Heuer

The relationship between Ferrari & Heuer runs deep, and was official from 1971 to 1978.  This manifested itself in the form of several special models over the years. Jack Heuer, ever the enterprising mastermind, can be seen presenting a gift-wrapped Heuer to Enzo Ferrari as a means of solidifying the partnership between Maranello and Heuer. 

Interestingly, over the span of those 7 years, there were not many ‘Ferrari’ branded watches – the present example being a very notable exception. The 1970s were a well known as challenging time for the Swiss watch industry as the advent of quartz technology became prevalent – but that did not mean that the Swiss did not innovate in quartz timekeeping. The Chronosplit was Heuer’s attempt at making a highly accurate split-seconds chronograph powered by two quartz movements allowing for simultaneous timing of two events. This idea follows their stated mission for accuracy in timekeeping and motorsport – and the Chronosplit was a very expensive watch. It should come as no surprise then, that Ferrari elected to make a special edition of the Chronosplit that would be made available to VIPs of the brand, removing the word ‘Chronosplit’ for the prancing horse – or cavallino rampante – and moving the Heuer logo down to make room for the Ferrari logo. According to some estimates, there were only 200 Ferrari examples produced. 

So who were the VIPs worthy of these watches? 

In this case, the present watch belonged to none other than Phil Hill. One of the most accomplished racing drivers of all times, he is the only American born driver to ever with a Formula 1 World Championship, doing so in 1961 with Ferrari. Hill was a near unstoppable driver racking up wins behind some of the most legendary Ferraris of all time during the most important races of all-time. Hill became first driver to win the ‘Triple Crown’ of Endurance racing by winning the 24 Hours of LeMans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and 12 Hours of Sebring (which was accomplished behind the wheel of a 250 GTO in 1964 – for added flair) After leaving Ferrari, Hill went on to race the Ford GT40s for Caroll Shelby, Aston Martin’s for David Brown, and Chaparral’s for the pioneering automotive duo of Sharp & Hall. However, it was Ferrari that was always his first love. In his later years, he opened an incredibly important automotive restoration shop – Hill & Vaughn – and judged the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance no less than 40 times. For a man where motorsport was so engrained in his blood, it should come as no surprised that he would have been the owner of such a special timepiece from Ferrari. The present watch is accompanied by a letter of provenance of Derek Hill, Phil’s son, and is complete with it’s boxes and booklets. A true champion of motorsport.