As those of you who love cars will know, McLaren Automotive will launch its MP4-12C sportscar in 2011, its first new model since the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and, you could argue, its first proper car since the seminal McLaren F1 of 1992.
The good news is that just like the McLaren F1 and the SLR, TAG Heuer will produce a watch to commemorate the new model- the bad news is that the watch will only be available to those who buy the car.
The TAG Heuer McLaren MP4-12C will be launched as part of the pre-Basel package, meaning that we won’t see any official photos for a few months yet, however thanks to Shelton Kwan, an eagle-eyed McLaren and TAG Heuer enthusiast, we have a sneak preview of the new watch.
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As we posted back in April, The Haslinger collection of vintage Heuer watches will be auctioned by Bonhams in London in December. As part of this auction, TAG Heuer have created a very special version of the Silverstone re-edition- a one-off Red Silverstone that carries Jack Heuer’s signature on the dial.
While the studio photos have been out for a while, thanks to Paul Maudsley of Bonhams, we are able to bring you the first photos of the Silverstone out in the wild (taken in its natural home of Goodwood no less).
What is striking about the watch is the dial- while the original Red Silverstone was a deep, flat burgundy colour, the 150th anniversary version has a brilliant metallic finish, while preserving the depth of colour of the original.
You can see a comparison of the new Silverstone to the original Heuer Silverstone after the break. Like the Blue and Brown Silverstone re-editions, TAG Heuer have done a great job of replicating the original style and dimensions.
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Few modern TAG Heuer watches have left as much of an impression as the first time that I saw the Monaco Vintage (CAW2118), which was released in 2005 as a limited edition of 4000 watches to mark what would have been the 75th birthday of Steve McQueen.
It was an outrageous design: a crisp white dial (one of the first times a Monaco has been sold with a white dial) matched with bold blue and red stripes on the right hand-side of the dial and with red sub-dials and hands. The design of course was based on the driving suit worn by Steve McQueen in the 1971 movie Le Mans, which is the movie that would eventually make the Monaco the iconic watch it is today.
The success of the Monaco Vintage meant that it was inevitable that other versions would follow, presenting TAG Heuer with the same dilemma that any watch company with a hit Limited Edition faces: How many Limited Edition versions with the same design theme can be made before the magic is lost?
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Without a doubt the best received production TAG Heuer watch at Basel this year was the TAG Heuer 300 SLR, a limited edition version of the Carrera Calibre 1887 due to be released in the next couple of months.
The 300 SLR (Reference number CAR2112.FC6267) will be launched to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Mercedes 300 SLR victory in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana, which of course is the same race that gave the Heuer Carrera its name.
While based on the new Carrera 1887, the 300 SLR has several important differences, including a special fume-coloured dial (reminiscent of the 1970s Silverstone colour), an internal tachy bezel and the use of the famous Heuer logo on the dial and crown.
The watch also uses a fantastic bespoke calf-skin leather strap that is the best strap I’ve ever seen on a modern TAG Heuer, with an orange coating on the inside and “Heuer” deployment clasp. Like the Carrera, the 300 SLR uses the new TAG Heuer Calibre 1887 movement.
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The TAG Heuer Link range traces its origins back to the S/el (“Sports and Elegance”) watch that was introduced in 1987. Designed by Eddie Schopfer- the same man responsible for the 2000 series- the S/el came to symbolise 1980s/ early 1990s TAG Heuer….for better or worse.
The S/el was re-designed and re-named “Link” in 1999, and was followed by in 2003 by a second-generation Link, the design of which continues today.
All of the Men’s Link series use the same basic design- a 42mm brushed stainless steel case with matching bracelet. There are a vast range of movements offered- Calibre S, Calibre 16, Calibre 7, Calibre 36, Calibre 5 and a range of quartz movements with differing date complications. There is also a range of different bezels used to give each model a distinctive look.
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Many of the posts on Calibre 11 focus on the deep relationship that Heuer/ TAG Heuer has with motor racing- and in particular with Formula 1. You only have to look through a Heuer catalogue from the 1970s to see model after model named after famous racing tracks scattered around exotic parts of the world.
But despite this motor racing focus, Heuer/ TAG Heuer also has a rich history of supporting other sports where exact timing is essential, such as Diving, Skiing and in particular, Sailing. Of course there are many parallels between motor racing and sailing- cutting edge technology, the quest for speed and the ability to rapidly consume vast quantities of cash.
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While the internet offers collectors and prospective buyers a great way of researching and finding watches, there is still nothing like looking through a nice printed catalogue to get you in the buying mood. In looking through one of these catalogues, it was interesting to see the mix of new technologies and materials that TAG Heuer offer- mechanical quartz, titanium and carbon fibre.
But while you might think that these technologies are spread throughout the 2010 catalogue (Calibre S, Grand Carrera Titanium and Day-Date Carrera Carbon fibre), it was actually a 1983 catalogue and a single watch that had all of these features- the Heuer Titanium series.
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TAG Heuer has made some small- yet meaningful- changes to the design of the Carrera Calibre 1887 ahead of its release.
The first change is to the bezel, where following feedback from retailers, the tachymetre scale is dropped to give the watch a cleaner, “minimalist” look.
The second change is to the to the texture of the sub-dials, which on the Black Carrera 1887 shown at Baselworld had the same matte finish as the rest of the dial. TAG Heuer has now added the familiar subtle, circular patterning, providing greater differentiation between the dial and the sub-dial.
It should be noted that the White Carrera Calibre 1887 at Baselworld already had this patterning, so perhaps even in March TAG Heuer were considering changes to the final design.
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The 2010 TAG Heuer Aquaracer range that was previewed at Basel in March will be formally launched over the next couple of weeks and includes three new models- a 500m Chronograph, the 500m Full Black and a new Aquaracer Automatic Watch.
A new design-template for the Aquaracer was established with the 500m watch launched in 2009, and these new models continue the themes- vertical ridge-lines on the dial, applied TAG Heuer logo and hour-markers and the rubber-ridged bezel.
While the Aquaracer traces its origins back to the Heuer 2000 series first released in 1982, the new catalogue also shows photos of other Heuer and TAG Heuer water-sports watches, stretching back to the 1940s. The new TAG Heuer website (due to be launched in the next few weeks) will also emphasise the link to past Heuer and TAG Heuer models as a way of explaining the heritage behind the current model range.
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In January of this year, I posted an article on Calibre 11 about the various McLaren- branded TAG Heuer watches released over the last few years, which you can read here.
1998 was a special year for McLaren, as it produced their first Drivers and Constructors World Championships since Ayrton Senna supported by Gerhard Berger triumphed in 1991.
In fact, despite having the services of four World Champions since 1998- Hakkinen, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Alonso- several years of Adrian Newey-designed cars and the backing of Mercedes-Benz, McLaren has not won the Constructors title since that 1998 victory, let alone the Drivers- Constructors double.
So this makes the 1998 a banner year for McLaren fans and this 1998 box-set of McLaren TAG Heuer’s a rare slice of memorabilia.
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As has been stated here at Calibre 11 previously, the pick of the current TAG Heuer range in my eyes is the Grand Carrera Calibre 36 RS- the top of the successful Grand Carrera range featuring the El Primero movement.
What distinguishes the Calibre 36 Caliper from other models in the Grand Carrera range is the Caliper system, an ingeniously simple way of allowing the chronograph to display 1/10th second accuracy. The Calibre 36 movement has always been able to achieve 1/10th second accuracy, but the challenge has always been how to show this fraction of time on the dial.
Zenith now have their own El Primero watch with 1/10th accuracy (The El Primero Foudroyante), but TAG Heuer did it first, unveiling the Calibre 36 Grand Carrera as a concept watch at Basel in 2008.
The Grand Carrera Calibre 36 set new price boundaries for a TAG Heuer watch (RRP at close to USD9,000) and so I was keen to review one to see if the premium is justified and whether the watch lived up to expectations
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The TAG Heuer 300 SLR due in October will be the fifth SLR-branded TAG Heuer, a series that began as a limited edition watch only available if you also bought a Mercedes SLR McLaren, which at least gave you a way of getting your watch home fast.
The partnership with Mercedes-Benz grew from the shared association that TAG Heuer and Mercedes-Benz had with the McLaren F1 team, which in the early 2000s had sealed a deal with Mercedes-Benz to produce a Supercar that would be the spiritual successor to the famous Mercedes-Benz 300SLR of the 1950s.
The first SLR Calibre 36 was released in 2004 to mark the release of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, the first McLaren car since the famous McLaren F1, although one that was developed without the genius of Gordon Murray.
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Cheers Arno
