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Since its inaugural edition in 2020, LVMH Watch Week has become a much-anticipated event that kickstarts each year’s calendar of horology events. From Jan 10 to 12, the teams behind LVMH’s four main watchmaking brands — Bulgari, Hublot, Tag Heuer and Zenith — were in Singapore to present their first batch of novelties for the year. Each brand set up a show space within individual villas at Capella Singapore on Sentosa Island, where they met with journalists and retailers to showcase their latest offerings. (Subsequently, the event moved on to New York.) Here are the most outstanding new releases from Tag Heuer.
1. Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition
This year, Tag Heuer’s most popular model, the Carrera, celebrates its 60th birthday. Launched in 1963, the chronograph wristwatch was inspired by the spirit of the Carrera Panamerica race, a dangerous road rally that ran for just five years, from 1950 to 1954. The Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition takes its cues from one of the most popular vintage Carrera models, the 2447 SN of the late ‘60s.
While the earliest first-generation Carrera models had monochromatic dials in silver or black, subsequent versions featured a silvered dial with black registers (also known as a panda dial) or vice versa (a reverse panda). The 60th anniversary remake is a largely faithful remake of that panda-dial edition, which was called the 2447 SN.
Reproduced details include the stripes on the hour markers, and the hour and minute hands; as well as double stops at 12. There are however, some key differences: The new version is 3mm bigger with its 39mm steel case and is now powered by a modern movement — the Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic, which has a column-wheel chronograph and an 80-hour power reserve.
2. Monza Flyback Chronometer
Since he took the helm in 2020, Tag Heuer’s 28-year-old CEO and LVMH scion Frederic Arnault has doubled down on the brand’s links to the world of motorsport. It’s no surprise that another of Tag Heuer’s key novelties for LVMH Watch Week 2023 — and the watch Arnault was wearing during his presentation — is a bold new Monza timepiece.
Introduced in 1976 to celebrate Niki Lauda’s F1 World Championship victory in 1975, the Heuer Monza was one of the first black-coated watches then. The latest special edition comes in a 42mm carbon case, as well as a skeletonised dial with blue applied indexes and two chronograph counters crafted from fumé blue sapphire crystal. The timepiece is driven by the brand’s in-house Calibre Heuer 02 Flyback, a COSC-certified chronograph movement.
3. Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph
Tag Heuer is billing the latest, and second, version of the Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph as the “ultimate companion for the outdoors”. Its wearer will definitely need to get out in the elements to make the most of this timepiece. Well, just for a little while: Thanks to the solar-powered Calibre TH50-00 — created with Citizen-owned Manufacture La-Joux Perret — just two minutes in the sun is enough to keep the watch going for a day. Some 20 hours of sun exposure is all the Solargraph needs to stay powered for six months.
Housed in a 40mm sand-blasted case made from grade 2 titanium with matching bracelet, the timepiece is extremely light and easy to wear. It is complemented by a black sunray brushed dial that is accented by light blue accents, and white-lumed indexes and hands.
