The TAG Heuer Formula 1 Comes Roaring Back
Welcome to Dialed In, Esquire’s column bringing you horological happenings and the most essential news from the watch world.
Everybody’s got one. That first watch that triggers something in your brain and turns you into a collector. For Ronnie Fieg, founder of Kith, that watch was the original Formula 1 from TAG Heuer. The story goes something like this. Fieg, then 12 years old, was given a Formula 1 by his mother, who worked as a salesperson at Torneau. It was his first watch. He wore it the hell out of it, inspiring jealousy in his friends along the way. It set off a lifetime of collecting. And now, decades later, Fieg and the team at Kith have partnered with TAG Heuer to bring the Formula 1 back—much to the delight of watch lovers the world over.
Hearing Fieg talk about his early experiences with the Formula 1, it’s easy to tell that his passion is genuine. “This was the most important project in a very long time, because if you guys know me, you know I'm a watch collector. I really care about the watches that I wear and the emotional connection I have is huge,” he told a roomful of guests in Miami during Grand Prix weekend, as the Kith and TAG Heuer crews came together to celebrate the release of the 10 watches in the new collection. But though the level of conviction—and the full-circle moment that arrives when those watches go on sale today at Kith and TAG Heuer—is unique, the story of the F1 kicking off a lifelong interest in watches is relatively common for a certain generation.
First released in 1986 in a rainbow of hues far from typical for an established, luxury watch brand, the F1 was a massive hit. During its initial production run, the accessibly-priced piece (at least for a Swiss watch) sold something like three million units. It was the first watch to be released after Heuer was acquired by TAG (short for “Techniques d’Avant Garde”) group in 1985 in the midst of a quartz crisis that saw many established, luxury brands brought low by cheaper, mass-produced pieces powered by quartz movements instead of mechanical ones.
“This is really the beginning of the story. This laid the foundation” of the new TAG Heuer, says Nicholas Biebuyck, the brand’s heritage director. “It’s a kind of ‘gateway drug’ into watch collecting. It’s the catalyst. So many people have stories,” he continues. “Since I’ve joined TAG Heuer, [it’s amazing] the number of people who have approached me and said, ‘It needs to come back’; ‘This was the first watch I ever bought’; ‘My parents gave it to me when I graduated’; ‘This was the gift I gave my girlfriend at the time who’s now my wife of 30 years.’”
In fact, it wasn’t just your everyday fans beating down the doors at TAG Heuer in hopes of a rerelease. Biebuyck says that a number of brands approached the company with the same idea. But it wasn’t until Kith came around that it felt like a natural fit. Fieg’s genuine love for the design sealed the deal, though the project still came with its own set of hurdles and considerations with which to contend.
From the jump, Fieg was adamant that bringing back the 35mm iteration of the watch (it also released in a 28mm diameter in the initial run) was the only way to go. Some folks internally at TAG disagreed, hoping for something a little larger to satisfy modern tastes. But once the team tracked down the original maker of the plastic mold for the first generation of the Formula 1, the question of size was no longer up for debate. They’d keep it true to the OG.
Still, some updates were deemed necessary. As Biebuyck acknowledges, “When you wear the original Formula 1s heavily, they get really gnarly.” The plastic straps, in particular, were prone to degradation. So, with this new version, you get a proper rubber strap that I can confirm, having worn one around for a weekend, is remarkably comfortable on the wrist. There are also higher-end materials in the case, giving the updated F1 a little more heft and alleviating any concerns that the timepiece—which now costs $1,500, much to the chagrin of some online commenters—would feel unsubstantial. Add to that a sapphire crystal instead of acrylic and factor in the idea that, adjusted for inflation, the original would cost up to around $800 these days, and the higher price tag feels justified. (Though I’m certain not all will agree with me.)
And then there’s the other lightning rod, design-wise. On the strap and dial is a shared “Kith Heuer” logo—the kind of thing makes purists bristle, and an impossible to ignore reminder that the Formula 1 is coming back not as a strictly in-house offering but a collaboration. But there’s something in that partnership that actually speaks, with surprising poetic symmetry, to the very first Formula 1 watches released.
Remember, up until that moment in 1986, the world had never seen a watch with a “TAG Heuer” logo on it. Now, nearly forty years later, we get a new one. “Many brands would never, ever, ever touch their logo,” says CEO Julien Tornare. “I think it’s in our avant-garde and innovative spirit that we dared to do it.”
“And I think it’s part of the coolness of our brand to do such a partnership,” he continues. “Not many brands would or could do that, and I think that’s great. It’s such a different watch from everything you have on the market that it’s a good refresh of people’s memories from the ‘80s and the ‘90s. And the fact that we came back with this with Kith makes it even more exciting…It’s the beginning of a strong comeback and we have projects to come.”
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