By Harlan Chapman-Green
There is an inherent issue with most consumer markets as a whole nowadays. Companies can do what they like and offer the end product to consumers for one year until its replaced by a newer iteration the following year. While it doesn’t concern most people, some others will be saddened by the fact that the company didn’t seem to do its best job of it either, what’s even worse is that the consumers are then stuck with it for a year. Let’s take the ever advancing world of mobile phones for instance; while Samsung’s Galaxy S6 was a pretty good all around phone, reviewers and customers were annoyed by the fact that it lacked a couple features from the Galaxy S5, namely water resistance, expandable storage and a removable battery. While the S7 does rectify two of the three problems (a sealed design means no more battery switcheroos), it would’ve been better if we’d had the choice of what features we wanted to see return.
TAG Heuer | The Autavia Cup Trailer
TAG Heuer is doing its best to rectify this issue with The Autavia Cup. It’s not a sporting event, such as a boat race, that’s been organised and sponsored by TAG Heuer. Instead, they’ve opened up the floor to the audience and given us the choice of which vintage watch will return for the 2017 business year. Each watch has been updated and brought back to life by Paul Gavin of Heuer World, each version brings back some of the glamour of the past and there’s sixteen in total to choose from. I should note though that if you were expecting there to be 16 completely different designs from the Heuer days then you will be sadly mistaken, however, there are some subtle and not-so-subtle differences in the designs, let’s take a look at the 16 entrants:
1. 1962 Mark 1 “Big Sub” Autavia 12 Lume Hands Ref. 2446
2. 1962 Mark 1 “Big Sub” Autavia 12 Steel Edge Hands Ref. 2446
3. 1962 Mark 1 “Big Sub” Autavia 30 Lume Hands Ref. 3646
4. 1962 Mark 1 “Big Sub” Autavia 45 Steel Edge Hands Ref. 3646
5. 1964 Mark 2 Autavia Ref. 2446
6. 1966 Mark 3 “Rindt” Autavia Ref. 2446
7. 1966 Mark 3 “Andretti” Autavia Ref. 3646
8. Late 60s “Tachymeter Dial” Autavia 12 Ref. 2446
9. Late 60s “Tachymeter Dial” Autavia 30 Ref. 3646
10. 1968 Autavia 12 Lume Hands Ref. 2446
11. 1968 “Compression Case” Autavia 12 Ref. 2446C
12. 1968 “Compression Case” Autavia 12 Silver Dial Ref. 2446C SN
13. New Edition Mark 3 “Rindt” Autavia Panda Dial Ref. 2446
14. New Edition Mark 1 “Big Sub” Autavia 12 Blackout Dial Lume Hands Ref. 2446
15. New Edition Mark 1 “Big Sub” Autavia 12 Panda Dial Steel Edge Hands Ref. 446
16. New Edition Mark 1 “Big Sub” Autavia 30 Panda Dial Lume Hands Ref. 3646
The two I’d like to see the most are Number 11 (Compression Case Ref. 2446C) and Number 14 (Big Sub Blackout Ref.2446). The microsite will open up to voters on the 17th of March, you’ve got to vote if you want to see your favourite be made! For more info, please visit tagheuer.com & autaviacup.com
HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN – MANAGING EDITOR
A keen bass guitar player, Harlan enjoys all the perks modern watchmaking technologies the industry has to offer. Although you might catch him sampling Omegas or the “odd” Rolex, Harlan loves all things Haute Horology, with his three favourite brands being Breguet, A.Lange & Söhne and Vacheron Constantin. He hopes to study timekeeping more in depth someday and will never be able to thank his father enough for introducing him to the industry. You can follow him on Instagram Read his articles here
