2024 TAG Heuer Watches and Wonders

McBeardy
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Jeff Stein Jeff Stein
Bremont seems to be in a difficult spot — they need to remake the catalog / revive the brand, but where are the opportunities in the current market? Sometimes feels like all the good designs have been done.

surely the issues were with costings & shareholders wanted a quick fix. The rebrand potentially didn’t need to happen (the new logo is very Stone Island). They had a good brand identity previously, the trip tick case, lug profile and hardened steel. They just need to tweak those designs/ cost and slim down the SKUs
 
Jeff Stein
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
Is there another watch that you can buy for say £6000 that you can also buy a £120,000 version of? I know it's not the same case, but to a casual observer it's a slightly bigger Monaco...

It doesn’t seem that strange. Off the top of my head, I can think of Royal Oaks going from $17,000 to over $700,000. Probably the same for the AP Code 1159s.

it’s all about the Halo / Headline.
 
Aquagraph
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That's true... but somehow $17,000 seems like a 'cheap' AP.
Whereas £7000 seems like an expensive TAG Heuer... and £121,000 seems like an incredibly 'adventurous' move.
As you mentioned before re the tourbillon, once you've committed to the 'entry level' luxury position it's kind of hard to change that perception.
 
Aquagraph
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I imagine we'll see lots of incredulous YouTube videos over the coming days.
 
Jeff Stein
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TAG Heuer catalog now has span of almost 100X from cheapest watch ($1450 for Formula 1, and there may be even cheaper models) to most expensive watch ($139,000). I can imagine the three heritage based collections going up-market (and let's call them "Heuer") and the Formula 1, Aquaracer and Link (newer collections) being the entry level watches, with the TAG Heuer printed on the dial.

Maybe this is what we are seeing with Rolex and Tudor. Both are actually owned by Rolex, but seems like the steel sports watches will be branded Tudor and Rolex will be selling the high-end / precious metal models. The days of Rolex being the brand for $10,000 steel sport watches may be about over.

Breitling acquired UG to move up-market; expect them to acquire an under-brand to compete with Tudor / Oris on the lower end. It seems like the brands want to have a much wider range of prices . . . and different "labels" (Rolex / Tudor or Breitling / UG) seem to be one approach.
Edited:
 
McBeardy
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Jeff Stein Jeff Stein
TAG Heuer catalog now has span of almost 100X from cheapest watch ($1450 for Formula 1, and there may be even cheaper models) to most expensive watch ($139,000). I can imagine the three heritage based collections going up-market (and let's call them "Heuer") and the Formula 1, Aquaracer and Link (newer collections) being the entry level watches, with the TAG Heuer printed on the dial.

Maybe this is what we are seeing with Rolex and Tudor. Both are actually owned by Rolex, but seems like the steel sports watches will be branded Tudor and Rolex will be selling the high-end / precious metal models. The days of Rolex being the brand for $10,000 steel sport watches may be about over.

Breitling acquired UG to move up-market; expect them to acquire an under-brand to compete with Tudor / Oris on the lower end. It seems like the brands want to have a much wider range of prices . . . and different "labels" (Rolex / Tudor or Breitling / UG) seem to be one approach.

makes sense.

although one would argue Breitling will be the Tudor & won’t look to get a ‘sub entry brand’.

Will be interesting to see what Kern does with UG, has to tread carefully with that one.

what models do you expect to be kept heritage? Thought TH were moving away from this.
 
Jeff Stein
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I am guessing that Breitling stays where it is -- generally, $8,000 to $20,000 for chronographs.

Then we see UG come in from $20,000 to infinity.

Then under-brand from lowest possible number to $8,000 (or wherever Breitling starts).
 
Mspeedster
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In order to change perception and truly move upmarket, I feel TAG really needs to have two sub-brands within the brand.

TAG Heuer and...
...Uber Heuer or Grand Heuer or Super Heuer etc.
 
Jeff Stein
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TAG Heuer ($1400 to $10,000) and Heuer ($10,000 to $139,000) would look fine to me, with exceptions allowed for both brands.
 
Jeff Stein
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here's the movement in an IWC split second chronograph, currently listed on eBay for $6,400.

"democracy" is a wonderful thing, but this movement is very different from the type used in the high-end split second chronographs. I'm a big fan of the Valjoux 7750 movement, but Richard Habring described it pretty well when he said that they opened the hamburger bun, and put in a slice of cheese . . . it's modular and massively thick. Still, a great achievement as it offered an "economy" version of the rattrapante, but it's a different animal than the ones with the column wheels.

Some collectors are freaks about the dials . . . other chase the cases . . . and then there are the movement guys.

s-l960.jpg s-l1600 (1).jpg
 
Ara
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Jeff Stein Jeff Stein
TAG Heuer ($1400 to $10,000) and Heuer ($10,000 to $139,000) would look fine to me, with exceptions allowed for both brands.
This may sound dramatic, but I think about this all the time. Splitting the two up but forging them together in partnership would really create some amazing creative opportunities.

I know the topic has been discussed briefly here on the forum before, at OTD, as well as on socials -- and I've heard the "there is no Heuer without Tag Heuer" -- but I want to keep dreaming that the idea could exist one day. Not as separate brands in a sense, but tiers as you just presented.
 
Mspeedster
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Jeff Stein Jeff Stein
TAG Heuer ($1400 to $10,000) and Heuer ($10,000 to $139,000) would look fine to me, with exceptions allowed for both brands.
The problem is TAG already has Heuer branded watches, like the C11 Monaco, as part of its current line up and previous releases. Hence why I think some kind of "Ultra" Heuer branding is needed for this very high end segment.
 
abrod520
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Jeff Stein Jeff Stein
TAG Heuer ($1400 to $10,000) and Heuer ($10,000 to $139,000) would look fine to me, with exceptions allowed for both brands.

Been saying this for years now
 
abrod520
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Jeff Stein Jeff Stein
the Valjoux 7750 movement . . . [is] modular and massively thick.

Yes but, this Monaco is massively thick too. And the Habring Doppelchronos feel pretty nice to use IMO.
 
Gene242
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
Is there another watch that you can buy for say £6000 that you can also buy a £120,000 version of? I know it's not the same case, but to a casual observer it's a slightly bigger Monaco...
I think despite the recent price increases, JLC reverso can be hand under $9000 retail for a basic model and their are the astronomical prices for a fully loaded, precious metal, complication rich with all the bells and whistles..if it remember correct although extremely limited it was north of a 1 milllon
 
Jeff Stein
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of course, TAG is very proud of the "Avant Garde" idea, as we might expect, and that idea (of innovation in materials and techniques) belongs with the high-end . . . haute horlogerie, fine watchmaking, etc. . . . so my simple split of the six collections at the $10,000 mark may not be ideal.
 
Gene242
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Jeff Stein Jeff Stein
TAG Heuer catalog now has span of almost 100X from cheapest watch ($1450 for Formula 1, and there may be even cheaper models) to most expensive watch ($139,000). I can imagine the three heritage based collections going up-market (and let's call them "Heuer") and the Formula 1, Aquaracer and Link (newer collections) being the entry level watches, with the TAG Heuer printed on the dial.

Maybe this is what we are seeing with Rolex and Tudor. Both are actually owned by Rolex, but seems like the steel sports watches will be branded Tudor and Rolex will be selling the high-end / precious metal models. The days of Rolex being the brand for $10,000 steel sport watches may be about over.

Breitling acquired UG to move up-market; expect them to acquire an under-brand to compete with Tudor / Oris on the lower end. It seems like the brands want to have a much wider range of prices . . . and different "labels" (Rolex / Tudor or Breitling / UG) seem to be one approach.
Technically, they have the plasma Carrera's north of $300,000

Also I think another obstacle for them going up market is..they arw are suppose to be the lower end of LVMH watch division, the longines to swath omega

I don't see a scenario where they get ahead of Hublot, blvgari, Zenith, or Luis Vuitton perception wise

Zenith the watch darling, Hublot hated but popular, and blvgari has it niche market and Luis Vuitton the haute horology ridiculously price pieces
 
Jeff Stein
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abrod520 abrod520
Yes but, this Monaco is massively thick too. And the Habring Doppelchronos feel pretty nice to use IMO.

It's a good bit thinner than any of these IWCs and much less of a "blob" on the wrist . . . I believe that the new Monaco is 15.2 mm, which works well on the 41 mm square case . . . fits the wrist nicely. I believe that the IWC is well over 16 mm . . . maybe in the 17 mm range.
 
Mspeedster
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@Jeff Stein - I assume you've seen the Monaco Rattrapante in person at W&W. Does it look 10x better live than the photos?

Because all this Avant Garde greatness doesn't come through to me in the pictures or videos. I've read that the 3 layers of crystal are designed to give added depth and viewing pleasure of the movement. A movement which is supposed to have new levels of high finishing, including some areas done by hand. But I can't really see such a huge difference in the photos. In person I suspect it must be something special to see.
 
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