I have the urge to write about the Heuer Collectors Summit for those that did not attend and try to share with you my own experiences there. I have to start with the fact that i'm very grateful to Tag Heuer for the opportunity to participate in what could only be described the greatest watch related event i've ever attended.

There was definately the feeling that there were three events running parallel to each other during our time there. The Tag Heuer tour & program, the preview of the new Autavia & then the social networking by the collectors that attended. No need to worry as to whether these were at odds to each other, as there were plenty social opportunities between the Tag Heuer tours & the new Autavia preview for collctors to share their thoughts & passions.

Lets start with showing the program so you can see how it all hung together :

SUNDAY 11

People made their way to Hotel Palafitte in Neuchatel, Switzerland. It was not a matter of everyone arriving at the same time but rather a procession of collectors & media checking in & then making their way down to the open restuarant area to begin the social buzz. There were introductions & reunions as random groups of watches were piled up for photos & stories.

People were very good at mixing, crossing nationalities & their own tastes/collecting genres to share with those around them. It seemed to me that we fed off each others excitement on this occasion with everyone getting the chance to see & hold some extremely exotic watches.

The group were drawn together in the late afternoon sun upon the shores of scenic Lake Neuchâtel for the arrival of Jean Claude Biver ( the new CEO at Tag Heuer ). He then gave a welcoming speech that set the tone for the summit. It was very emotional & impressive in the fact that he admitted that Tag had not done enough in the past to support its own heritage and thanked us profusely for our own efforts & passion for the vintage pieces we admire so much. Very bold words indeed but it did not feel at all staged, it really gave me the feeling that they want us to survive & thrive with their support. May i add that he was wearing a very nice compressor case Autavia 2446 at the time!

MONDAY 12

An early start to the day as were shuttled to the Tag Heuer headquarters. We were taken in smaller groups through the factory.

We saw new watches being hand assembled & then we shuffled through into the vintage Heuer workshop where a few specialist watchmakers were servicing the watches we cherrish so much. Shock and awe is probably the best way to describe our reactions as we spotted a set of cupboards filled with vintage dials & bezels for nearly any model you can imagine.

Dial anyone

Or maybe a bezel

It was almost too much for us to bear and we progressed with a barrage of questions for the guy in charge of the area.

You may well have seen pictures of these already but its astounding to be in the presence of so many vintage spare parts. I can only imagine i had the same expression on my face as a 15yo girl meeting her favourite pop idol !!!

Its worth noting that we were not going through the stockpile of parts ourselves & that we did not receive any spare parts as souvenirs !!!

From the excitement of seeing that amazing stock of vintage parts we were in for another treat as we shuffled in a trance to the next location. Next stop was the design teams CAD virtual Autavia & then suddenly ( & i do mean without warning ) BOOM, we saw the prototype 2017 Autavia !!

There were even mock ups of the grains of rice bracelet & an orginal Gay Freres double rice for inspiration.

We were crawling over each other to photograph and hold it but there was time for us each to handle it. There was definately an air of excitement within the collectors group & the feedback i heard was very positive indeed.

Here's a photo of my own 1962 Autavia 2446 next to the 2017 prototype - i think the heritage & styling cues are clear for all to see. I really like it & predict it will be a successful model for them when you cosider its powered by an inhouse movement, it really comes down to where they set the price at but i think there's a good chance i will buy one myself.

Coming back to earth from the dizzying experience of seeing the vintage watch workshop & the new Autavia we met with Jack Heuer & he gave a speech in the Tag Heuer boardroom. I would add that he is still sharp and seemingly active gentleman, always a pleasure to meet him.

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There were a numbers of workshops after lunch & in between was the perfect opportunity to relax in the themed Heuer museum. For anyone planning a tour to Tag Heuer i would strongly suggest an email to them prior to travelling to make sure the museum is open as its unlikely you will ever see a better range of dramatic and important Heuer's produced throughout the companies history.

Late afternoon we were asked to go out behind the factory where Tesla had set up a makeshift drag strip. We were invited to drive the 95D model Tesla's upto the christas tree & give it everything they've got. My own explanation of the experience is that i have never driven anything with 4 wheels that accelerates so hard. Whoh yeh !!

This was my own pass on the strip ;-)

[Editor -- here is link to video, in case it does not display in your browser -- Darren's Drag Strip Video]

Dinner was held up in the mountains in a chalet style restuarant where we ate the classic swiss dish fondue, great for the taste buds but probably not recommended by your cardiologist !

There were more than just a few chronographs being passed around the various tables and i will say there were moments where food was far from everones priority as you would suddenly found yourself in the presence of yet another exotic watch.

The drinks flowed, the stories followed & a good time was had by all.

TUESDAY 13

Another early start as we were on buses again on our way to the case factory. The current production is geared to make womans link watches & standard Carrera's but were shown every part of their process. It was explained that Tag had recently invested in premium equipment & machinery and this meant they can now produce cases to a much higher standard, a promising sign for the forthcoming Autavia.

We moved on to a second location where Tag has also upgraded its movement factory. This is the location where the inhouse Autavia movement will be produced. Formerly named the CH80 ( due to its 80 hour power reserve ) the movement will be known as the Heuer 03 when the Autavia goes into production.

After lunch there were thankyou's & farewell's as we split away from the group & were shuttled to our various airports & and points of departure.

My review of the summit :

My most prevailing impression of the trip was the deeper level of commitment Tag Heuer is making towards the vintage Heuer community. It was not an attempt on their behalf to dominate us as collectors but more recognition for the good work we have done maintaining the prestige of the Heuer name. They made it clear that its also in their best interests to fly the vintage Heuer flag as high as possible in a market where they themselves are appealing to customers romantic link to the past.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the summit. The staff & support from Tag Heuer were second to none. It takes a lot of planning to make such an event flow for a large & diverse group but Catherine & her hard working team made it look effortless. It was also clear to see that her team were enjoying the contact with us - i salute every one of them !!!

The collectors were an outstanding blend of people. I've never seen such a large and cohesive group maintain their sense of unity in any subject. There were many new friends made & the promise to meet up again at the first opportunity.

My thanks to everyone i met whilst in Switzerland, a great time was had by all.

I hope i have succeeded in relaying to you all just how amazing this event was. I wish there had been space for everyone to participate but thats just not a reality with the popularity of vintage Heuer.

All my best - Darren