First of all, thanks for an amazing discussion, conducted on three platforms -- this forum; Facebook; and Instagram. Lots of excellent points made, for and against the three-hand Autavias, but more importantly, about the role of a brand, its collectors, etc.

We can all agree that TAG Heuer is a business, with the primary obligation to maximize its profits, for its owners. It does that primarily by selling modern watches, as demanded by current tastes and preferences. TAG Heuer is not a benevolent society or non-profit organization, seeking to preserve the Heuer heritage or support the collectors . . . as someone said to me, "That's the role of OnTheDash." (Yes, I am still puzzling over the deepest meaning of that suggestion.)

Let me share one visual with our readers -- it's a visual that makes me sad about the current situation, while also leading me to support the development of more good Autavias (whether with three hands or up to seven), Carreras, Monacos, Monzas, Silverstones, and the list goes on and on!! Shown below is the current "Heritage Collection" on the TAG Heuer website. Yes, folks, this is it . . . you can count the watches on your two hands / no need for the toes.

How can anyone possibly call this a "collection"? Can someone please describe this "collection", in a simple sentence or even an "elevator speech"? What is strategy driving the development of this "collection"? And how did we get to this place -- after 50 years of Autavias, Carreras and Monacos?

And it gets worse when we visualize some of the amazing models that are not on the page -- the 2017 Skipperrera (125 pieces sold to the Hodinkee crew, myself included); the 2017 UAE Autavia (sold as part of Dubai watch week); the 2018 Siffert version of the new Autavia (sold by Calibre11); etc. Yes, these are treasures that should be in this collection, and in retail stores, but they are gone, as if these pages have been ripped out of the Heuer heritage portfolio. Is this good or bad?

It's too late to get into the answers, so let me just leave you with these questions . . . it's been a great discussion so far . . . perhaps we can move to a discussion of TAG Heuer's vintage strategy / vintage vision / etc. And maybe even a discussion of whether and how the vintage community can contribute to the development of a vibrant heritage collection.

We've gotten through the first 24 hours of the discussion; now let's address some of the more difficult questions. Then, we break for the Easter / Passover weekend!!

And to all a good night!!

Jeff

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: Today, we saw (and discussed) three and four-handed Autavias.
: That's right, prototypes of Autavias that are
: "watches" rather than "chronographs". How
: can this be . . . every Autavia since 1962 has been a
: chronographs?

: Some quick reactions / half-baked thoughts, from someone who knows
: nothing about branding / marketing / product development, but
: has a deep commitment to the vintage Autavias.

: My apology for posting in “bullets”, but sometimes they seem
: useful in keeping the fragmentary thoughts somewhat organized.
: Let’s start with the Bottom Line – I am fine with TAG Heuer
: launching three-hand (non chronograph) Autavias, and believe
: that the DNA claims / heritage positioning are legitimate. Would
: I buy it? Maybe. Should TAG Heuer offer it? Definitely!! I like
: the Carrera Calibre 5 watches . . . simple “three-hand”
: watches, that take their styling cues from the traditional
: Carreras, as they were made in the 1960s. Yes, I bought one of
: these Carreras for our son-in-law to wear on his wedding day and
: have recommended them to several friends, buying their first
: “real watches”. Yes, for just a few seconds, a few years
: ago, I thought about the fact that these Calibre 5 Carreras are
: not chronographs, but I got over that “issue” fairly
: quickly. They are good looking watches; attractively priced; and
: the fact that they are called “Carreras” is OK with me. I
: worry a lot about TAG Heuer’s commitment to its heritage /
: vintage portfolio. Have a look at the “Heritage Collection”
: on the TAG Heuer website --
: https://www.tagheuer.com/en-us/watches/heritage-watch -- and
: see whether you can make any sense of it. Around 10 models are
: included -- five Monacos (three of them with three hands); one
: Monza; two Autavias; and two Carreras. That’s all we have as
: the “Heritage Collection” of the Heuer brand, that we know
: to have an amazingly rich heritage. How did TAG Heuer ever get
: itself into this position / predicament? So how is TAG Heuer
: leveraging its remarkable vintage portfolio? That’s the
: question that is so difficult to answer (and so troubling). It
: gets complicated. Let’s look at the positioning of the TAG
: Heuer brand, since Jean-Claude Biver became the CEO, over three
: years ago. We know that TAG Heuer wants to represent
: “accessible luxury” or maybe it’s “entry level”
: luxury. It’s a luxury item, but with a relatively low price of
: admission. In this line-up of “entry level” watches, the
: Formula 1 and Aquaracer occupy very natural positions. So too,
: the Connected Watch (which lives in a derivative of the Carrera
: case). Thus, we end up with a nice selection of watches in the
: $1,000 to $3,000 price range. Above that, in the $3,000 to
: $5,000 band, we see some Carreras with the better movements –
: Calilbre 1887 and Heuer 01. And in terms of what TAG Heuer is
: selling, there are relatively few watches north of that price
: point. Remember, TAG Heuer is looking for younger customers,
: perhaps buying their first luxury watches. So the new
: “Ambassadors” are no longer the Hollywood stars, but
: action-oriented characters . . . yes, think of surfers, DJs,
: models, cyclists, etc. And, yes, Alec Monopoly. Look at the
: line-up of ambassadors , and once we get past Tom Brady, how
: many ambassadors would the average middle-aged person recognize?
: Very few. But that’s OK . . . TAG Heuer is not focusing on
: middle-aged watch buyers. So how does the “Heritage
: Portfolio” fit into all this? It seems like the natural
: position is at the top of the TAG Heuer range, say, in the
: $5,000 to $7,000 band. And what is in this Heritage Portfolio
: right now? Very little. Cats and dogs, 10 watches . . . and no
: one could possibly look at this Heritage Collection and see any
: coherent catalog or strategy. [As an aside, Breitling will have
: a much easier time developing its heritage line of watches, as
: the brand has a much higher price point, starting just about
: where TAG Heuer is finishing. No, Breitling is not offering the
: equivalent of Aquaracers and Formula 1 watches.] So can an
: Autavia have only three-hands (and not be a chronograph)? Yes,
: of course it can, just like the Carrera can and the Monaco can.
: There can be great looking watches (with only three hands),
: inspired by the vintage chronographs (which had twice that
: number of hands). And they can claim the DNA of the historic
: predecessors!! On the other hand, many of the new Carreras
: should not be making the DNA claims. Look at most of the newest
: Carreras, and once you get past the general geometry of the
: lugs, there is no real connection to the original models (from
: the 1960s). Yes, the press releases talk about DNA and
: legibility, but all this seems bogus. Maybe these skeletonized
: Carreras are stepping stones to the higher priced Zeniths or
: Hublots, and maybe TAG Heuer can be successful in selling them,
: but it’s impossible to see the origins of these Carreras in
: the Carreras of the 1960s. So how does the three-handed Autavia
: fit in? It seems to have a natural position, as a step above the
: Calibre 5 Carreras and Aquaracers; while resting a (big) step
: below the Heuer 02 powered Autavias. Perhaps it’s the
: entry-level / gateway Autavia, and that’s OK with me. Yes, the
: DNA can be there, even if it’s not a chronograph. Why not call
: it something else? Like the 1000 or 844? Simple – the TAG
: Heuer catalog can only have a limited number of chapters, and it
: seems better to build out the third leg of the “Big Three”
: (Autavia, Carrera and Monaco) than to add a new model line to
: the catalog. Finally (or almost finally) – I think all the
: screaming from the vintage collectors about these new
: three-handed Autavias is telling (and – oddly enough--
: gratifying). It shows how much we care about the vintage
: Autavias . . . yes, they are special watches, and we guard their
: heritage with fervor. Why was there no similar outcry when TAG
: Heuer launched the three-hand Carrera and Monaco? The
: “offense” was identical, it’s just that the collectors
: didn’t really care as much, about guarding the sacred position
: of all these watches. And about the GMT version / the “Four
: Hand” Autavia – The blue / black bezel looks fine to me. The
: sky is blue during the day and black at night, and so too the
: bezel. Yes, Rolex used the Pepsi colors, and so did the vintage
: Autavias, but no need to be bound by those choices. The GMT
: versions of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer and Formula 1 have used this
: same blue / black approach, and I have always admired them. One
: more thing -- what we saw today are prototypes, which clearly
: have some design issues. I see some kinks to be worked out, and
: am optimistic that the folks at TAG Heuer will improve on these
: designs, before the watches actually go into production. If
: nothing else, we have put them on notice that when they mess
: with our beloved AUtavia, they had better get it right!!
: And to all a good night. Yes, we saw three-handed Autavias today
: (March 28, 2018), and I expect that the sun will still rise
: tomorrow morning (March 29, 2018) . . . in the east!! If it
: doesn’t, we’ll know that TAG Heuer has, in fact, offended
: the watch gods!!

: Jeff

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