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Calibre11
·One of the challenges of writing the "Ultimate Guides" is sourcing the correct information- and the most reliable source material tends to be the catalogues. They're not always right (we know that quite a few watches never make it into a Catalogue), but in the absence of internal documents, they're the best we have.
With this in mind, I had the 6000 series going on sale in 1995: https://www.calibre11.com/tag-heuer-6000-series-overview/
This was based on the watch first appearing in the 1994/5 Catalogue: https://www.calibre11.com/catalogue...ues/1994-1995-tag-heuer-highlights-catalogue/ - there's nothing in the 1992/ 1993 catalogues. Because TAG Heuer catalogues tend to cover two years, (i.e. 1994/5), it does make it hard to be precise on which year specifically...so my original thinking was to choose the later date.
But thanks to a comment from a reader on the original article, it seems as though the 6000 might be quite a bit older than I'd thought- and instead dates to 1992?
So, here is what I've been digging through to try and work out the correct date once and for all.
Firstly, here is an article from International Wristwatch Magazine Edition 15 in 1992. It's clear from this that the 6000 has not yet been launched, but that this is the series being discussed. But it's also clear that this is written before the Basel Watch Fair, which was held in Spring 1992 (March/ April/ May).
Then I found this article covering the launch itself- but no clear source:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TAG Heuer S.A. is introducing its 6000 series wrist watch collection, which will be priced higher than previous sports watches. The 30 styles in the collection will cost from $1,200 to $2,900 and be available in stainless steel, 18-karat gold or a steel-gold combination. The 6000 line will begin limited distribution in Sep 1992. Although TAG Heuer sells 700,000 watches a year internationally, only around 2000 of the 6000 series are expected to be sold in the US in the first year. The product launch will include a choreographed dance piece by the Feld Ballet/NY, sponsored by TAG Heuer.
TAG Heuer, the watch line that over the past few years has become a leader in sports watches, is introducing a new exclusive collection that will move the brand into higher price points.
The collection, dubbed the 6000, is in either stainless steel or a combination of stainless and 18-karat gold. This is the first time the brand has used fine metals.
“The move is consistent with our strategy to go upscale,” said Luc Perramond, president of Heuer Time & Electronics Corp., TAG Heuer’s U.S. subsidiary. He said the firm has tripled the average TAG Heuer price point over the past four years.
Perramond said the average TAG Heuer retail currently is $750 to $800, and the new 6000 collection will range from $1,200 to $2,900 retail.
He said next year an 18-karat gold watch will be introduced.
Perramond said worldwide TAG Heuer sells 700,000 units a year. He said the 6000 series will have limited distribution, sold only in a few select stores the first year. He expects to sell only 2,000 in the U.S. the first year. The watches will be distributed in September.
“We will always stay in sport watches. We’re not looking to do dressy watches,” Perramond said. “We have built a strong brand image, and with improved quality and functions we have been able to move into higher price points.”
The 6000, which is currently hitting stores in Europe and the Far East, features 30 sporty styles. It has a patented bracelet with curved links designed to mold to the shape of the wrist or is available with a saddle-stitched leather strap in a range of fashion colors.
The 6000 watches possess the same technical features as the other TAG Heuer watches, including water resistance, a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and luminous hands and hour markers. The faces come in gray or white.
As part of the 6000 series launch, TAG Heuer is supporting the Feld Ballet/NY summer preview season. Eliot Feld, director and choreographer, has choreographed a dance to commemorate the launch of TAG Heuer’s 6000 collection, and the performance will debut Aug. 18.
Perramond said this is first time the watch firm has supported the performing arts; past sponsorships have been exclusively sporting events such as skiing, yachting and car racing.
“We chose an art that is technical and athletic to support and help us build our brand image,” Perramond said.
The firm was started in 1860 by Edouard Heuer in St. Imier, Switzerland. From the beginning it focused on precision timekeeping, and was appointed the official timekeeper for the 1920, 1924, 1928 and 1980 Olympic Games.
In 1985, Heuer joined forces with TAG (Techniques d’Avant-Garde), a Paris-based technology firm that supported sports-related activities.
---------------------------------------------------------------
To be doubly sure, I then went to the 1997 TAG Heuer Annual Report (I didn't have this document back when I wrote the original article):
So there it is..I was off by three years, which is quite a lot when you consider it changes the lifespan of the series by almost 50%! (from 7 years to 10).
So why wasn't the watch in the 1992/ 3 catalogue? It could be because the watch was only launched in a limited way initially, but I think the most likely is that the 1992/ 3 catalogue must have been published before the launch of the watch...and if the watch was launched at Basel (which would be logical), then it tells us that those old 90s Catalogues must have been published in the European winter and ahead of Basel Fair.
So there we have it- we can all sleep well knowing that the 6000 Series was not launched in 1995, but some time in mid 1992. I'll update the Ultimate Guide...
With this in mind, I had the 6000 series going on sale in 1995: https://www.calibre11.com/tag-heuer-6000-series-overview/
This was based on the watch first appearing in the 1994/5 Catalogue: https://www.calibre11.com/catalogue...ues/1994-1995-tag-heuer-highlights-catalogue/ - there's nothing in the 1992/ 1993 catalogues. Because TAG Heuer catalogues tend to cover two years, (i.e. 1994/5), it does make it hard to be precise on which year specifically...so my original thinking was to choose the later date.
But thanks to a comment from a reader on the original article, it seems as though the 6000 might be quite a bit older than I'd thought- and instead dates to 1992?
So, here is what I've been digging through to try and work out the correct date once and for all.
Firstly, here is an article from International Wristwatch Magazine Edition 15 in 1992. It's clear from this that the 6000 has not yet been launched, but that this is the series being discussed. But it's also clear that this is written before the Basel Watch Fair, which was held in Spring 1992 (March/ April/ May).
Then I found this article covering the launch itself- but no clear source:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TAG Heuer S.A. is introducing its 6000 series wrist watch collection, which will be priced higher than previous sports watches. The 30 styles in the collection will cost from $1,200 to $2,900 and be available in stainless steel, 18-karat gold or a steel-gold combination. The 6000 line will begin limited distribution in Sep 1992. Although TAG Heuer sells 700,000 watches a year internationally, only around 2000 of the 6000 series are expected to be sold in the US in the first year. The product launch will include a choreographed dance piece by the Feld Ballet/NY, sponsored by TAG Heuer.
TAG Heuer, the watch line that over the past few years has become a leader in sports watches, is introducing a new exclusive collection that will move the brand into higher price points.
The collection, dubbed the 6000, is in either stainless steel or a combination of stainless and 18-karat gold. This is the first time the brand has used fine metals.
“The move is consistent with our strategy to go upscale,” said Luc Perramond, president of Heuer Time & Electronics Corp., TAG Heuer’s U.S. subsidiary. He said the firm has tripled the average TAG Heuer price point over the past four years.
Perramond said the average TAG Heuer retail currently is $750 to $800, and the new 6000 collection will range from $1,200 to $2,900 retail.
He said next year an 18-karat gold watch will be introduced.
Perramond said worldwide TAG Heuer sells 700,000 units a year. He said the 6000 series will have limited distribution, sold only in a few select stores the first year. He expects to sell only 2,000 in the U.S. the first year. The watches will be distributed in September.
“We will always stay in sport watches. We’re not looking to do dressy watches,” Perramond said. “We have built a strong brand image, and with improved quality and functions we have been able to move into higher price points.”
The 6000, which is currently hitting stores in Europe and the Far East, features 30 sporty styles. It has a patented bracelet with curved links designed to mold to the shape of the wrist or is available with a saddle-stitched leather strap in a range of fashion colors.
The 6000 watches possess the same technical features as the other TAG Heuer watches, including water resistance, a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and luminous hands and hour markers. The faces come in gray or white.
As part of the 6000 series launch, TAG Heuer is supporting the Feld Ballet/NY summer preview season. Eliot Feld, director and choreographer, has choreographed a dance to commemorate the launch of TAG Heuer’s 6000 collection, and the performance will debut Aug. 18.
Perramond said this is first time the watch firm has supported the performing arts; past sponsorships have been exclusively sporting events such as skiing, yachting and car racing.
“We chose an art that is technical and athletic to support and help us build our brand image,” Perramond said.
The firm was started in 1860 by Edouard Heuer in St. Imier, Switzerland. From the beginning it focused on precision timekeeping, and was appointed the official timekeeper for the 1920, 1924, 1928 and 1980 Olympic Games.
In 1985, Heuer joined forces with TAG (Techniques d’Avant-Garde), a Paris-based technology firm that supported sports-related activities.
---------------------------------------------------------------
To be doubly sure, I then went to the 1997 TAG Heuer Annual Report (I didn't have this document back when I wrote the original article):
So there it is..I was off by three years, which is quite a lot when you consider it changes the lifespan of the series by almost 50%! (from 7 years to 10).
So why wasn't the watch in the 1992/ 3 catalogue? It could be because the watch was only launched in a limited way initially, but I think the most likely is that the 1992/ 3 catalogue must have been published before the launch of the watch...and if the watch was launched at Basel (which would be logical), then it tells us that those old 90s Catalogues must have been published in the European winter and ahead of Basel Fair.
So there we have it- we can all sleep well knowing that the 6000 Series was not launched in 1995, but some time in mid 1992. I'll update the Ultimate Guide...
