears and Gaskets: Spotting Mechanical Icons on Wrist and Road at the Lime Rock Historic Festival 43
Each Labor Day weekend for the last 42 years, the quiet hillsides of Northwestern Connecticut boom to life with sounds from a bygone era as vintage engines triumphantly roar to life on the circuit. This year, the 43rd Historic Festival, was my first year joining the action. Now, Lime Rock is not just a celebration of motorsports’ golden era spent staring at showpiece collector cars from behind a velvet rope, but rather a gathering of people for whom mechanical beauty and intricacy hold enduring appeal.
David Von Bader with a late 1970s Heuer Montreal Ref. 750-503N
As such, I entered under the assumption that while lifting bonnets, wrenching on bolts, polishing headlights, and lubricating gaskets, there would be some level of horological enthusiasm slipping out from under the cuff. Walking from the hillside into the paddock, it was immediately clear that the connection between car culture and horology held true.
Breaking free from the distraction on track as the yellow pitbull 1965 Mini Cooper chased down a few vintage Porsches and BMWs, my eye snagged on a disk of gold glistening in the mechanics’ pit. There, wrenching away in a Jaguar mechanics jacket under a 1952 Jaguar XK120 propped up on stilts was James Alder from Reno, Nevada. Hands covered in grease, Jim was not gentle with the precious tool that slipped in and out of his cuff as he reached for engine fittings, trying to diagnose his firing problems. On his wrist sat a vintage Breitling Premier Chronograph from the 1940s that he spent the time to source specifically because it is the type of watch the original owner would have owned and worn. Jim always wears the watch while driving and working on his Jaguar race car, despite it being a potentially dirty and destructive environment for a vintage watch. Serviced two years ago, the Premier Chronograph still runs fantastically and finds itself right at home in the mechanics bay and eventually out on the track, and Jim throws the vintage car around the track while the chronograph hand ticks away, keeping track of lap times.
James Alder with a vintage Breitling Premier Chronograph
Stories like this continued to surface as I explored the historic grounds at Lime Rock, peeking inside mechanics pits, leering inside of show car tents, and walking along rows of enthusiasts proudly displaying their cars.
Ayrton Cinco with a vintage TAG Heuer Formula 1
There is a rhythm between classic cars and wrist watches. A tactile appreciation of something worn in rather than worn out, that as time goes on feels less crucial yet somehow more important. In environments such as this, you will find a connected throughline of appreciation and passion as certain enthusiasts find themselves comfortably stuck in eras that align with the idyllic image of a perfect weekend. Just as those hovering over vintage racecars with large engine bays holding more gaps than actual parts tend to favor carburetors over computers, their watches favor patina over polish. On the other end of the spectrum, fitted with more modern wiring for better performance, the more modern cars also seem to find company with more modern watches, such as Bill sporting his well-worn Seiko ‘Arnie’. The ani-digi approach, similar to the mid-’90s Porsche 944 he drove to display on Sunday, Bill sees them both as mid-level fun luxuries well suited for a general contractor like himself who enjoys action movie thrill-seeking moments but still needs a bit of reliability and more affordable parts.
What is even more fascinating to me is the unspoken connection in mechanical appreciation. Conversation can naturally drift between engine components and braking force to movement calibers and Seiko references. While the idea of blended enthusiasm is not new, and it has long been known that watch and car enthusiasts have a certain degree of overlap, it can really put your mind at ease in a new setting to find yourself quickly among like-minded friends equally ready to dive deep down the rabbit hole of fine mechanical components. Sure, it might be that we have a common interest in tinkering and learning, but really, we seem to have a deeper appreciation for the simplicity of passion and learning. I firmly believe that the best thing you can spend your time doing is conversing with someone passionate about any given topic, and let me tell you, my weekend was filled with them.
Devin Pennypacker with a Baltic Scalegraph Panda Dial
Jayme Bryson with a Swatch Scubaqua
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