Why TAG Heuer is the brand that won 2023

Borna Bošnjak

As I begin writing this, I only now realise that we also picked TAG Heuer as one of the winners of 2022. Wary of sounding like a broken record, and fully aware of being a bit of a cynical snob at the best of times, I genuinely believe TAG Heuer had one of the best returns to form of any brand in recent memory. Growing up with a dad wearing a Professional 200 at all times, only taking it off to adjust the date and sync the time to the daily news, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the brand, and that’s perhaps why I’ve also been critical of certain releases over the last few years. While it certainly made sense in the grand scheme of pushing the envelope of technological development, some of these watches hardly honoured the Heuer legacy, and I’m certainly glad that the brand’s focus in 2023 was spent elsewhere. Where was this focus? Well – I’m glad you asked, as it perfectly builds my argument for why TAG Heuer indeed won 2023, and if my round-up of their best releases of the year wasn’t enough, here’s a deeper dive.

Exhibit A: Carrera Glassbox, a future classic

Where else to start than with TAG Heuer’s headlining release of Watches & Wonders 2023 – the Glassbox. The Carrera is undoubtedly the brand’s most valuable asset, and looking from an enthusiast perspective, it was best utilised in the numerous limited editions in 39mm sizes, culminating in the silver-dialled 60th Anniversary. To accompany the fairly large 42mm model, TAG Heuer introduced a brand new architecture with the Glassbox, giving it a box-domed sapphire crystal that spanned to the very edge of the case and integrated the tachymeter scale beneath it. Despite its 39mm size, it was clear that this is a modern Carrera. Instead of the slim, long lugs of the vintage models, the Glassbox retained the faceted, brawny shape of the 42mm Carrera, but scaling them down and integrating them into a surprisingly slim case for a great wearing experience. The Heuer 02 movement also got an upgrade with bi-directional winding (finally), and a facelift to stylistically fit the new decoration direction, renamed the TH20-00 to fit the brand’s new movement naming scheme.

Exhibit B: Tastefully honouring the legends

It didn’t end there, however. After the success of the initial blue and reverse panda Glassbox models, TAG Heuer followed up with an absolute killer. Using the Glassbox shape, the brand revived the Skipper, one of the most-loved vintage Heuers, doing so in a perfectly tasteful manner. While not exactly a re-edition, the new Skipper has all the hallmarks of what made the originals so collectible, most of all the funky-coloured sub-dials. This was a big hit, and most surprising of all – you can walk into a shop and buy it, as it’s not a limited edition. What’s more, at A$9,800, it’s not such a bad deal, either, considering the stratospheric climb in retail prices as of late. Spoiler alert – it may get another mention in a “best of”.

The cherry on top for the 60th anniversary of the Carrera has to be the solid gold Glassbox. So clearly inspired by the 1158 CHN racing chronographs bestowed upon the wrists of F1 drivers by none other than Jack Heuer, it was yet another example of why reissues are not always the way to go. I could wax lyrical about how beautiful it is (or you can simply check out Jamie’s article), but I think I can make my point saying it was one of the best-looking watches released this year.

It wasn’t just the Carrera that got some special attention, either. It’s safe to say that we won’t see any drastic changes to the basic Monaco design for a while, so seeing TAG Heuer experiment here and there with a few special editions is always exciting. My personal favourite has to be the Night Driver, but based on feedback from our audience, it also seems the Monaco Skeleton was really well-received. It’s a little too modern for my personal tastes, but it just goes to show that you can have a watch so clearly inspired by its history successfully executed in a modern manner.

Exhibit C: An exciting entry point

Though watch nerds are more likely to be excited by a new retro-reissue or a high-tech chronograph, I’d argue this was one of the most important releases for the brand this year. While the stunning gold Glassbox and quirky Skipper attract the peepers to the shop fronts, I’ll bet that many will actually walk out with a steel Solargraph in tow. For a long time now, TAG Heuer has had the challenge of having to compete on so many fronts. There are the vintage fans needing their historical Heuer fix, there are those expecting a revival of the department that brought the Mikrogirder and Mikrograph, and then there’s that person not into watches, just looking for a “nice watch” for a few grand. With the first two covered by the likes of the Glassbox and the new Monza revival as well as the Monaco OnlyWatch 2023 piece, the new steel Solargraph meets the needs of the latter. Admittedly, the Solargraph isn’t the most affordable TAG Heuer, at least not yet. That honour goes to the Formula 1, which, despite having an air of nostalgia about it, seems a little tired at this point, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it completely phased out or revamped in the near future.

Summary judgement

With such a rich back catalogue of not only great watches, but great stories associated with them, too, it was only a matter of time before TAG Heuer hit their stride once again. What started last year, with the revitalisation of the Aquaracer, continued this year with amazing Carrera releases that weren’t just limited to the high-end. Their work, however, is not complete. The brand’s revival of the Monza stopped with just one release, and as cool as it is, I’ve gotta admit it’s a bit niche. What I’m looking forward to the most, however, is the expansion of the Autavia line. At the moment, TAG Heuer’s website only lists four references, leaving plenty of room for improvement.