The news from TAG Heuer is coming thick and fast. Finally we’re able to bring new some photos of the TAG Heuer Silverstone in the flesh. It’s great to see studio shots of a new watch, but the real test is how they look in “real-life” photos, because these are a better representation of what the watch will look like on your wrist.
A quick re-cap: the Heuer Silverstone is one of the more elegant of the 1970s Chronomatic Heuer models and was available in three colours- blue, fume (smoke) and red- all with the famous Calibre 12 Chronomatic Heuer movement.
There was also a Lemania 5100-powered Heuer Silverstone in the early 1980s, but the only aspect that this model shares with the original is its name.
The new model is available in two colours- blue (Ref CAM 2110) and brown (CAM 2111). Both come on a rally-style crocodile strap and are limited to 1860 pieces of each colour. Recommended retail price in the US is USD6500.
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TAG Heuer and US electric car maker Tesla have today announced a partnership, the immediate result of which is a customised TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster on show at Geneva motor-show which starts this week.
So what has TAG Heuer added to the Roadster apart from a fancy paint job?
- One-fifth second Heuer Limited Edition Stopwatch
- Special edition Meridiist phone
- Centre console which will hold the new Pendulum powered TAG Heuer
And its this last point that is the most interesting- there has to be a connection between the choice of Tesla as the partner for the Pendulum movement and the way that this movement works- otherwise, why not opt for a more traditional partner such as Mercedes-Benz or Audi?
Apparently the paintwork gives some clues to the new Pendulum movement, but you’d have to be an expert with a jigsaw puzzle to draw any decent conclusions.
The TAG Heuer Tesla will leave Geneva on the 14th of March and arrive in Basel on the 18th in time for the announcement of the Pendulum movement- a time frame which I hope is more about taking a leisurely route through picturesque Switzerland rather than being a reflection on the top-speed of the electric Roadster.
For more photos and the press release click below.
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A first for Calibre 11- some news of a new model in the TAG Heuer ladies range.
Ahead of Basel TAG Heuer have released information about two new models in the F1 Lady series.- both of which have a ceramic finish and are reminiscent of the Chanel J12 series that has been so successful over the last few years.
The use of ceramic appears limited to the bracelet and around the bezel. While using ceramic “bricks” in the bracelet seems purely for styling, it does make sense to look at the use of new materials for watch bezels- just ask any owners of a vintage Heuer Autavia if they would like a bezel made from harder, more scratch-resistant material.
Omega has introduced what it calls “Liquidmetal” bezels on some versions of the Planet Ocean, and there is no reason we shouldn’t expect to see TAG Heuer use some of the styling elements and materials of the F1 Lady series on men’s watches.
The F1 Lady ceramic joins the Silverstone, the Carrera Calibre 1887 and the Pendulum movement as some of the new releases that will be shown at Baselworld 2010.
Click here and here for more news on TAG Heuer at Baselworld 2010
Click below for more photos of the TAG Heuer F1 Lady ceramic.
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With only three weeks to go until the Baselworld 2010 show opens, more details about what TAG Heuer’s plans are starting to emerge. The key piece of news is the name of the “new concept movement” that was detailed first in the Calibre 11 Baselworld Preview in late January. The new movement is called the TAG Heuer Pendulum.
The concept drawing only shows part of the new movement, but clearly prominent- as you’d expect- is a pendulum sitting within a circular casing and with a “cross-brace” across the back with exposed screw-heads- similar to the styling of the Monaco 24 Concept movement.
The real puzzle is how the pendulum will generate enough energy to provide power to the actual mechanism of the watch and how the movement will be regulated. This I imagine will be the real magic of this concept and it will be fascinating to see how it all works.
It will be interesting to see if any additional details emerge over the next few days, with the Geneva Motorshow starting next week. It was at the last Geneva Motorshow in 2008 that TAG Heuer announced the Grand Carrera Calibre 36 Caliper Ti2- so perhaps additional information will be released in the next few days.
Click below to see the concept drawing of the TAG Heuer Pendulum.
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One of the reasons that I have spent time looking into the history of the Heuer and Lemania relationship recently (see here and here) was to find out more about the heritage of a watch that I’ve recently bought- a Heuer 510.500.
The watch on the right is a series two 510.500, distinguished from the first series by the Day/ Date feature (the first series 510.500 was date only) and often coming with the TAG Heuer logo on the bracelet, even though the dial is “Heuer”.
The 510.5XX watches were the only Lemania-powered Heuer to survive into the TAG Heuer era, with the TAG Heuer version having the reference number 510.500-12.
This different model number signals more than just the addition of the TAG Heuer logo to the dial- it also signifies that most of these watches use the slower-beating 5012 Lemania movement and not the 5100.
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Heuer’s relationship with Lemania in the early 1980s was brief, but intense. As the first part of the Heuer/ Lemania story detailed, Heuer was actually owned by a consortium involving Lemania for a few short years before being sold to TAG in 1984/5. This relationship explains why there were so many Heuer models using the Lemania 5100 movement in the early 1980s.
However what this doesn’t explain is why are there so many other brands that sold almost identical version of these Heuer watches. Based on the trusty formula of two-parts research mixed with one-part assumption and one-parts guesswork, the conclusion is perhaps surprising: Because for the most part, they were not Heuer designs in the first place.
Before explaining why many of these designs were likely owned by Lemania itself, its worth revisiting the basics of the way that Swiss watch industry was structured.
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The re-editions of the Heuer Carrera are generally considered to be the best executed of the various classic Heuer watches bought back to life by TAG Heuer. The Carrera re-edition of 1996 was the first attempt by TAG Heuer to tap into the Heuer heritage and was successful in bringing the Monaco, Autavia, and soon the Silverstone, to a new generation of TAG Heuer collectors.
Of the various Carrera re-edition models, perhaps the most sought-after is the Carrera 1964 limited edition (Ref. CV2117), known as the Jack Heuer 40th anniversary Carrera. The 40th anniversary Carrera was announced at Baselworld in 2005 to mark the 40th anniversary of the first Heuer Carrera, which was released in 1964.
Named after the famous “Le Carrera Panamericana Rally” that was held from 1950-54, the Carrera (Spanish for “Race”) was the first Heuer model with its own model name.
The 40th anniversary watch was available as a limited edition of 1964 watches and was engraved on the back with ‘Carrera 1964 – 2004, 40 years of legend’ and the signature of Jack Heuer. The watch came with a black 20mm leather rally-style strap on a deployment clasp.
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The first photo of the Calibre 1887 powered Carrera is out a few weeks ahead of Baselworld 2010.
TAG Heuer have been in touch to say that there was a mix up with the embargo dates for the photos of the Carrera Calibre 1887 and so have asked all websites to take down the images. So, if you didn’t get a chance to read the story earlier this morning, sorry…but you ‘ll have to wait another couple of weeks to see the new Carrera.
In the meantime, to read more about what to expect from TAG Heuer at Basel in March, click here.
