The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
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I've been patiently waiting for a 1980's Formula 1 revival. Will it live up to my unreasonable expectations?
Picture this: You're a teen in the '80s shopping in the mall, Walkman fastened safely to your belt loop, Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance with Somebody blaring through your over-the-ear headphones, you know, the ones with the little orange sponges. You walk past a shop window where you spot a TAG Heuer display with a rainbow Skittles array of watches: red, green, pink, and indigo. And thus the seed of luxury has been planted firmly in your mind. Now comes high school graduation, class of '90-something; maybe you're lucky enough to be ordained into adulthood with an entry-level Rolex, maybe you get a Breitling, or maybe you get that Formula 1 you wanted, in the color that suits you best.
For many serious collectors who came of age during that era, the OG Formula 1 was their first major watch. Of course, what followed was perhaps slightly more in line with the finance bro dress code of the day: A series 2000 or a Rolex Submariner perhaps. Nicholas Biebuyck, Heritage Director of TAG Heuer, explains that "the Formula 1 claims a special place as the nucleus of a collection, watch numero uno in the larger collector buildout. It's basically the feeder in the collector ecosystem."
Fast forward to present-day and TAG Heuer has decided to riff on the colorful and characterful spirit of the original Formula 1s with the Formula 1 Chronographs in 43mm. The inspiration plays on the earlier color schemes but there are now more literal parallels to the race track with overt nods to traffic lights, racing liveries, and tire tread color codes.
The "Formula 1" name draws, of course, on the company's deep, historic connection to motorsports; a perfect name for TAG Heuer's first collection after TAG (Techniques d'Avant Garde) had completed its acquisition of Heuer in 1986. Given Jack Heuer's Formula 1 sponsorships in the '60s and '70s and TAG's sponsorship of the Williams team from 1979-1981, as well as the beginning of the partnership between TAG Heuer and McLaren, the automotive-themed watches were a symbol of the merging of the two company identities.
I was instantly drawn to the yellow colorway in the new lineup of releases, a vivid shade which reminded me of Olafur Eliasson's Olafur Eliasson's Room for One Color (1997), basically a whole lot of yellow, but I enjoy existing in a technicolor universe so this makes sense for me. Brightly colored clothes and accessories have an extremely positive effect on my psyche. A watch doesn't need to be traditional or fit into codified social convention for me to enjoy it; I'm very much okay with a strident hue of red, yellow, or green on my dial.
The case is 43mm x 12.4mm, so discretion is not exactly the game being played here. And although I wish this watch were quite a bit smaller (Hi TAG Heuer, don't forget the original 1986 release 34mm diameter, just saying!), I feel that I am not the primary market being considered in this scenario. I have no problem wearing a large "man's" watch but this case extends past my wrist and the rubber strap is sized for somebody with considerably larger forearms. I do like the C-shape brushed metal case, a discreet nod to the 1970s Autavia chronograph and a fitting tribute to the brand's aforementioned connection to racing over the decades.
The new releases have, of course, had multiple structural and material upgrades since the 1980s, what was once a collection of small plastic dive watches has now morphed into a collection of big daddy chronos. Aside from the use of color, the most symbolic element of design that has carried over into the modern release is the chunky black bezel; originally a plastic unidirectional count-up bezel that has now become a PVD-treated steel tachymeter scale. The new watches have a stainless steel PVD-coated crown which protrudes slightly from the crown guard, making it super easy to set the watch. There are pushers at two and four o'clock, it's all pretty standard entry-level chronograph stuff. The stainless steel screw-down caseback does include a nice checkerboard racing motif and logo engraving. The straps are all embossed rubber and match the color of the dial for an even punchier burst of color.
While I do enjoy the metallic dials on these watches, because I am a magpie and all I can see are shiny things, I wonder if the metallic component feels like an unnecessary added layer. The reflective shimmer is fun but there is a lot happening on this dial, as there is on any chronograph, which has never quite added up in my head as legibility feels like something you wouldn't want to compromise when driving, but hey I don't make the rules. I would indeed avoid wearing this watch while operating any vehicle; what if the light catches on this shiny ass dial, then what? Would I be left blinded and in a pileup on the highway? Okay, I am catastrophizing, but I do feel like I'd need to wear giant blackout sunglasses to read the time on this thing if I were anywhere near direct sunlight.
This quartz-powered chronograph features three guilloché-finished subdials with a seconds, 1/10th of a second, and 30-minute counter. There is an enlarged Arabic numeral 12 o'clock and a date window at four o'clock. The indices and the faceted hour and minute hands are filled with white Super-LumiNova, which does make the watch somewhat more legible.
If I could assign these watches with one overriding quality I would say they are robust, you can definitely wear them while doing pretty much any activity without ever having to be fussy about it. But these watches are definitely going to feel bulky and cumbersome for those of us with more slender wrists. And I do wonder, at $1,850 for a quartz movement, does one maybe deserve a little more bang for their entry-level buck?
What I love about the original Formula 1 is the easy nonchalance of it all. They were TAG Heuer's very legitimate answer to the plastic Swatch craze and they embodied the brightly colored trends of the time period. They had a cereal box toy aesthetic, they were wearable fun! And the considerably smaller size is something I know a lot of watch lovers are longing for. The OG Formula 1 was a lighthearted, affordable product that would kill in today's market. I suppose it brings us back to that age-old quandary: to reissue or to pay homage? I know which camp I belong to.
The Formula 1 Chronograph 43mm, available in red, yellow, and green colorways. Brushed stainless steel case 43mm x 12.4mm with rubber strap. Water-resistant to 200 meters. Available now, each priced at $1850.
The Hodinkee Shop is an authorized retailer of TAG Heuer. To view our collection of Formula 1s, click here. For more information about TAG Heuer, visit their website.
TAG Heuer is part of the LVMH group. Although LVMH Luxury Ventures is a minority investor in HODINKEE, we maintain complete editorial independence.
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