The presentation of the new TAG Heuer Autavia Heuer 02 is the proof that the new strategy of this historic brand, which started two years ago with the arrival of Jean-Claude Biver and a growing interest in the young audience, did not disappoint the large group of fans of the brand, which considers names like Monaco , Monza and Autavia as fundamental pieces of their collection. When the races, especially those of Formula 1, were living their most romantic era and their most glamorous peak, Heuer chronographs were being worn on the wrist of pilots and experts and the Heuer logo used to appear on the Ferrari chassis of Lauda and Regazzoni .
The origin of the 2017 TAG Heuer Autavia Heuer 02
The new TAG Heuer Autavia Heuer 02 is the result of a complex re-launch project that has seen the Swiss brand busy to organize and roll out a survey among its fans and collectors alike, who were asked to review some of the brand’s proposals of the modern version of this historic chronograph. It was the audience itself, who chose the final version of this timepiece.
The source of inspiration for the 2017 TAG Heuer Autavia Heuer 02
TAG Heuer entered the new TAG Heuer Autavia Heuer 02 in its Heritage section, which represents the brand’s history and only displays the Heuer logo on the dial. The dial is extremely faithful to the original model, with its arrangement of the three white counters, and the style of the bi-directional rotating bezel that reminds us of the Autavia in its version worn by Jochen Rindt ; an Austrian Formula 1 driver, a world champion in 1970 and a “spontaneous” brand ambassador of TAG Heuer (Heuer) at that time.
The new caliber Heuer 02
As if it were a reversible dress, TAG Heuer has equipped the TAG Heuer Autavia Heuer 02 with the in-house built Heuer 02 caliber ; this is the heir to the caliber that was launched a few years ago and was called the 1969 caliber . It then migrated to the CH80 caliber , which equipped a beautiful Carrera with a panda dial that was launched as a prototype and that only lasted long enough to make every fan’s eyes sparkle (mine included) and was then put back into the drawer of memories. Everything seems to be happening in a time of strong strategic and industrial changes within the company.
Horbiter’s overall rating
The new TAG Heuer Autavia Heuer 02 is available both in a version with a leather strap and one with a stainless steel bracelet featuring quite a unique metal mesh. it is neither a standard bracelet nor a Milano mash as it could look at first sight, it is rather a ” beads of rice mesh ” bracelet that was already present in the original Autavia ‘s catalogue. On this occasion, there is a folding buckle with an engraved Heuer logo on it. The first version mentioned retails at 4,600 euro, while the second version will definitely retail at a higher price that hasn’t been released on the Italian market yet; we can expect however a retail price in line with the retail price of the strap version. This timepiece is a perfect example of a mixture between a vintage re-edition, most of all for what its visible and a very modern engineering; I am talking about the Heuer 02 caliber that is purposedly non-vintage looking at all. TAG Heuer has launched in my opinion a new way to interpret the concept of re-edition, positioned at a very competitive retail price for such a proposal considering its general product value.
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
@Gaetano Cimmino