Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss OBE (September 17, 1929 – April 12, 2020) was a British Formula One driver who competed from 1951 to 1961 and known for his impeccable sportsmanship.
F1 Career and the Mille Miglia
During his Grand Prix career he amassed 16 wins, including the first time a British constructor won a World Drivers’ Championship race at the 1957 British Grand Prix when Moss shared a Vanwall VW5 with Tony Brooks. Outside of Formula One, the British legend’s career achievements included winning the Mille Miglia in 1955 and setting the course record of 157.650km/h (97.96 mph) which remained unbeaten.
Injury and Retirement
An accident at the 1962 Glove Trophy put Moss in a coma for a month, as well as leaving the left side of his body paralyzed for half a year. He retired from Formula One the following year after a test, declaring that his instinctive driving abilities were no longer intact.
Enicar
The first watch brand that Moss was officially associated was Enicar, appearing in their ads in the late 1950s and widely associated with the Enicar Sherpa Graph. The same model would later be worn by Jim Clark a number of years later.
Chopard
Outside of endorsements, Moss was known to mainly favor Chopard watches. The Swiss brand has notably sponsored Mille Miglia since 1988, and according to some sources has made a Mille Miglia GT XL Limited Edition Stirling Moss although that could not be independently verified at the moment. The closest that Chopard has gotten to releasing Formula One watches is perhaps their Grand Prix de Monaco Historique collection.
Christopher Ward
Moss’s 1957 British Grand Prix victory was commemorated by the Christopher Ward Limited Edition C70 VW4 Chronometer that was released in 2013. The timepiece featured a British racing green dial with the winning Vanwall’s number 20 at the 12 o’clock position. The case back features “Moss/Brooks”, the British flag, and “First All British World Championship Race Win 1957”.
PETER RATCLIFFE LEGENDS IN TIME
In his later years, Moss was close friends with entrepreneur, designer, and racing enthusiast Peter Ratcliffe. Through his PETER RATCLIFFE LEGENDS IN TIME watch brand, Ratcliffe produced a number of timepieces in honor of Stirling Moss, including but not limited to his Formula One achievements.
References
https://www.watchgecko.com/blogs/magazine/sir-stirling-moss-legend-and-watch-innovator
https://www.ablogtowatch.com/chopard-grand-prix-de-monaco-historique-chrono-watch-yellow-black-2014/
https://masterhorologer.com/2013/04/16/christopher-ward-limited-edition-c70-vw4-chronometer-british-racing-green-quartz-chronograph/
https://development.christopherward.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-cw-library/default/dwe8a7c728/pdfs/Motorsport/c70vw4_manual.pdf
https://legendsintime.co.uk/watches/index.htm#