On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the legendary watch collection, the Autavia, TAG Heuer has decided to come out with two brand new watches with two exciting complications. The Autavia is the brand’s oldest TAG Heuer’s (née Heuer) trio of notable chronograph wristwatches, debuting in 1962 at the hand of the 28-year-old Jack Heuer during his first year as CEO.
The TAG Heuer Autavia: An Undisputed Icon
You might think that the chronograph’s seniority in the world of TAG Heuer watches would ensure its place in a TAG Heuer catalog. Well, in an ideal world, yes definitely. But we don’t live in an ideal world, do we? For some reason, the Autavia has always been the odd one out, always ranking behind the Carrera as well as the Monaco watches.
In 2017, when the Autavia collection completed its 55 years, it seemed as if things might be gradually changing. For the very first time since the year 2003, a brand-new Autavia was let loose. A vintage rendition of a collector-favorite reference was released after conducting what was called the Autavia Cup. It was an event where watch enthusiast voted on and selected their favourite Autavia timepiece.
Brand New TAG Heuer Watches
Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer has released three new timepieces. First two are flyback chronograph watches powered by Calibre Heuer 02, while the third watch is a GMT. Every new watch in the launch represents a first for the Autavia watch collection. Every watch shares a certain attribute such as bidirectional rotating bezels with ceramic inserts, sapphire crystals, and a COSC-certified chronometer certification. Also, do not forget the quick-change strap mechanism that was first seen on the TAG Heuer Connected watch.
TAG Heuer claims that the two latest Autavia Flyback Chronograph timepieces are the first-ever in the Autavia collection to implement the added flyback function. Heuer did manufacture a series of flyback chronographs for the German Air Force in the 1970s. More specifically, the Bundeswehr (Ref. 1550 SG ‘3H’). However, these watches were not placed under any specific collection back then.
The third new Autavia watch in the release is the rather conventional 42 mm wide three-handed timepiece that comes fitted with a GMT feature along with a COSC chronometer. TAG Heuer claims that this is the first time ever that a three-hands Autavia watch has included a GMT feature.
Getting Into The Details
The Swiss watchmaker has released two references, that is, the Autavia Chronometer Flyback Chronograph and the Autavia Chronometer GMT. Both the timepieces come in with 42 mm wide cases. They differ in terms of thickness, however. The latter former has a 15.68 mm thick case while the latter is limited to a slimmer case with a thickness of 13.65 mm.
Both the timepieces come with a stainless-steel case. The TAG Heuer Autavia Chronometer Flyback Chronograph offer a ‘panda’ or black dial. The Autavia Chronometer GMT, on the other hand, comes in a blue dial. The dials do come with Super-LumiNova. TAG Heuer does not disappoint with its 100-meter water resistance.
The bracelet has quite the story. The Autavia Chronometer Flyback Chronograph comes with a black leather strap while the Autavia Chronometer GMT comes fitted with a stainless steel three-link bracelet.
The Autavia Chronometer Flyback Chronograph uses the COSC Calibre Heuer 2 whereas the Autavia Chronometer GMT uses the COSC Calibre 7 GMT. The former offers a power reserve of 80 hours while the latter offers a 50-hour power reserve.
In the year 2017, the then-newly released TAG Heuer Autavia introduced the world of luxury watchmaking to all the advantages of the Calibre Heuer 02, a movement that watch enthusiasts simply adore. It is only right that on the occasion of the brand’s 60th anniversary, the Swiss watchmaking maestro came out with watches that can finally fill the chronograph-shaped holes in our hearts. The Autavia GMT with the Calibre 7 isn’t too bad either.
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