TAG Heuer Brand Ambassador, actor and professional racer Patrick Dempsey was on hand at TimeCrafters to participate in the launch.

Eric Dumatin, Co-founder of TimeCrafters, joined Dempsey along with Isabelle Boudringhin Co-founder of TimeCrafters, and former NFL player and TV host Michael Strahan at the TAG Heuer display at TimeCrafters. 

 

But this event was much more than just another product launch. In addition to the new announcements, participants travelled back in time as TAG Heuer presented a display of timepieces representing a century of innovation. 

 

The display even included one of Heuer's very first wrist-chronographs, circa 1914 with a silver case, enameled dial, and luminous hands. After the historical display, we moved on and saw:
"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" 

Steve McQueen 

 

TAG Heuer’s presence at TimeCrafters made a bold statement, unique unto to the brand, a statement that reinforced TAG Heuer’s comittment to auto racing. According to Françoise Bezzola, TAG Heuer’s Vice President of Marketing,  “Joe Siffert, the Swiss F1 driver, was Jack Heuer's personal friend and as such was wearing a Heuer watch. He was also the one in charge of training Steve McQueen in Le Mans movie, and this is how the Monaco ended on the actor's wrist and became a legend.” 

 

Bezzola went on to explain, “Back in the 70's, Heuer was the very first non technical brand to partner Formula 1, as the Official Timekeeper of the Scuderia Ferrari. This was a natural fit as the brand had a very strong know how in stopwatches and chronographs.” 

 

As expected, TAG Heuer officially debuted the new Carrera Heuer 01 Indianapolis 500 Limited Edition. Kilian Muller, President and CEO of TAG Heuer North America explained, “We wanted to make something special for the 100th edition of the famous Indy 500 race. That's why we did a limited edition of 100 pieces.”  You can read more about this model in my previous post, 

“TAG Heuer to Announce first Carrera Heuer 01 LE for Indy 500!” 

At TimeCrafters, the new Carrera LE was displayed alongside its earliest Indy predecessor, a Heuer Carrera 45 Dato “Indy 500" 3147 S circa 1966. 

 

The original Autavia Indy 500 remains one of the holiest of grail watches for vintage Heuer collectors and the details of its release are steeped in mystery. Only a handful of these pieces are known to exist. 

 

Of course, several other TAG Heuer Indy 500 LEs have been released over the years. Even TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver recently treated his Instagram followers to a peek at a Heuer Autavia Indy 500 from his personal collection. 

 

Fifty years after Heuer’s first Indy LE, a contemporary classic was released in the Carrera Heuer 01 Indy 500.  According to Mr. Biver, “It is the first ever limited edition built on the new Carrera Heuer 01 and I am particularly proud that it is the Indy 500 Limited Edition that opens this new field of the Carrera Heuer 01.” Indeed, the Heuer 01 is the perfect platform to commemorate this particular race. With its multi-component case and skeleton dial, the Heuer 01 represents a natural evolution of the Carrera. Its aggressive design and ubiquitous faceted lugs draw directly from the DNA of early Carreras envisioned by Jack Heuer more than a half-century ago. With only 100 of the Carrera Indy 500s created and released to the U.S. market, this watch is an instant grail. As of this writing, TAG Heuer had sold all but two – make that one ; )  Stay tuned for my review! 

Mikrograph: Timeless accuracy 

 

Another interesting piece on display at TimeCrafters was TAG Heuer’s latest iteration of the Mikrograph. The original Mikrograph was patented back in 1916 and revolutionized timekeeping.  As the first stopwatch to measure in increments of 1/100^th of a second, the Mikrograph was quickly adopted in sports ranging from swimming to horse racing and of course, auto racing. The extraordinary accuracy of the Mikrograph even resulted in the selection of Heuer as the official timekeeper of the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympic games. 

 

Unlike previous versions, the plot thickens with the newly re-issued Mikrograph. Along with press photos of the new Mikrograph mounted on a strap, TAG Heuer also released technical drawings indicating a detachable “stopwatch” along with accessories including a dash mount and tabletop base option. Curious. I’ll reach out to the brand and try to get additional details or perhaps a piece to review. 

  Formula 1 

 

For fans of TAG Heuer’s Formula 1 design, the brand has also released 1,000 Limited Edition Indy 500 pieces based on the Formula 1 chassis. 

 

Each of the new Formula 1 Indy 500 watches come with both a bracelet and NATO strap. 

Whether you choose the Carrera Heuer 01 or Formula 1 LE, both models come in commemorative boxes with a carbon fiber finish. Connected to Indy 

 

TAG Heuer has also ensured that even their new Connected watch shares the brand’s racing legacy. Already versed in running racing oriented apps such as RaceChrono Pro, TAG Heuer released a pair of themed dials to commemorate this historic race.

Sure, there were plenty of watches, new and vintage on display at TimeCrafters, but one notable theme was that of a heritage shared between the Indianapolis 500, TAG Heuer, and devoted fans of the sport. TAG Heuer has established this legacy with generations of watches and watch owners. 

 It should come as no surprise that TAG Heuer would have such a strong, Indy themed presence at TimeCrafters. 

Just weeks before the 100^th running at Indy, this was the perfect venue to whet the whistle of die-hard race fans by taunting them with limited editions from THE watch brand synonymous with racing. When the checkered flag drops, Tag Heuer race fans will be the big winners at this year’s Indianapolis 500!  

 
This message has been edited by JToddH on 2016-05-18 12:38:14