Tag Heuer Carrera Ladies WV1414.BA0793

One hertz. That's your average quartz watch, ticking away once per second. Tick, tick, tick. A vintage mechanical watch at 18,000vph ticks at two-and-a-half hertz. The modern equivalent beats at 28,800 times per minute, that's four hertz. Zenith's superb El Primero, a hi-beat movement at 36,000vph—five hertz for that one. This TAG Heuer Carrera Mikrograph? Fifty hertz. That's one hundred beats every second. 360,000 per hour. Phew!

When you’re looking for the watch that’s right for you, it’s easy to be swept up in the hype of those top few default choices. Say you’ve set your heart on a chronograph; chances are your shortlist may contain a Speedmaster or a Daytona. Both superb watches, no doubt about that, but there are others that you might not know about—and they’re equally worth consideration.

If there's one thing watch enthusiasts share a love for, it's the supercar. Whether powerful or beautiful, designed to stick to a track or swoop through the French Riviera, a supercar is—like watchmaking—engineering with soul, passion and excitement. We take a visit to the headquarters of VVS sports and prestige automobiles to sample three of recent history's finest.

In light of news that former Zenith CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour - the man who turned Zenith around following some less prosperous times (and pieces) - has moved to the captain's chair at Rolex has sprouted a certain nostalgic desire to dig out one of Zenith's transcendent pieces, the Ultra Thin. The Ultra Thin is, second to the El Primero itself, a bedrock for Zenith, a steady pulse in times both good and bad. Inspired by the clean vintage look popular for most of the twentieth century, it leaves the clutter of modern design behind in favour of saying few words, but choosing them well.