As we’ve stated multiple times before, cars and watches go together like cookies and milk, pretzels and beer, football and nachos. They go well together, if you didn’t get that by now. Reason being is that they’re both mechanically impressive (usually) pieces of machinery that serve a specific purpose while also being beautiful and stylish. What’s even better is when a watch actually has some sort of connection to cars or even a specific car. That’s what you get with the Detroit Watch Company M1-Woodward Chronograph.
A man by the name of Patrick Ayoub co-founded DWC with his wife, Amy. But what’s most interesting about Ayoub is that he was part of the design team that developed the BMW Z1. He then went on to work for both Volkswagen and SEAT. So he’s got a proper design background and knows the automotive world well. After that, we worked for a few design firms and helped design watches for different watch makers. From there, Ayoub decided to create his own watch company and it’s based out of Motor City itself — Detroit.
This specific watch, the M1-Woodward Chronograph is a tribute to the Detroit’s Woodward Avenue. On the caseback, there’s an “M-1” road sign engraved to represent the famous sign in Detroit. So there’s some Detroit heritage and some genuine automotive connection in this watch. Plus, it looks great.
With a stainless steel case that features two pairs of really sharp looking lugs, an oversized crown and tow large chrono-pushers, the DWC M1-Woodward is an eye-grabber. The entire case seems to be polished and features a bezel that’s reminiscent of vintage watches. It’s a very pretty case. Inside of it, the blue dial with three chronograph sub-dials and a date window looks really sharp.
Inside, the DWC M1-Woodward features an ETA 7750 chronograph movement. The ETA 7750 is an extremely commonly used movement, used in many Tag Heuers, IWCs and Omegas. It’s a durable, long-lasting and accurate movement that’s been used for a very long time. While it doesn’t have the prestige or pedigree as some of the in-house made movements from Jaeger or Patek, it’s a fantastic movement for an everyday and affordable watch.
Speaking of affordability, the Woodward only costs $1,850, which is cheap compared to some of the aforementioned watch brands. It’s a lot of watch for the money and one that looks good doing it.
[Source: Automobile Mag]
