What defines a drive? Is it the purpose? No, it can’t be—the best motoring experiences are often those that are aimless, purely indulgent, lacking any sense of plan let alone a destination. There’s an ephemeral quality to the adventures that get stuck in our memories then, a sort of accidental recipe of time and place and company that resists recreation no matter how much we try. We find ourselves in the middle of bliss without planning for it; the evening excursion to the coast, the early morning blast down the backroads that follows a restless night, the almost flippant decision to simply start a car and let it do its job, choosing the course as it comes to you. Setting alarms and rushing out the door to adhere to them is stifling.
Time and driving are inherently linked in this sense, but the relationship doesn’t break down when things become more precise. This is why we time competition down to the slimmest fractions while tossing out the very concept of a schedule when operating a car for the sake of it; time doesn’t need to be locked into either end of this spectrum though, as it is both a means of keeping track and losing it, depending on the occasion.
Jaeger-LeCoultre understands and embodies this relationship like few of its peers can. A legacy of Swiss-made quality both on the dash and on the wrist means the precision is there should you seek it, but an enduring celebration of the aesthetics allows for a less regimented enjoyment of the same instruments. In honor of their deep horological and automotive history, they’ve introduced a new version of their Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris wristwatch, at once classically styled and faithful to the original while updated and enhanced in the form of a dual register chronograph.
Any great driving watch deserves to be paired with a worthy automobile, and in this case it is a rarity from Spain: a 1955 Pegaso Z-102. The drive is not something you’d set to a clock, but it’s difficult to think of a better way to spend time than exploring the scribbles of mountain roads above Madrid in the village of Zarzalejo. At once rooted in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s storied past and updated for the moment and the future yet to arrive, the Jaeger-LeCoultre 2018 Polaris Chronograph is the perfect partner for the perfect drive, whatever form it takes.
