Chopard Celebrates Drive Time with Jay Leno

Photo Credit: tk

Chopard and Jay Leno came together for a supremely elegant evening in Orange County to celebrate the launch of Rizzoli’s latest book, Drive Time. 

The event took place last Friday at the Marconi Automotive Museum in Tustin, and was attended by Leno, a notable car and timepiece collector, as well as Drive Time author Aaron Sigmond and Dick and Priscilla “Bo” Marconi, the founders of The Marconi Automotive Museum).

One of the earlier guests to arrive, Leno, the former host of the Tonight Show as well as the current host of Jay Leno’s Garage, wowed guests with his voice activated Tesla sports car. He was seen in the event parking lot showing attendees the features of the car’s voice control function. With a command the car turned on and drove slowly towards him. 

Photo Credit: TG

Guests in attendance at the event were treated to a book signing with author Aaron Sigmond, a senior contributing lifestyle editor at Autoweek and editor in chief of Mechanics of Style by Girard-Perregaux, and Leno, who wrote the book’s forward.  Also in keeping with Drive Time’s theme, guests were treated to a preview of Chopard’s key timepieces and jewelry items, along with access to the Marconi Automotive Museum’s collection of vintage automobiles.

Drive Time explores the interplay between automobiles and watches, providing a narrative of a century of automotive-inspired timepieces. The book explores the interplay between two kinds of beautifully made machines, offering a detailed look at the development and history of timepieces influenced by automotive design, made in direct partnership with automotive firms or historically important presences in the world of motorsports.

A comprehensive index features more than ninety automobile-inspired watches of the early and mid-twentieth century, such as the Rolex Daytona and TAG Heuer Carrera and Monaco, up through current timepieces such as those found in the Chopard Mille Miglia, Breitling by Bentley, Porsche Design, Hublot Ferrari, Jaeger-LeCoultre Aston Martin, and IWC Mercedes-Benz AMG collections.