Tag Heuer’s New, Old Autavia: The “Autavia” Reissued

Tag Heuer is one of my favorite luxury watch brands, and certainly one that I repair a lot of. Ron Gordon Watch Repair is known as one of the best places in New York City for Tag Heuer repair. In addition to the “inside look” that I get every time I service or repair one of these incredible watches, I also keep a keen eye on the brand itself and news about the brand. Tag Heuer Repair New York NYWhich brings me to the Autavia, introduced in 1962 when Tag Heuer was just Heuer. This iconic watch was a fixture on the racing driving scene for many years until it was discontinued in 1986.  According to the Tag Heuer website:

A contraction of AUTomobile and AVIAtion, its name is synonymous with its rotating bezel, its large snailed counters and the exemplary legibility of its black and white. Created in 1962, this iconic model celebrates its 55th anniversary in the form of a neo-retro successor featuring updated functions and a proprietary movement. Modern yet faithful to its roots, the new generation Autavia channels the spirit of the golden age of motor racing. As innovative as the original, this contemporary model is the result of an interactive campaign called the “Autavia Cup” run in 2016: from a choice of 16 vintage models, more than 50,000 web users voted for a reissue of the Autavia “Rindt” worn by the famous F1 driver Jochen Rindt. Source: https://www.tagheuer.com/en-us/node/7286

The newly reissued Autavia is the result of a social media campaign for votes (See https://www.tagheuer.com/en-us/baselworld-livehttps://twitter.com/search?q=%23Autavia&src=tyah, and  https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/autavia/ for #hashtags and commentary from the watch cognoscenti), with more than 50,000 votes being cast. The winner? The famous Autavia Ref. 2446 Mark 3, designed in 1966. Here are the details on the reissued watch –

More imposing than its ancestor — 42 mm in diameter compared to 39 in the 1960s — with a 12-hour graduated bezel and a new Heuer-02 calibre proprietary chronograph movement, the latest generation Autavia carries the DNA and aesthetic codes of the original, updated for today’s market. Its functions are tailored to modern requirements: a self-winding calibre, power reserve of 80 hours, date at 6 o’clock, water resistance to 100 metres. In black aluminium, the bidirectional notched bezel encircles a black dial with three white snailed counters in an optimal layout. A legible, balanced display with hands and applique indexes in steel coated with beige Super-LumiNova®.

I’m really excited about this reissue, but I’m also really excited about the attention it brings to the Tag Heuer brand in such a way as newcomers to the watch can learn about the storied history of Tag Heuer. We have so many people here in New York City that are passionate about watches – many start wearing and collecting them for the fashion, but they stay for the history and passion. Many others inherit them from their fathers or mothers, and in that way a passion for watches is handed down across the generations. And many others are part of an iconoclastic trend to buck the cheap digital watches of the present day, and to set themselves apart by wearing a device that is part passion, part technology, and part tradition.  I highly recommend you visit the Tag Heuer website and read up about this old watch, made new again.