REC is an independent watch brand from Denmark.
The company is making some noise and gaining a cult-like following both in the watch world and the car world.
The company has a very simple strategy – to make watches using recycled metal from actual vehicles.
And while the strategy is simple, the process is far from it.
REC cherry-picks cars and bikes with strong heritage and re-uses the metal that’s scrapped during the restoration process to manufacture several components of the watch (the dial, the case, sometimes the strap, etc.)
And they use the iconic and most recognisable design features of the car in question as inspiration for their timepieces.
READ MORE: Fancy this $1.5m Bugatti watch to match your hypercar collection?
In the past two years, REC has created watches made from (and inspired by) the 1960s Ford Mustang, a Tourist Trophy-winning motorcycle, limited-edition Porsche 911s and even the Spitfire aircraft.
But before all that, back in 2019, they launched this underrated and overlooked piece fashioned from the chin spoiler of the 1971 Datsun BRE 510 racing car (wearing no. #46) as a tribute to John Morton, a Le Mans-winning racing driver from the US.
The metal from the car was used to craft the case back of the watch.
And underneath the dial, lives a Miyota-sourced automatic-winding movement, which creates a nice connection: a Japanese movement for a Japanese car.
