BMW Williams F1 Watch

Today's watch is another of my many watches which commemorates an event, and this one is associated with Formula 1 Motor Racing.

This watch was made for BMW (with a copyright to BMW AG), and commemorates the start of their partnership with the Williams F1 team in 2000. BMW had been major players up to the 1980s, but pulled out in 1989 at the end of the turbocharger era. In 2000, they came back to partner the Williams team who are probably most known for their Williams Renault era in the early 90s when they won the World Championship. The partnership were on the podium in their first race, but the partnership wasn't as successful as hoped and finished in 2005.

The watch is an LCD model with a red display which is slightly angled (up to the right). The LCD is a two line design which normally shows day and date at the top and the time (in 6 digits) below. It is a typical sports watch in terms of modes, with the watch having chronograph, timer, alarm, and dual time options. When the modes are changed, the top line shows text describing the mode before the mode itself is shown.

The case on the watch is an unusual design, but I can't decide whether it is meant to look like a helmet or the nose of an F1 car (or a combination of the two). The strap is thick and rubbery with a wavy pattern along the front. There is the usual information on the back, showing it is all stainless steel, and has a 5 atm water resistance (suggesting it is a European model). There is also an F1 logo and the name BMW.WilliamsF1 Team (with that spacing), along with the phrase "it's a fast world".

Jacques Lemans Formula 1 Watch F5007

When buying watches, I often end up with nice watches that are in need of repair. Today's watch had a broken strap so had been got rid of in a pile of junk watches, but I've managed to fix it and can wear it for my blog.

The watch is by Jacques Lemans, and is part of the F1 (Formula 1) range. Jacques Lemans is an Austrian brand, with manufacturing in Switzerland and China. The company was started in 1975, and the brand was launched in 1983. In 2006 they got the official Formula1 licence and released the Jacques Lemans Sports Formula1 range, and they are the only brand allowed to use the F1 logo.

This model is the F5007, and is an Alarm Chronograph watch. It has a 3 hand dial, but the seconds hand is part of the chronograph and the actual seconds hand is on a small dial at the 9 o'clock position. The other part of the chronograph is the minutes dial which is at the 12 o'clock position, and these are operated with the two buttons on the right side of the case. The bottom dial (at the 6 o'clock position) is the alarm setting, and is set using the chronograph buttons when the crown is pulled out.

It has a solid feeling stainless steel design, with a tachymeter bezel around the glass. The strap is also stainless steel and has a double clasp for security, with the Jacques Lemans and F1 logos on. The back shows it is 10 atm water resistant, and gives the model number.

The F5007 model doesn't seem available anymore, but can't be earlier then 2006, so I'd guess it came out in the late 2000s.