Tag Heuer relaunches the ’80s watches that made it famous

Conversation at watch collector events is turning from mechanisms, metals, dials and designs to the prices making many watches unattractive, if not unattainable.

It comes as no surprise to find HSBC reporting that the average price of personal luxury goods has increased by 52 per cent since 2019, with price rises, some as high as 90 per cent, the main driver of sales growth and profit for uber brands. The Business of Fashion reports that this is fuelling customer backlash at all price points.

Which makes for an interesting backdrop then to the headlines that have swirled in recent weeks around Tag Heuer’s latest release. The so-called Tag Heuer Formula 1/Kith watch is a re-edition of the colourful plastic watches that launched the Tag name and took the brand to unprecedented prominence back in 1986.

Relaunched in May in a range of colours inspired by the originals, the newcomers even stick to the ancient sizing of 35 millimetre – tiny by today’s standards. (Tag went so far as tracking down the early case moulds for the exercise.) As for any updates, you won’t find too many: just a sapphire glass replacing the earlier plastic lens, a rubber rather than plastic strap, and – in a first – the letters KITH replacing TAG on the dial.

This is in recognition of the role played by the American fashion label in bringing the collection to market. Its founder, Ronnie Fieg, is a passionate collector and as he tells it, the watch that sparked his interest was a red Formula 1 model. While this is the backstory to the collaboration, it’s hard to know just what Fieg has brought to the party: Tag after all owns the IP and hardly needs a colour consultant given this is basically a rerun.

Still, one can see the commercial sense of a tie-up with the Kith name and its edgy cachet, with Kith retail outlets selling the co-branded Formula 1 as well as Tag boutiques. But the whole arrangement – each variation is limited to a few hundred pieces – seems to have ruffled die-hard enthusiasts, the purchase price in particular agitating online observers.

While the very first Formula 1s were a value-for-money proposition, today’s clone lands at $2200. This for a three-handed watch with a quartz movement, something that might be compared to Casio’s G-Shock, a similarly colourful but multifunction tool you can have on your wrist for a few hundred dollars.

Or take the original which you can find on eBay for a few hundred dollars. Reactions on Instagram were typical of the ensuing flurry: “The price is absolutely ridiculous.” “I would have expected at least a mechanical movement.” “This will satisfy only speculators and disappoint brand enthusiasts.” “Very cool until I saw the price.” And, towards the benign end of the scale, “Tag Heuer goes MoonSwatch”.