GrandPrix

Cost cutting is "in" for watch makers as profits are down, and making new and complex mechanical movements is a practice that is frowned upon. So watch makers get creative, and this is typically good news for consumers. Take for example this interesting new watch that I like from Chopard. Model is the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Time Attack MF. The watch is the first digital LCD screen I have ever seen on a racing watch from the brand - it is also one of the few or only watches in this line to have a Swiss quartz movement. I like how they combine "historic" and LCD panels. Styling is simple yet very satisfying. The 42.5mm wide steel case has has a nicely rendered style and the dial is extremely easy to read and live with. The negative color LCD screen makes operating a series of functions such as a chronograph, alarms, second timezone, calendar, and countdown timer easy. The screen looks to be of a high quality so it won't look like you are wearing some odd Frankenstein replica watch. Actually the movement is likely to be a thermo-compensated quartz, because it is certified as a COSC Chronometer - which has special requirements for quartz watches in terms of accuracy and giving them such certification.

I love the retro styling of the watch as well. The portholes in the leather strap as well as the thinner lugs and tachymeter style on the bezel all have a 1970s feel to them. Some people are no doubt going to complain that you shouldn't have to pay Chopard prices for a quartz watch - but the brand is worth something, and their ability to design a nice watch is worth more. Plus, like I said above, the price of this watch is likely to be less than mechanical watches due to the type of movement. Overall I like that watch. It may not be the perfect Chopard racing watch for all people, but it will be the perfect one for enough people.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

I recently spoke about Arnold Schwarzenegger visiting a Franck Muller store. He might have gone in to check out a watch such as this. Right out of a financially troubled Franck Muller comes this beast of a luxury timepiece. I've never seen anything like it from the brand, and this Conquistador Singapore Grand Prix watch certainly is aimed at one of the few places right now where you can bet on luxury watch sales still taking place.

There are other versions of this new style Conquistador watch. The dramatic colors and design are what really get me. It is like Franck Muller is targeting Roger Dubuis in some odd manner it seems with these "talk to me designs." This particular watch looks like a perfect compliment to Batman's The Joker attire. Don't you think?

Case comes in two forms. Either titanium and ergal (a type of aluminum alloy - think the red color on the watch case) or titanium and 18k rose gold. Size is 48mm wide by 62mm tall, and 14mm thick. Front and rear crystal is sapphire, of course. Inside the "statement rich" timepiece is an automatic Franck Muller FM caliber 7000 chronograph movement. Notable is the high level of decoration and platinum automatic rotor in the movement. The watch is limited to 80 pieces in the titanium and ergal, and 80 pieces in the titanium and gold.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

The correlations between high-performance racing machines and high-precision timepieces hardly need any elaboration, and the examples are plenty. It seems every premium automaker and every top-tier racing team has its own line of watches, usually crafted by Switzerland's finest watchmakers. And now Brawn GP has joined the fold.

If you haven't heard of Brawn GP, it's been a while since you've watched a grand prix. The team – headed by strategic mastermind Ross Brawn – that took over when Honda packed up and left Formula One racing last year is leading the world championship with only two rounds to go. But they've run most of the season without the sort of multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals you'd expect of the rookie race winners. At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this year, however, the team announced a new deal with Anglo-Swiss watchmakers Graham-London, which lays claim to the first chronograph in timekeeping history. Graham has debuted a small line of timepieces custom made for the team, including the Chronofighter and the Silverstone, featuring Brawn GP's signature colors and individually numbered. Only 250 will be made, so you'd better be faster than a Brawn racer to get your hands on one.

Swiss watchmaker JeanRichard is debuting a new line of timepieces honoring the great Italian motorcycle racing champion Giacomo Agostini, known as Ago. The new collection, For Ago, stems from JeanRichard's partnership with the famous Italian motorbike brand MV Agusta, for which Agostini rode. The multi-time world champion motorcycle racer is the all-time leader in victories in motorcycle Grand Prix history. The first piece in the collection is the Bressel 1665 Chronograph Rattrapante Foudroyante Ago (above). Produced in a limited edition of only 50 pieces, with a silver or black dial, its case is crafted in palladium, a precious metal that is part of the platinum family. The watch, presented on a vintage-look brown strap, is fitted with an automatic winding mechanical movement visible through a transparent case-back displaying Ago's signature. JeanRichard also produces a collection of MV Agusta-branded timepieces.