By Harlan Chapman-Green
Yes yes, queue another re-edition of something vaguely ‘vintage-y’ and claim it to be the best thing to ever happen since sliced bread. I am going to come in right here and say that I am becoming tired of all these watches which hark back to some point in time very slightly, but the designs were modernised and, God forbid, faux-tina added. Thankfully the new Jack Heuer Limited Edition from TAG Heuer does avoid that last faux pas.
However, unlike other watch companies which create slightly pointless re-editions, TAG Heuer has actually gone and made something of real interest. This watch is named after a previous CEO of the company and a member of the founding family: Jack Heuer. In the 1960s Jack Heuer was the man, and he made the company tick, he launched prevalent lines such as the Carrera and the Autavia (the first watch that he designed while at what was then known as Heuer) which still hold a special place in the hearts of many watch enthusiasts today.
This new edition is pretty cool to look at; it’s got a panda look going on with the black chronograph subdials which contrast the silver dial but go very well alongside the black chronograph bezel. The bezel for this watch is bi-directional, meaning you can move it in both directions, it’s also got a subtle difference to it compared to the standard non-limited edition watch. Can you see it? There are two sets of numbers on it. While the standard Autavia has merely a 12-hour scale and nothing else, this one not only keeps the 12-hour range but it pushes it to the outer edge and squeezes in a 60-minute track as well, making this watch not only more attractive but functional too.
The ‘normal’ Autavia collection sports an open caseback, but this one doesn’t. Instead, it has Jack Heuer’s signature on it and the words “85th Birthday Collection”, there’s also a little bit of room left over if you wanted to have your engraving put on it. I like the idea of the closed caseback on this watch; it’s supposed to represent functionality and clean, simple looks, you wouldn’t suddenly put an open caseback on a Submariner just because everyone else had them on theirs.
I don’t usually like TAG Heuer, but this is somewhat interesting to me. The bracelet looks excellent, though it does also come with a leather strap if you like that sort of thing. There’s also the restrained looks and impressively thick lugs, and the fact that it doesn’t say ‘TAG Heuer’ on the dial, rather only ‘Heuer’.
Pricing for this is $5900, and it’s quantity limited to 1932 examples.
For more info, please visit tagheuer.com
