Cars and calibers, moms and dads

I remember once before Father’s Day when I was working quite hard to try and think of something for my dad.

I was then studying  outside the country, and all that my parents had done to push me was really becoming clearer than ever for me. I settled for an antique marine pocket watch which I found in a ship’s chandler in Baltimore.

Ship’s chandlers are generally those that supply whatever vessels need whenever they come to port, and this one handled not only modern stuff but also the more classic and historic pieces.

My father was always working on things whenever he had the time, which wasn’t often given the levels of responsibility he took upon himself.

I remember him teaching me how to drive, and I remember breaking his watch and clock. On the driving side, he taught me how to properly shift a manual transmission, which he and I practiced  in a Dodge Colt on an empty parade field. I would try to be careful and show proper responsibility, but after a while he would tell me to start going faster. Those words resonated ever since. Interestingly, his own father spent quite some time trying to convince me that slow speeds on a bicycle required more skill.

On the watch side, I took apart his clock and his watch. And I couldn’t put either one back together. He didn’t really get mad at this; after all, he was trained  as an engineer (among other things) and he had an entire machine workshop at  the back of our house. As he got busier and I grew up, we didn’t have that much time to spend together. Even when he was away, though, the car and watch connection would be present, such as pictures of a Porsche parked by their hotel in Europe or Tamiya models from Japan.

As a father yourself, you usually see that the time you spent looking for gifts was rather comical, because you are probably the best gift a father could have. Having said that, the thoughtfulness that goes with a present will always be appreciated, most especially if it revolves around something you both love and enjoy. As a car guy and watch geek, I am often asked about proper gifts for people. Not cars necessarily (though that does happen more often than you would think), but car guy stuff and watches for car nuts.

Chad McQueen shows off his original Tag Heuer Monaco.

There are many watches that connect themselves to cars and racing and such, that’s an easy answer. There are those watches, though, that have true history on track, and those are the real fun ones. Plus, because they have a history, you have a wide range of pieces to choose from, from vintage all the way to current. You also have straps, books, boxes and such to look into if you so desire.

For a car geek dad from many years ago, the FCC parts shop on Ortigas Avenue was a great place for wishful thinking. You could get fog lights, carburetor jets, just about anything. You could also buy watches, because Heuer the watch company was so entrenched in the motor racing world that you would find its pieces in speed shops more than jewelry boutiques. The modern TAG Heuer watches are available in many forms, my favorite of which is the square Monaco. But you can choose to go deep into history by buying vintage. Check out Unique Bisyo in Makati Cinema Square, Grey Market in Cubao, and such. Start hanging out and chatting and soon all kinds of cool old stuff will start appearing. You can look for books on watches and racing and both; Fully Booked has a pretty great selection.

Another classic-car-guy watch is, what else but, the Rolex Daytona Chronograph. You can buy new, and know you will have something that isn’t all that easy to get as it is. You can go vintage and be shocked by how much more old pieces will cost than new ones. There are books written about this watch and all the models in the family, so there is a serious following and a whole lot to learn. Do your homework, because in this market there is a lot more precious than just precious metal. Steel pieces can be more rare and more coveted than gold.

There are watch brands that have a longstanding connection with motorsports than what you would think is mere marketing. Chopard is known for very glamorous and luxurious jewelry, but it supported racing for decades because the owners themselves race, and their tie-ups predate the now-commonplace marketing campaigns. It not only supports the Mille Miglia, copresident Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (the Scheufele family owns Chopard) runs his vintage Porsche in it. Its motorsports heritage is personal and deep that it is able to produce its own  pieces in-house and its jewelry expertise means that its finishing is on par with the best in the business. Another watch and jewelry company head with fuel in his veins is Philippe Charriol, who I first met when he described what it was like to roll his Mitsubishi Evo on a Swiss mountain road in the snow. He races a prototype racecar with a monster engine that is one of the scariest track machines I have ever driven.

Many watch companies have connections to racing, to drivers, to teams or to car companies, so you have a wide array of which to choose from. Breitling has been working with Bentley for a few years on specialty pieces, Oris works with both Williams F1 and Audi motorsports and has a great vintage-type watch named the Chronoris. Omega ran several years of Michael Schumacher watches. Orient Watch has a tie-up with STi, which always brings excitement to those Subaru racing fans who can actually get their hands on their products. TW Steel has multiple direct connections with all sorts of racing personalities. Basically, you have your choice anywhere on the price, style and complication scales.

One thing to keep in mind: In something to give your dad or your mom, don’t look at these watches or books or straps or cars as the end of your search. Think of them as the beginning of your journey. A plastic model of the sedan he drove as a kid, or a racecar he would remember, or a remote control car he can run with his grandkids. Or a trip with you to the shop to learn together. After over a decade of writing about all this stuff and a lifetime of loving them all, we do know this: It isn’t about the things, it’s about the passion and sharing it.

Happy Father’s Day.