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Thankfully, TAG has simplified and focused the Carrera collection (a bit) in recent years. The Carrera label is a large umbrella under which an array of models have come and gone over the years, from technical skeletonized chronographs to handsome time-only models. The addition of a 40mm titanium model with solar charging, however, surprised fans and helped this segment of the brand's collections stand out. With a range of sizes, colors and variations, there's something for everyone. TAG offers a wide collection of quartz watches in its Aquaracer collection which are largely indistinguishable from their mechanical counterparts (usually, the former has smooth dials while the latter has horizontally textured dials). Features: time and date, solar charging.SHOP PRE-OWNED TAG Heuer Monaco Automatic Chronograph The Monacoįeaturing an immediately recognizable square case as well as an automatic movement and hip, colorful accents, the Monaco has become an automotive icon (as well as a horological one) since its inception in 1969, when it was named after the famed Monaco Grand Prix. For those who like vintage-inspired timepieces, "Heuer" released a slew of new models in recent years that will satisfy for those who like their envelope pushed, "TAG" offers a robust catalog of decidedly modern watches. This bifurcation between forward- and backward-looking watches isn’t unique to TAG Heuer, but it does seem pronounced with this brand. But TAG Heuer also pushed their legacy to the fore with retro-styled mechanical models and tasty reissues. Then in 1999, LVMH bought TAG Heuer, pumped in enough capital to revive the brand’s ubiquity, and by the 2010s was pushing “connected” TAG Heuer watches intended to compete with the Apple Watch. But most of TAG Heuer’s offerings during the 1990s tended toward the trends, with increasingly larger timepieces for men and relatively dainty models for women. McQueen’s 1971 film, LeMans, endowed Heuer’s racing pedigree with a dose of Hollywood’s ineffable mystique.Īs grunge and (at least the veneer of) financial humility came into vogue during the 1990s, those 1980s associations haunted TAG Heuer enough that the brand began to drop TAG from some of its retro-styled watches, initiating what remains today a coveted section of their catalog that harkens back to the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. When Steve McQueen sported a square Heuer Monaco during his all-too-short racing career, both man and watch were immortalized in photographs that have become enduring templates for men’s fashion. Specifically, Heuer Autavia and Carrera chronographs were de rigueur among drivers. Then, in 1914, Heuer offered their first wrist-worn chronograph.īy the 1960s, Heuer watches were so thoroughly enmeshed with auto racing that it’s hard to find a photograph of Formula 1, Indy, or GT racing from that era in which their logo isn’t visible. However, Heuer was most famous for making chronographs, starting with dashboard clocks used in both cars and planes. Soon after, he was patenting unique mechanisms, some of which still operate in many mechanical wristwatches today. In 1860, long before Techniques d’Avant-Garde (TAG) purchased a majority stake in the company (which was subsequently gobbled up by the LVMH Group), Edouard Heuer set up his eponymous watch manufacturing company in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. It's a brand with a history worth exploring and a modern collection worth dissecting - whether you're a collector or in the market for a first "nice" watch. With strong motorsport associations and a number of bonafide icons, TAG Heuer is especially known for chronographs, and it's a giant in the watchmaking world. Many longtime watch collectors will tell you that their first "nice" watch was "a TAG" - or that their first watch obsession was a vintage Heuer.
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