I love an object with a story. It may be something mundane like a wrench or hat, but if there's a cool story behind it, the object is elevated to something more than the sum of its parts. And that's what watchmaker Rec specializes in, making a watch that's more than just a watch.
Its latest, however, is especially cool as the company used part of Evel Knievel's final stunt motorcycle and turned those parts into a series of watches celebrating the infamous stuntman. Imagine showing up to the bar and someone asking, "Hey, cool watch. What is it?" and being able to reply it's part of Evel's bike.
You'd become the bar's new king.
According to Rec, the TTT Knievel—the watch's name—stands for "Twist The Throttle," and is part of the company's "dual-case construction, enabling wearers to rotate the dial 30 degrees clockwise." The TTT Knievel uses a sapphire crystal with "3 layers of anti-reflection coating" for better clarity, and the movement is a Swiss-made SELLITA cal. SW200-1 Sb.
The case, however, is where it gets special, as Rec used aluminum from the Knievel's handlebars from his Harley-Davidson XR750 that he used in his final televised stunt.
Rec states, "At 38 years old, Knievel was approached by CBS for a new live event in January 1977, titled 'Evel Knievel’s Death Defiers.' The main act, 'The Shark Jump,' aimed to leap over a large indoor saltwater pool filled with sharks, capitalizing on 70s shark paranoia from the movie ‘Jaws.’ Despite his fame, Knievel’s career was winding down. The Shark Jump, set to take place at the Chicago International Amphitheatre, was meant to be a less risky stunt, drawing on fears from the movie ‘Jaws’. However, during an unscheduled rehearsal, Knievel lost control upon landing, crashing into a cameraman and fracturing his collarbone and arm."
The company added, "This incident marked the end of his daredevil career, and The Shark Jump became his final televised performance. Rec Watches incorporated the original clutch levers from Knievel’s bike into the TTT Knievel timepieces."
And Rec definitely went with an Evel Knievel vibe with the design featuring a star, as well as red, white, and blue theme throughout. The watch is also numbered for its limited edition run of just 736 watches total. There's also a "King of the Daredevils" inscription along the watch face.
As for pricing, it isn't cheap, as Rec wants $1,695 for the watch if you pre-order it right now. However, once the pre-order is over, that number will rise to $2,295. So if you're a big Evel Knievel fan, act now and save a bit of cash.
