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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Update
Looking for the review of the Carrera Calibre 1887? Click here
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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.
A while back I bought this Heuer Autavia 11063 GMT on eBay. It’s the first time that I’ve bought a watch for a restoration project, although I hasten to add that I will be doing none of the work myself due to a complete lack of relevant skills.
The 11063 GMT is the last of the Autavia series from around 1984. Its my favourite Autavia type due to the larger case size and sunken bezel.
Somewhat mysteriously, these GMT watches actually have 11630 stamped on the case, despite being a 11063 series. The catalogue also refers to it as a 11630 GMT- not the only time that Heuer catalogues have referred to a 11063 as a 11630.
The 11063 GMT is also the rarest of the GMT series, with only a few examples coming on to the market each year- which also explains why I was happy to buy one that needed some work. It’s always hard to tell the true condition of a watch until it arrives in your hands, and this was especially true in this case due to the average quality of the photos that the seller had provided.
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There is now a Calibre 11 Facebook page that can be found here:
So why Facebook? While Twitter is great for quick updates and alerts, the Calibre 11 Facebook page will offer photo galleries of vintage Heuer and TAG Heuer watches, as well as links back to new posts on the Calibre 11 homepage.
If you’re on Facebook, become a fan of Calibre 11 for more great content.
The TAG Heuer Targa Florio was released in 2001 and marketed as tribute to the famous Italian road race, despite actually drawing its inspiration from the Heuer Flieger (German for “Pilot”) watches of the 1930s.
The early 2000s were a renaissance period for lovers of the TAG Heuer re-edition series, with TAG releasing a steady stream of watches that drew their looks from the old Heuer catalogue.
The Targa Florio was one of three new re-edition watches announced as part of the classics series. The highest profile of these 2001 releases was the blue TAG Heuer Monaco in the Steve McQueen colours- up until that point, the Monaco that had been available from the late 1990s had only been available in black and silver. Alongside the new blue Monaco was the Calibre 36 version of the TAG Heuer Monza (the El Primero movement) and the Targa Florio.
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Cheers Arno
