2024 KITH Heuer Formula 1 re-issue quartz watches

Aquagraph

Honestly if it was say 38mm and TAG Heuer branded, I probably would have bought one.

dtf

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

Yago

I think this is genius. Love this release.
Won’t buy one as it’s not meant for me.
We often debated about a relaunch in the past. Perhaps as a cheap and funky smartwatch. We know TH doesn’t do faithful re-editions and rightly so as it doesn’t match their avant garde dna. Anyone who wants an original, there are plenty of good ones for sale at reasonable cost.
I think this is a clever way to do a faithful re-edition without actually doing one. Tapping into a young demographic while at it. My son, who’s very much into streetwear, immediately strapped on his F1 again that I gave him years ago.
Loads of nasty comments online mostly about the high price. No worries, these will sell out fast.
Omega was getting crap over diluting the brand with a cheap plastic quartz watch. Tag is now getting crap over overpricing a plastic quartz watch. Watch people are the worst.
Omega can sell a cheap plastic quartz based on an expensive Speedmaster for a 250 euro. It will turn out TAG can sell an expensive plastic quartz based on a cheap plastic quartz for 1500 euro. TAG Heuer for the win.

Aquagraph

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.

Aquagraph

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.

Ara

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.

Aquagraph

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

Aquagraph

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.

Mspeedster

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.

F Juan Forciniti

What is the upgrade of materials? Do you know?

Mspeedster

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.

Mspeedster

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:
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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.
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“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.”
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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".

Mspeedster

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.