Racing legend Jacky Ickx wowed watch fans at a Sydney dinner with Chopard this week
Jamie WeissThe term ‘legend’ gets thrown around a lot when talking about athletes, but it’s a fair label for Jacky Ickx. One of the most versatile racing drivers of all time, Ickx’s career spans multiple motorsports categories – including Formula 1, where he twice finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship and won eight Grands Prix across 14 seasons; in endurance racing, where he won the World Endurance Championship twice, the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (hence his nickname, Mr. Le Mans) and the 12 Hours of Sebring twice; rallying, where he won the Paris–Dakar Rally in 1983; and even Australian touring cars, with the Belgian co-driving to victory with Allan Moffat at the 1977 Bathurst 1000 despite never having driven his car before.
At the age of 80, Jacky shows no signs of slowing down. Not only does he regularly contest the Mille Miglia Storica – which is where his connection with Chopard was born – but he even returned to Bathurst late last month to take Genesis’ X Gran Berlinetta Concept around the legendary Mount Panorama for its global racetrack debut. In between all of this, he found the time to join Chopard collectors and members of the horological press for dinner earlier this week to discuss his long-running relationship with Chopard, which has borne 7 limited edition signature models over the years.
Jacky explains that he’s no simple Chopard ambassador, but genuinely feels part of the family. He first met Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele at the 1989 Mille Miglia Storica (which Chopard supports), and in the years since, have become fast friends. Indeed, Jacky joked on the night that when he contests the Mille Miglia Storica with Karl-Friedrich, it’s the Chopard man who does most of the driving… Except for when the weather turns. It’s clear that the pair are thick as thieves, and their friendship’s strength is revealed in the quality of the collaborative watches that bear Jacky’s name.
Sometimes these sorts of events can be very sterile, but Jacky is an absolute pleasure to hear from. He discussed how making fine watches is a lot like running a motorsports team: “There’s so much going on behind the scenes by people who are just as passionate as you that you might never meet”. He even left us with some inspiring words: on being quizzed about his racing record by Supercars reporter Riana Crehan, he mused, “I’m not nostalgic about the past. I’m nostalgic about the people I shared my past with… I’m excited about the present and what the future has to offer.”
We hope that the future will see Jacky continue to burn rubber on track… As well as continue to produce some great Chopard watches. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Jamie and the Time+Tide Team
Watch meme of the week: vintage vexations
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Don’t forget obscure lug widths that you’ll never find a good strap for!
Wristshot of the week: one good Crash deserves another
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Roni Madhvani is one of the most prolific watch collectors in the game… And his IG is just as prolific. He shares sometimes dozens of posts almost every single day, showing off heat that most people can’t match even once a year. But he has a particular affinity for shaped watches, especially Cartiers and seemingly especially the Crash. Which would you prefer: white gold or yellow gold?
Time+Tide Shop pick of the week: Arcanaut ARC II
Arcanaut, the pan-Scandinavian watch brand founded in Copenhagen, is known for two things: its commitment to ergonomic design, and its experimentation with exotic dial materials. They’re perhaps best famous for their watches with dials made from fordite – an eclectic and visually stunning material that I’ve written a brief history of here. We have a limited range of the brand’s ARC II watches in our Discovery Studios right now, which feature modern, minimalist micro-blasted stainless steel cases with colourful integrated FKM rubber straps and exotic dials. The Arcanaut ARC II’s design is distinctly sci-fi, evoking Marc Newson’s works or Googie architecture. Under the hood, things are kept simple with a Soprod A10 automatic movement, which has a 42-hour power reserve and assists the ARC II’s 100-metre water-resistance rating.
A limited range of Arcanaut ARC II watches will be available for a limited time exclusively in-store at our Time+Tide Discovery Studios in London and Melbourne. Price: starting at A$7,040. Find out more here.
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
Anoma finally delivers its first model, the A1, with surprising results
It is one thing to exceed expectations when you open pre-orders for your first watch. It is another thing entirely to exceed expectations when those watches arrive in the metal in your trusting first customers’ hands. It is another thing again to have your first model ever arriving in the hands of some of the most wizened and prestigious watch collectors in the world. All three challenges have now been overcome by Matteo Violet-Vianello, founder of Anoma, who sat down with Andrew in a candid moment in the White Room of our new London Discovery Studio to reflect on his first weeks of feedback as the Anoma A1 reaches its highly discerning first cohort of customers. Read the write-up of that interview here.
Will Smith marks his award show return with a stunning vintage Universal Genève Polerouter
Though it’s unlikely as significant as the moment that forever etched Will Smith into the annals of meme history, the Fresh Prince’s Grammys 2025 appearance will undoubtedly be significant to watch nerds, with the superstar spotted wearing a 1950s Universal Genève Polerouter – a nice change of pace from the typical watches we’re used to seeing grace celebrity wrists at red carpet events. Borna has the deets here.
Grand Seiko debuts the Evolution 9 SLGH027 with a brand-new Mt. Iwate dial
The new Grand Seiko SLGH027 has an Ever-Brilliant Steel Evolution 9 case (the second ever), uses the 9SA5 high-beat automatic, is a limited edition, and debuts an entirely new dial pattern. Naturally, our resident Grand Seiko tragic Zach was excited to get hands-on with it. Watch his video review above, or read his written thoughts here.