Agreed. 38-41mm and TH branded Id have bought one. At £500 each I’d have probably bought three or four of them.

 

I had two F1s of that time, watches that were in agreement with the time, with a small box and colors that emulated those years, now if you ask me to pay 1500 dollars for a quartz watch with a 35 dollar mov... being able to buy the real one for 600 in good condition... it makes me think that's what they are doing ...

 

37/38 mm was the chrono... 35mm for the 80/90 was perfect ... now at least it should be from 36 mm ...

 

So lets say TAG had priced it at £500. What would people say?

Those entry level F1s at £1200 look way over priced. There was no win here for TAG with the watch community. I wonder if that's why they did this Kith thing, because Kith fans wouldn't know what the price should be in the first place and they are happy to spend £100 on a T shirt.

 

@Yago is back!

 

I honestly think who it's for is secondary vs. what it's for (hype/brand awareness).

 

Yes, probably. But they still can't suddenly drop a £500 watch without making the rest of their pricing look ridiculous. Which it is - in real terms.

 

I’m just a west coast American trying to make sense of it all. The Swiss fascinate me. My family cat growing up was more predictable.

 

I would have bought one at that price for sure. Probably the blue metal bracelet one. But I would have been slightly put off by having to download the Kith app and enter a lottery.

 

Agreed. I could see a quartz chronograph version of these F1s settling into the permanent collection in the future at the £1200-1500 mark, however…that would make a nice entry point into the brand.

 

I've seen the ones that TAG sells in person now. Definitely a nice upgrade in quality and materials compared to the originals. I have no doubt these will sell out quickly. I expect the KITH city models to go even quicker.

 

What is the upgrade of materials? Do you know?

 

The strap is made of a nice rubber (rather than plastic); it's thicker and higher quality than the original strap, feels very nice on the wrist. The crystal is sapphire now and the case (at least the two that are TAG exclusives) are steel and PVD coated. The case is also slightly thicker than the original. The dial printing, lume and just the overall feel of the watch is more premium and robust.

The price is steep for what it is. But I was told that people go crazy for KITH collabs. While the KITH-Heuer branding is a put off for some, for KITH fans it just the opposite.

 

This GQ article gives more insight into the origin and rationale of this reissue:
TAG Heuer’s new Formula 1 x Kith collab is resurrecting a stone-cold '90s classic | British GQ (gq-magazine.co.uk)

Some interesting excerpts:
--
The partnership started, as so many great things do, over dinner. On one fortuitous occasion, Fieg had been seated next to Frédéric Arnault, then the CEO of TAG Heuer. Never one to miss an opportunity to keep Kith at the centre of the conversation, Fieg turned to Arnault and espoused his adoration for the Formula 1, the watch from his childhood. “Having one of those meant a lot in the ’90s, and this was the watch that I wanted,” says Fieg. Later that night, he even dug out an old photo of himself as a teenager with a Boy Meets World kind of hairdo and a red-and-black Formula 1 on his wrist to show Arnault. The pitch came at a golden moment, just as the Formula 1 was having a surge of renewed interest in the watch community, with collectors rushing to eBay to buy them – or digging long-forgotten examples out of storage. A comeback was already on the minds of TAG Heuer’s executives. At an event in March of last year, Nicholas Biebuyck, TAG Heuer’s heritage director, joked, “Oh, no, of course we’re not bringing back a watch that everyone is talking about right now!” Fieg’s childhood memory synced perfectly with the brand’s plans; and shortly after his dinner with Arnault, an official partnership was formed.
--
“The relaunch of this watch in its original form will set the tone for a bigger revamp of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 collection in the years to come,” adds Julien Tornare, TAG Heuer’s new CEO. “It has a very strong connection to many people and this relaunch and collaboration is more fun, energetic, and daring than ever.”
--

My take on Julien's comment is that this release is intended to hype things up for a new F1 line relaunch. But I doubt a new F1 line will be faithful reissues like these, because that's not "avant-garde".

 

Thanks !!

 

I will pass on this model with absolutely no regret whatsoever....

 

Boom. That's everything right there.

- How it came about originally.
- It's viewed as THE starter watch of all starter watches.
- Timeline coincides with Formula 1 renewed interest.
- Colors in general are hot right now (my add).
- Relaunch the Formula1 in its original form now but with a twist and set the tone for future revamp.
- Brand the limited edition KITH and it then becomes a distinct design bridge from what came before in the 80-90s --> to the what is coming next in the mid to late 2020s.

 

Great live photos! The cream dial with the jubilee bracelet isn’t a full lume dial like the original? I hope they start making new bezels & straps so people can restore their originals with!