Top 10 Ultimate Watches For Petrolheads

Image © Autodromo

James May once wrote that the people who believe a watch is "just for telling the time", tend to also be the ones who believe a car is "simply for getting from A to B". And he's right, naturally. An exquisitely engineered Rolex is no better at telling the time than a Quartz Timex - in much the same way a Bugatti Veyron is about as much use in day-to-day traffic as a Suzuki Alto - but the Rolex is vastly more satisfying to own, wear and operate.

With their microscopic levers and gears, not to mention their aesthetic appeal, mechanical watches are fantastic things to behold. Such mechanical intricacy is likely a key reason car-lovers are often watch-lovers, too.

Here are five of the best drivers' watches that you can buy for less than £500, plus a few for your lottery-win shopping list...

5. Citizen Perpetual Chrono AT: £299

Allegedly the "most accurate watch in the world", Citizen's Perpetual Chrono AT series boasts the watchmaker's "Eco-Drive" tech', a radio-controlled date window and "atomic timekeeping" - whatever that is. Bonus - it looks great, especially with the black leather strap (pictured).

4. Swatch Noho Time: £120

Cheap, yes, but perfectly formed. Black, with yellow detailing and leather strap, the oddly-named "Noho Time" is reminiscent of dials and gauges from years gone by. Did I mention it's really cheap, and Swiss-made? It's a no brainer.

3. Tissot PRS 516: £320

With "motorsport inspired origins", the PRS 516 is our favourite chronometer for under £500. Its mechanical counterpart is a hefty £925 and aesthetically almost identical, but entirely worth the price increase as "the movement can be seen in action through the distinctive case back shaped like the steering wheel of a pioneering sports car".

2. Shinola Runwell 40mm: $550 (£358)

The Runwell is made in Detroit, using Swiss parts and leather from America's oldest working tanner. Shinola is attempting to recapture Detroit's manufacturing heritage, and establish the city as a centre for quality. Admirable intensions, then. And the watches are gorgeous, which helps...

1. Autodromo Vallelunga: $465 (£303)

A deserved winner. Designed to mimic the gauges and dials of old Alfa Romeos, every Autodromo watch is a glorious sight to behold. The Vallelunga is inspired by "racing tachometers used in many Italian Prototype and Grand Prix racing cars of late 1960s and early 1970s". Big want.

Money No Object

5. Chopard Mille Miglia 2013 Edition: $21,000 (£13,700)

"A nod to the design of legendary racing cars," this limited-edition Chopard celebrates the annual Mille Miglia Rally (think Mongol Rally, but better in every way). Its black rubber strap boasts a tyre-tread pattern, and its case is 18ct rose gold.

4. Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow Co-Axial Chrono: $10,000 (£6500)

First released in 1957, a Speedmaster was the first watch on the moon, and has since been part of all six lunar missions. A timeless classic if ever there was one, and still hugely desirable to boot. And it's an Omega - so JAMES BOND WEARS ONE (albeit a Seamaster). Reason enough to drop a few grand, surely.

3. Rolex Cosmograph Daytona: £20k

Celebrating its 50th birthday this year, the Daytona was designed specifically with endurance racers in mind. With fewer parts than a traditional chronograph, the Daytona is allegedly more reliable. Its tachymetric bezel "allows drivers to perfectly measure average speeds up to 400 kilometres or miles per hour, as they choose".

2. Jaeger Le Coultre AMVOX5 World Chrono: $17,000 (£11,100)

The only watch in our countdown associated with a specific carmaker - the AMVOX5 is inspired by Aston Martin's LMP1 endurance racers, such as the B09/60. With its orange detailing and perforated strap, the AMVOX5 is refreshingly different from the other watches in our list. Good.

1. Tag Heuer GC RS2: £5650

Allegedly "inspired by GT race-car engine design", the RS2 Grand Carrera is our favourite watch-of-the-moment (it changes every week, you see). The traditional chronometer dials have been replaced with rotating discs, and the titanium case is coated in "titanium carbide". Because science.