If there’s one place where a watch remains essential — and not just an ornament to your good taste and/or extreme wealth — it’s the driver’s seat.
Because nowhere in the manual does it say “keep your hands at 10 and 2 — except when you need to read an email, take a call or scroll through your Instagram feed.”
And of all the watches that a motorist can wear, this just might be the most situationally appropriate.
Autodromo, the ever-handsome watch and accessories maker inspired by the golden age of motoring, just released a new model to celebrate their fifth birthday: the Monoposto Chronograph Automatic.
When they launched in 2012, the New York-based company released the original Monoposto Automatic (literally translating as “single seat”) as a show of homage to the simpler era of Grand Prix racing, when the only intel a driver had was a few oversized dials and his own knowledge of the car he was seated in and the two-lane blacktop laid out in front of him. The make sold out lightning fast, prompting the idea for its re-release in automatic form — a first for Autodromo.
“I wanted to do something special for all of the Autodromo collectors and fans who missed out on the original watch,” says brand founder Bradley Price. “I couldn’t just reissue the watch the way it was. I had to do something even more special and break new ground for Autodromo with the introduction of a mechanical chronograph. I also refined every aspect of the watch while trying to preserve what people loved about the original design.”
It’s slightly thicker than the original to accommodate the Seiko NE88 column wheel chronograph movement beating within, but still pays tribute to the track days of yesteryear in its details. Take the red line just above the 10-hour mark: back before cars had engine cutoffs, that marking appeared on the odometer to remind the driver where the end of the range was.
The Monoposto comes in three colorways — silver and black with a limited run of 200 each and a blue-on-yellow Azzuro with a limited run of 100 pieces. The design is clean and straightforward, much like pre-war racing itself.
Each ticker will set you back $1,800, and they’re likely to sell out (again) in record-shattering time.
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