When two motorsports juggernauts like Porsche and TAG Heuer come together, you know something great will come of it. The new TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph marks the first collaboration between the two, and it…
The post TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph first appeared on Cool Material.
In 1860, long before Techniques d’Avant-Garde (TAG) purchased a majority stake in the company (which was subsequently gobbled up by the LVMH Group), Edouard Heuer set up his eponymous watch manufacturing company in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Soon after, he was patenting unique mechanisms, some of which still operate in many mechanical wristwatches today. However, Heuer was most famous for making chronographs, starting with dashboard clocks used in both cars and planes. Then, in 1914, Heuer offered their first wrist-worn chronograph.
By the 1960s, Heuer watches were so thoroughly enmeshed with auto racing that it’s hard to find a photograph of Formula 1, Indy, or GT racing from that era in which their logo isn’t visible. Specifically, Heuer Autavia and Carrera chronographs were de rigueur among drivers. When Steve McQueen sported a square Heuer Monaco during his all-too-short racing career, both man and watch were immortalized in photographs that have become enduring templates for men’s fashion. McQueen’s 1971 film, LeMans, endowed Heuer’s racing pedigree with a dose of Hollywood’s ineffable mystique.
Heuer, like so many other Swiss watch makers, struggled through the Quartz Crisis of the 1970s, resulting in a situation dire enough that the company went up for sale. TAG was added to the name in 1985 when the holding company Techniques d’Avant Garde acquired the brand. For those of us who remember the Regan Era, Tag Heuer — which sponsored sailing, golf, tennis, and, of course, auto racing — became as much a status symbol as Rolex among well-heeled preppies who grew increasingly unabashed of displaying their wealth. Men and women both strapped on sporty two-tone Tag Heuers, popped the collars on their Lacoste shirts, tied cable knit sweaters around their necks, and sparked up Marlboro Lights in unruly Porsche 911s.
As grunge and (at least the veneer of) financial humility came into vogue during the 1990s, those 1980s associations haunted TAG Heuer enough that the brand began to drop TAG from some of its retro-styled watches, initiating what remains today a coveted section of their catalog that harkens back to the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. But most of TAG Heuer’s offerings during the 1990s tended toward the trends, with increasingly larger timepieces for men and relatively dainty models for women. Then in 1999, LVMH bought TAG Heuer, pumped in enough capital to revive the brand’s ubiquity, and by the 2010s was pushing “connected” TAG Heuer watches intended to compete with the Apple Watch. But Tag Heuer also pushed their legacy to the fore with retro-styled mechanical models and tasty reissues.
This bifurcation between forward- and backward-looking watches isn’t unique to TAG Heuer, but it does seem pronounced with this brand. For those who like vintage-inspired timepieces, Heuer has recently released a slew of new models that will satisfy; for those who like their envelope pushed, TAG Heuer offers a robust catalog of decidedly modern watches.
Featuring an immediately recognizable square case as well as an automatic movement and hip, colorful accents, the Monaco has become an automotive icon (as well as a horological one) since its inception in 1969, when it was named after the famed Monaco Grand Prix.
Square, iconic, and the one that Steve McQueen made famous. These chronographs have heaps of presence, and are true conversation starters. Nab it with the classic Calibre 11 movement, or with a more affordable Calibre 12 — or go all out with the newer Calibre Heuer 02, which boasts an 80-hour power reserve.
Size: 39mm
Complication: chronograph and date
Price: $5,400+
This is an affordable way into the Monaco line, offering all the classic styling of the original in but with a less expensive quartz movement.
Size: 37mm
Complication: date
Price: $1,750-$2,450
Somewhat confusingly, the modern Autavias look like dive watches, but also harken back to the original dashboard clocks Heuer built for planes and cars, which were called Autavias (“Automobile” plus “Aviation” = Autavia). Even more confusingly, there is indeed an “Autavia” within the Heritage Collection that hearkens back to the original Autavia chronograph of the 1960s.
As part of their Heritage series watches, the Heuer Heritage Calibre 02 Autavia recalls the 1960s, when these three-register chronographs helped time laps around the world. Best of all, the 12-hour bezel can conveniently be used to track a second time zone.
Size: 42mm
Complication: 3-register mechanical chronograph
Price: $5,300-$6,050
Though these timepieces clearly look like dive watches (rather than rally timers), one way to reconcile this seeming contradiction is to acknowledge that the modern Autavia doesn’t fall back on tired automotive aesthetic cues, but forges a vibe that’s uniquely vintage Heuer. These watches are chronometer-certified mechanical watches that come in at a relatively affordable price point.
Size: 42mm
Complication: time, date (COSC Certified Chronometer)
Price: $3,000-$3,350
Though not originally known for dive watches, by the 1980s, Heuer was competitive in this field, keeping pace with Rolex and Omega. Today’s Aquaracers come in many sizes and colorways, and they come with either mechanical or quartz movements. Some of their two-tone models look like their 1980s offerings, while the standard models are decidedly modern.
These watches are largely indistinguishable from their mechanical counterparts, but with a vast array of available sizes and colorways — all the way down to 32mm with diamonds and two-tone metals — there’s here something for everyone.
Size: 32mm; 35mm; 41mm; 43mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $1,350-$4,700
These time-and-date watches offer 300m of water resistance and styling cues that are 100% marine-inspired. A vast array of colorways and two masculine sizes assure that there’s something for everyone.
Size: 41mm; 43mm
Complication: time and date, available in both mechanical and quartz versions
Price: $2,200-$2,950
Essentially the same as the standard mechanical Auaracer, the chronograph version has a densely packed dial with three registers.
Size: 43mm
Complication: time, chronograph, date
Price: $3,300
The layout of the sub-dials changes with these watches, but in terms of style and function they remain very close to their mechanical cousins.
Size: 43mm
Complication: time, date, chronograph
Price: $1,650-$2,300
The Carrera label is an enormous umbrella under which a vast array of models exist, from highly technical skeletonized chronographs to dainty diamond-encrusted women’s models. We’ve broken the Carreras down for you as either chronographs or time-date models, and from there we break them down according to their movements.
The 02 movement lends this chronograph all the cutting edge technology you’d expect from a modern mechanical Heuer. There’s a wide selection of 02 models to choose from, including a GMT, and generally speaking they’re going to look much like their more complicated 02T cousins, but without the heavy price tags.
Size: 43mm or 45mm
Complication: chronograph (one model includes a GMT)
Price: $5,350-$13,100
Large, expensive, technical-looking watches with the 02T in-house chronograph movement that features a tourbillon, a type of escapement in which the balance spring rotates in order to counter the effects of gravity. This is an incredibly complicated way to improve accuracy that originated in the 18th century, but which holds the undying fascination of today’s horologists. The price of these watches is high, but in the world of tourbillons, they’re incredibly well priced — relatively speaking, of course.
Size: 45mm
Complication: tourbillon, chronograph
Price: $17,000-$25,500
A more modest look and size connects these chronographs to Heuer’s storied automotive past.
Size: 41mm or 43mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $4,150-$4,750
DD stands for Day Date, and the addition of the weekday has a surprisingly powerful impact on the vibe of a watch; it feels decidedly 1960s-70s, the era when the day-date complication was very much in vogue. Perhaps drug-fueled disco nights made keeping track of the weekday difficult?
Size: 43mm
Complication: time, day, date
Price: $4,800-$5,300
Basic in design and features, but filled with the same 60s styling as their more complicated counterparts, these watches are great all-arounders for those who like an automotive vibe on their wrist.
Size: 36mm, 39mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $2,500-$4,650
A little larger and a little vibier with the day-date complication, these automatic mechanicals are long-standing essentials for Heuer.
Size: 41mm
Complication: time, day/date
Price: $2,700-$3,000
These diminutive watches help break the industry-wide assumption that women only want quartz movements.
Size: 28mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $2,200-$6,400
Less expensive, more accurate, and never requiring the level of service that a mechanical watch will, quartz-powered watches are the ideal for many watch buyers. These quartz-powered Carreras come in a variety of sizes and styles that cover the gender spectrum fully.
Size: 32mm; 36mm; 39mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $1,550-$5,900
Back in the 1980s, the Formula 1 was the watch to have among sport-oriented folks who understood that durability and pizzaz didn’t have to mean buying a Rolex. Today the Formula 1 models represent a similar spirit. They’re relatively affordable, very sporty, waterproof, durable, and often quite colorful.
Nearly half the price of their automatic counterparts, these watches come in a variety of colorways, all of which are vibrant and sporty.
Size: 43mm
Complication: time, date, chronograph
Price: $1,300-$2,100
At the top of the Formula 1 series, these represent a sporty and modern alternative to the Carrera automatic watches.
Size: 44mm
Complication: time, date, chronograph
Price: $2,800-$3,200
Some of TAG Heuer’s most affordable watches, these represent an entry point for the brand but don’t sacrifice durability and sportiness. With robust water resistance ratings, these are ready to go anywhere and do anything — and they’ll look sharp, too. Styles and sizes are wide-ranging.
Size: 32mm; 35mm; 41mm; 43mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $1,000-$2,150
Basic models featuring automatic movements and 200m of water resistance, these qualify as dive watches and harken back to the very popular Formula 1s of the 1980s.
Size: 43mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $1,800-$2,050
Moving the center-mounted running seconds hand to a sub-dial at 6-o’clock, these watches have a vibe all to their own.
Size: 43mm
Complication: time and date with seconds on sub-dial
Price: $1,750
These do not link to your smartphone; rather, “link” refers to the bracelets, whose curvy interlocking shapes are distinctive to TAG Heuer (how many watch brands can claim that?). While many brands race into the luxury steel market today, TAG Heuer has been right there for decades.
This is a sports watch you could wear with a suit, or jeans and a tee, or anything in between.
Size: 41mm
Complication: time, date, chronograph
Price: $4,500
Sporty yet elegant, these watches are solid candidates for the one-watch collection.
Size: 41mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $3,000
Styled as a proper alternative to the Lady Datejust from Rolex, but priced far below, these watches get a ton of wrist time on women who know how to rock a casually elegant look while striking a good value.
Size: 32mm
Complication: time and date
Price: $1,650-$4,450
TAG Heuer was at the forefront of the Swiss efforts to get watches talking to smartphones. The ubiquity of the Apple Watch has put stress on this approach for Swiss brands who dared, but there’s much to like about a connected watch that doesn’t look like everyone else’s. Configurable in myriad styles and able to display even more watch faces to match, these are interesting alternatives for those who actually want to Think Different.
Size: 41mm or 45mm
Complication: connected digital module
Price: varies widely based on your chosen configuration
TAG Heuer’s Connected smartwatch receives the Golf Edition treatment. The TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45 Golf Edition will help all you golfers track your rounds as you play them.
This new model is exactly like 2017’s Connected Modular 45. That is to say it comes in a 45mm case, boasts a 1.45-inch display with a resolution of 400 x 400, and is powered by an Intel processor. You also get 512MB of ram, 4GB of storage, and a 410mAh battery. As for connectivity, the usual suspects are here, as GPS and NFC both come baked in. Build quality is topnotch, with sapphire glass and 5ATM water resistance, black PVD titanium, and black ceramic.
What makes this a punch above its identical twin sibling from 2017? It comes with a companion app especially made for golfing. Users can download the TAG Heuer Golf app on their phone, pair their watch, and use the app for a number of things. For example, golfers can use it to track distances on a golf course (the app has maps for more than 39,000 golf courses). Or get 2D and 3D course mapping, as well. You can also record scores for up to four players, and show stats after a round.
Each purchase comes with a set of commemorative balls. And the watch itself comes in a super fancy box deserving of its $1,850 price tag. That’s a lot to pay for a smartwatch, but if golfing is already your pastime, that probably won’t even leave a dent on your banking account.
When two high-end brands team up, you can bet that the results will be pretty wonderful, and that’s exactly the case with the TAG Heuer and Aston Martin DBS Superleggera. Luxury cars and luxury watches go and in hand. These two companies know this all too well.
The new DBS Superleggera TAG Heuer Edition is a special, bespoke model that will also come with a limited-edition TAG Heuer watch with its purchase. The watch will likely be a Carrera Heuer 01 Aston Martin Special Edition or a similar model. The pair up of the two companies makes perfect sense. Both are involved in F1 racing, both companies appeal to the same customer base, and both offer beautiful, yet expensive machines.
[embedded content]The DBS Superleggera TAG Heuer Edition is painted in stunning Monaco Black. Carbon fiber accents give the model a little extra exterior visual flair and TAG Heuer logos feature on the fenders. The interior has a similar color scheme, with black interior, red contrast stitching, and TAG Heuer logos scattered throughout.
Under the DBS Superleggera’s goodly, muscular-looking hood lurks a 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V-12. It produces a strong 715 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough thrust to launch the car from a standstill to 60 mph in a spritely 3.4 seconds. Need to go super fast in your DBS Superleggera? No worries. The car’s top speed is a mighty 211 mph.
Aston and TAG Heuer only plan to make 50 examples of the beastly, luxurious machine. The price of this super-limited-edition car has not been announced. Aston and TAG Heuer also haven’t said whether or not the car will come to the U.S. Until we get more information, keep our fingers crossed and look at the photos below and the videos above.
