#TBT Racing Legends Jim Clark And Stirling Moss Wearing Enicar Watches
Having past ambassadors who became icons in their fields of activity is priceless. Some of these connections are real, and some are more of a wish. It’s important to navigate through tons of lies and fairytales made up to boost the value of vintage watches and just stick to the facts. Jim Clark or Stirling Moss wore vintage Enicar watches. And that’s a fact.
I keep wondering whether 50 or 60 years from now, people will get excited about the fact that Roger Federer wore Rolex watches. Will my kids or the kids of my kids be studying old pictures to recognize what Omega watch George Clooney was wearing to the Oscars?
The beauty of an era
Well, I believe current brand ambassadors won’t be as exciting for future generations as past ambassadors are for us. The reason to think that is simple. Today, everything is recorded and discussed already, and all of that is easily traceable online. The magic of our era is that digging up past ambassadors often requires a lot of fieldwork. You can imagine the extensive effort devoted enthusiasts must devote to unearth people close to the past heroes or events related to them.
Long-shot searches
Plenty of resources are not cataloged. That’s why enthusiasts buy a lot of old magazines or check local club archives in person. It’s a time- and money-consuming activity, I can tell you. To proceed with Gallet research, I often spend €20–30 for a heavy catalog just to get one page from it. Also, to succeed, I need to have a friend in the US who can collect it for me and send me scans of the page. Otherwise, I would pay double to ship it to Europe (hello and thank you, Wayne). Do that enough times, and you’re at €500, a budget that could buy you a pretty decent vintage watch.
The man, the legend
When it comes to racing, there is one name and one nickname everyone wishes to be associated with. Jim Clark was the legendary Scottish Formula One driver who won the Championship title. At the time of his tragic death, he held the record for most wins, pole positions, and fastest laps. His “Flying Scot” nickname reflected his exceptional speed, skill, and fearless driving style, which made him a dominant force in the 1960s racing world.
Image: @vintagewatchview
Myth busting
No matter how much I love Gallet, the brand’s efforts to prove a link to Jim Clark simply fail. I highly recommend reading a very interesting deep dive that questions, if not disrupts, the Gallet Multichron 12 “Jim Clark” claim. There are a bunch of dubious claims that have not been discussed publicly before. For me, the Gallet Multichron 12 “Jim Clark” story is a scary example of how facts can be overlooked and how constantly repeated and unverified claims can become general public opinion.
An unquestionable link
Besides all of the facts analyzed in the article mentioned above, there is a well-documented Jim Clark connection to Breitling and Enicar. If that can be proven, so should be a connection to Gallet. The way the Enicar folks got Jim Clark in their jersey is truly remarkable. So is the fact that Jim Clark wore an Enicar chronograph also off the track. In this article, you can find a bunch of pictures of chic-dressed Jim Clark wearing racing-proof Enicar Sherpa Graph with a gray dial on a white Tropic strap during interviews and parties. And, as Enicar Sherpa Graph researcher Nico Henke of Enicar 101 highlights, “In the ’60s, it was uncommon to see someone with a tool watch combined with a suit.”
Image: Enicar 101
Let’s go back to the ’50s
Before Jim Clark, another racing star competed in Formula One from 1951 to 1961. Sir Stirling Moss won 16 Formula One Grands Prix, but never won the Championship. He is considered to be one of the most significant drivers to never win the Formula One Championship. In 1957, Enicar contracted this Briton and used his name and face for advertising. Besides his Ultrasonic Sherpa, it also seems he wore a Sherpa Graph. Thanks to a bunch of old photos, Nico recognized him and his white-Tropic-strapped Sherpa Graph in shots from a 1960 race in Austria.
Image: Enicar 101
The prophet prediction
Probably the most interesting find is the scan of the Europa Star article “When Jim Clark Sells Your Watches,” published in 1966. The interview with Enicar Publicity Manager Mr. Gaston Sieber puts an end to all the theories about how Jim Clark got connected to the brand. It was he who was directly responsible for deciding who to choose for brand promotion.
Image: Enicar 101
Sieber explains how difficult it is to get a heavyweight name in your brand jersey. Then there was the other way. Using his words from the 1966 interview, “We saw a future champion in Jim Clark when Fangio and Stirling Moss were the undisputed kings of the race track. Now, a few years later, the fame of Jim Clark has eclipsed even that of his illustrious predecessors.” Besides signed advertisements, Enicar created a set of articles, postcards, and even watch displays. There is no need to say how genius that marketing stunt was.
Jo Siffert — Image: Vintage Heuer
Last thoughts
If you thought it was mighty Jack Heuer, the CEO of Heuer, who invented the strong connection of chronographs to motorsport and F1, we have to disappoint you. Yes, during the ’60s and ’70s, Heuer got most of it thanks to Rindt, Andretti, Siffert, and many others who wore Heuer watches, but Enicar officially signing Stirling Moss and Jim Clark in 1957 and 1960 was a decision slightly ahead of its time.
