
TAG Heuer Heads Back Into The Waves
The yacht-ready Carrera Skipper nods to the Swiss manufacture’s oft-forgotten yachting heritage.
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For a while now, it’s felt like TAG Heuer’s watchmaking ambitions have been very much centred around what goes on on dry land. The Aquaracer, ostensibly TAG’s dive-iest watch is—despite holding its own under the waves—marketed and generally seen as more of a sporty all-rounder than other watches in its class. Add that to the rich motorsporting heritage that both TAG Heuer and its predecessor Heuer share, and it’s no wonder that TAG Heuer is a brand that brings to mind the racetrack rather than the open ocean.
That’s not entirely fair though. TAG Heuer too has long boasted its own yachting-adjacent model—albeit one that has appeared sporadically at best of late. Named the Skipper, it’s a cult favourite among collectors for its distinctly nautical vibe yet, with the exception of an ultra-limited collaborative re-release, has been consigned to the annals for the better part of 40 years. No wonder it’s become something of an Auction house darling of late, with vintage Heuer models going under the hammer for well into the high five-figures.
Now however, the Skipper has appeared once more upon the horizon, in a slightly revised format. The latest rendition of the classic sailing model inhabits the now-familiar body of the modern-day Carrera—the two sharing a very similar round shape and profile—with TAG Heuer’s vision being to infuse the sporty precision the Carrera is renowned for with the Skipper’s status as a former mainstay on cutting-edge racing vessels.
The model’s accents and colour scheme instantly convey a maritime theme that sets it apart from its contemporaries in the Carrera line. The deep navel blue, combined with flashes of teal, bright orange and white, serve not just to evoke thoughts of long, leisurely days on the water, but harken back to Heuer’s days providing timepieces for America’s sailing elite. The three-tone subdial is the most obvious example of this—a direct callback to the chronograph wristwatches Jack Heuer produced for the crew of the Intrepid following its victory in the 1967 edition of the race.
$9800; tagheuer.com
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