Tag Heuer is on the Right Track
- Jilliano Romano
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
In March of 2025, Tag Heuer made the polarizing decision of re-releasing their extremely popular neo-vintage quartz Formula 1 watches to commemorate becoming the official sponsor of F1. If you can detect a touch of sarcasm behind that sentence, it’s because the writing had been on the wall ever since their limited edition collaboration with fashion brand Kith became a roaring success. However, the new and improved Tag Heuer F1 seemed to split the watch enthusiasts into two camps: the Overpriced Moonswatch Camp and the Perfect Move Camp. Although the title of this article may have already spoiled which camp I’m in, let me explain my reasoning, and then you can drop a comment afterwards to voice your disagreement.
Tag Heuer has a relatively young, yet more-arduous-than-necessary history. That is because, like every other brand during the 1970s, the watch company known as Heuer was significantly affected by the Quartz Crisis. In fact, the impact on Heuer was so devastating that it was eventually acquired by Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG) in 1985 becoming the Tag Heuer that we know today. Over a decade later, it would be acquired by luxury conglomerate LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton), and it’s been a strange and wild ride ever since. While they retained stalwarts like the Monaco and the Carrera, other models like the Aquaracer and Link received mixed results, and they even went through a phase of digital watches. Imagine if your Casio F91W cost about 18 times more, and you’d have a mid-2000s Tag Heuer.
However, there seemed to be a notable shift in the post-Covid landscape of the watch world. As prices seemed to skyrocket for every Swiss watch, Tag Heuer naturally followed the trend, yet they changed tracks. Instead of continuing with the design language established in the mid-2000s all the way to the 2010s, Tag Heuer released new models of their iconic Carrera chronograph in multiple case sizes (everything from 39mm to 44mm). Next, they updated their Aquaracer models that maintained a slight neo-vintage aesthetic with its textured dial, and Seamaster 300-esque bezel shape, but made the daring - and somewhat controversial choice - of adding a Cyclops magnification at the 6 hour mark. To be completely honest, I absolutely hated this at first (and second, and third) glance, but when I finally tried it on, I didn’t hate it. In fact, it was barely noticeable for me, and I would argue that it’s far less obtrusive than having the cyclops at 3 o’clock (sorry, modern day Alpinist fans!).
They also released a new split-seconds chronograph for their most iconic watch, the Monaco, and as it inspired this article, I have to mention that they finally released their popular 90s Formula 1 collection. It looks virtually the same as the original models that David Schwimmer famously wore on the set of Friends with one key difference - solar power! I am personally a huge fan of solar, so I thought that this was a great choice, even if it is just a version of a Citizen Eco-drive movement.
So why was this the right move? Why is Tag Heuer on the right track?
Simply put, Tag Heuer was dead in the water. For years, Tag Heuer had fallen out of the conversation when discussing the best Swiss watch brands. In 2010, if I were to ask a bona fide watch nerd to name me as many Swiss brands as possible, how many before Tag Heuer would even be mentioned? Five? Ten? If you don’t agree with the price of the Tag Heuer F1, that’s fine, as long as it isn’t because you expected - or wanted - it to be their version of the Moonswatch. Expecting that would be to fundamentally misunderstand the current direction of Tag Heuer and their respective ownership group (LVMH), as well as Omega and their group (Swatch Group). The Moonswatch, which was released in early 2022, was a Swatch release, and Swatch - as a brand - specializes in inexpensive, quirky watches. LVMH, like it or not, is quite different from Swatch, so it wouldn’t have made sense for them to suddenly shift their brand positioning to match that of Swatch.
Just as Tudor’s new Black Bay models took the industry by storm and further established it as its own brand apart from Rolex, Tag Heuer’s recent releases and their pricing is their way of sending a message to their fans and naysayers alike that they no longer want to be merely the fifth or tenth watch brand mentioned in a list of the Swiss watch brands.
Should the Formula 1 be almost 2,000 USD at retail? Perhaps not, depends on who you ask. Should it be positioned as the Tag Heuer Moonswatch at 250-500 USD? Absolutely not. Doing so would erase their progress since the pandemic, and based on the fact that they have released solid gold versions of their most recent Carrera models, as well as skeletonized titanium Monaco watches, I don’t think they want to have the next Moonswatch, regardless of the significant profits.
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My thoughts about Tag Heuer have evolved in the past few years. I started out hating a lot of their watches, and I even considered them barely above a fashion watch at one point. However, I have not only been impressed by their repositioning as a watch brand, but I genuinely admire the attempt. They could have released the F1 at 500 USD, and taken over the watch world. Instead, they stayed the course, and decided that for better or for worse, the Tag Heuer of the 2000s is gone, and this new look? It’s here to stay.
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