Jim Clark and his relation to Enicar

Some really nice pictures there! Cool watch as well.

This is very interesting to a Jim Clark fan like me. He was just coming to the fore when I first got interested in motor-racing.

The caption writer for that article should have done a bit more research, that Formula 2 Lotus 35 with a 1 litre Cosworth SCA engine won't make 300 kph, probably wouldn't make 200. The photos were taken at Rouen in July 1965, there is an article about the race at https://peterwindsor.com/2015/07/19/no-time-to-relax/ Although Jim is driving for Ron Harris here he also drove for Normand Racing as seen the car alongside, but in two-seater sports cars, particularly the Lotus 23.


LAT Photographic

A reasonable person would agree that, when there are a handful of 'genuine' un-doctored photographs that exist showing a person wearing a particular watch, the person did indeed wear a particular watch. If we find such a watch with an inscription on the back, that's a nice bit of additional provenance.

The next proposition is more challenging.

How do we prove that someone never wore a particular watch? Does lack of photographic evidence actually prove anything other than that there isn't photographic evidence?

How do we know that Jim Clark didn't also own and wear a Longines watch or a Smiths watch that he liked to wear only while dining privately with with friends and loved ones? Did he have a deal to promote watches given to him by sponsors? If he did, did he try to avoid being photographed wearing other watches? What watch did he wear around the house?

It's not impossible to prove a negative using logic, but it does take some effort and there will always some doubt.

I don't lose any sleep pondering answers to such questions. 😉

The folks at Gallet tell me that the Carlini story is a true story. Why do some people not want to accept the evidence that appears to exist? What would be the motive? Is there any evidence that the Jim Clark Estate and Trust has objected to Gallet using the connection in their product advertising?

One wonders: would the JC Trust object if Timex advertised the "Jim Clark" Timex watch?

I own five vintage Gallet Multichron watches and the least attractive to my eye is my "Jim Clark" MC-12H. It's too busy.

But if I should sell it one day and if I should get a bit extra for it because of a widely circulated association with the type and with Jim Clark, who am I to complain?



I also own a 1916 Gallet Electa.

I think Jim Clark's dad may have worn one of those. 😉

Nico knows I am very fond of my Enicar watches as well.

And now I feel a pressure to find a gray and white!

Cheers,

Joe

Edit: It would be helpful for those who appreciate Gallet if there were photographic evidence of Jim Clark wearing a Gallet MC-12H though! I do not think it unreasonable to have doubt.

The thought process I wished to stimulate was contained within the quote above, but I did not articulate it clearly enough. My bad.


Notice I used the word "appears" and that I did not include Gallet within the two questions.

I meant for the question to be taken rhetorically and to be applied more broadly.

The people who are the loudest in suggesting that there may not be any connection between Jim Clark and the Gallet MC-12H . . . are hobbyists and watch enthusiasts. Do the "pros" care? I haven't seen a scholarly article on the subject. The Breitling 806 folks seem content to stay away from such a small controversy.

I agree that the current incarnation of Gallet is using the connection to sell a pedigree with the intent to sell watches. It is in the interest of this very small, living, breathing and struggling firm to promote the connection.

Would anyone wish the present Gallet to cease to exist? They appear to own what few spares exist for the vintage watches. What harm does it cause for them to promote a connection where there is at least some evidence of such connection? Has anyone proven that the Carlini letter is a fraud? Does it lower the value of vintage Enicar and vintage Breitling watches when someone promotes a connection between Jim Clark and Gallet?

I have not seen evidence myself first-hand Nico. I have had telephone conversations with two people at Gallet and during the conversations, I did not think to ask for permission to publicly discuss the content of these conversations. Even if I were to share what was discussed, I'd only be repeating what I had heard during the conversations.

Concerning Jim Clark, we should be OK with a statement that, as far as any photographic evidence is concerned, we can only be sure that he wore two references of Enicar Sherpa Graph watches and the Breitling 806 Twin Jet reference.

Photographic evidence seems to be among the best evidence we have as to what celebrity wore what watch. But we should consider other types of evidence as well.

I have corresponded and talked on the phone with Ian Scott-Watson a friend of Jim Clark so I could get in touch, but he is now 91 years old and I am not going to press him. I also know one of the mechanics for Team Lotus in the mid-1960s and I know he is interested in watches having recently sold a Heuer Autavia he had owned from those days, he may know some of the earlier mechanics to ask them.

There is wristwatch on display in the Jim Clark Museum, but the photo on their website is far too low-res see what it is. It does resemble a watch he is wearing after winning a race in a Lotus 18, so most likely 1960 or '61, but that cabinet could well be merchandise for sale....