TAG Heuer has collaborated again with influential Japanese designer Hiroshi Fujiwara to launch a new limited edition chronograph that takes its inspiration from vintage Autavia models. Fujiwara, who is referred to as the Godfather of Streetwear, runs the fashion label Fragment Design and previously collaborated with the Swiss brand in 2018 to create a limited edition based on the Carrera.
The new TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Heuer 02 chronograph has the characteristic minimalism that is a hallmark of Fujiwara’s design, but it also riffs heavily on vintage Autavia and consequently TAG Heuer’s motor-racing heritage. The case is a reinterpretation of the C-case models used predominantly on Autavia references in the late 1960s and 70s.
“I gave the design a modern and exceptional flair with the red caseback, which reflects one of the brand’s logo colors and also gives it a completely new and evolved character,” says Fujiwara.
The 44 mm stainless case has a mix of brushed and polished surfaces and is fitted with a fixed bezel with polished black ceramic bezel with a tachymeter scale. The black opaline dial has two embossed registers – a 30-minute counter at 3 o’ clock and a 12 hour counter at 9 – for the chronograph function. There is no running seconds hand but a red lacquered central chronograph seconds hand complements the red indexes that stand out on the black dial.
The caseback has a red tinted sapphire crystal window that offers a peak into the running parts of the watch - the in-house self-winding Heuer 02 movement, a 4 Hz column wheel chronograph movement with a power reserve of 80 hours. The sapphire caseback carries the Fragment Design logo and is engraved with the limited edition number from 1 to 500.
Fujiwara design also designed a new five-row polished steel bracelet with a butterfly-folding clasp. The watch will be available to pre-order on the watchmaker’s website and in select TAG Heuer boutiques before going on sale on July 27, 2020. Priced at AED22,200 and limited to just 500 pieces, this is a cracking example of a modern vintage watch and I won’t be surprised if all 500 are spoken for very quickly.
