Tag Heuer 1500 series WD1211-K-21

One hertz. That's your average quartz watch, ticking away once per second. Tick, tick, tick. A vintage mechanical watch at 18,000vph ticks at two-and-a-half hertz. The modern equivalent beats at 28,800 times per minute, that's four hertz. Zenith's superb El Primero, a hi-beat movement at 36,000vph—five hertz for that one. This TAG Heuer Carrera Mikrograph? Fifty hertz. That's one hundred beats every second. 360,000 per hour. Phew!

Peaches and cream. Fish and chips. Cars and watches. These are all things that have gone together beautifully since time immemorial, such perfect combinations that they could be used as a legitimate argument to prove the existence of God. But none so much as the pairing of Audemars Piguet and Maserati. 'But what about TAG Heuer and McLaren?' you are no doubt saying, 'What about Jaeger-LeCoultre and Aston Martin?' Those are fine examples of automotive-watchmaking collaborations, but they don’t quite share the same bond as Audemars Piguet and Maserati. Got no idea what all this is about? Read on.

In light of news that former Zenith CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour - the man who turned Zenith around following some less prosperous times (and pieces) - has moved to the captain's chair at Rolex has sprouted a certain nostalgic desire to dig out one of Zenith's transcendent pieces, the Ultra Thin. The Ultra Thin is, second to the El Primero itself, a bedrock for Zenith, a steady pulse in times both good and bad. Inspired by the clean vintage look popular for most of the twentieth century, it leaves the clutter of modern design behind in favour of saying few words, but choosing them well.

Say 'Audemars Piguet' and the first thing that comes to mind is the Royal Oak - or if you own a pair of faded jeans, the Royal Oak Offshore. As is well-documented, the Royal Oak was Audemars Piguet's final lifeline, its saviour from the onslaught of cheap Japanese watches in the early 1970s. Fairly or unfairly, it has become the brand's flagship piece, an iconic design penned by an iconic designer for the iconic watchmaker.