Final month, a surreptitious early glimpse of TAG Heuer’s full-scale revival—formally revealed immediately—of its iconic plastic-cased Eighties watch, the “Components 1,” appeared within the becoming setting of the Grand Prix racetrack.
For the 2025 F1 season, the watchmaker, appointed the game’s official timekeeper underneath a mega-sponsorship deal inked by its father or mother firm, luxurious conglomerate LVMH, has put in an attention-grabbing clock tower above the pit lane. The clock’s dive-style dial, “Mercedes” hour hand, and notched, bright-red bezel have been immediately recognizable to anybody conversant in the unique multicolored Components 1 watch—which launched in 1986 and bought in its hundreds of thousands—or with the restricted remake that briefly appeared final yr, as a collaboration with the US streetwear label Kith.
Eagle-eyed TAG Heuer super-buffs (of which there are lots) will even have noticed particulars that prompt one thing new: bolder dial proportions, squarer numerals on the bezel, and the fashionable TAG Heuer emblem.
Certain sufficient, that is the format for the brand new tackle the previous favourite, introduced immediately as a full, entry-level addition to the watch model’s product line-up—albeit, at 38 mm, considerably larger than the unique (the previous mannequin was 35 mm). Delicate design enhancements are deployed to provide it a extra modern really feel: utilized luminous hour markers, crisper arms, and a sleeker, extra angular interpretation of the previous case-shape, with its “hooded” lug protuberances initially designed to bolster the plastic casing across the strap attachment.
A nod towards eco credentials comes within the type of bioplastic—a castor-based polyamide which the model has named TH-Polylight—an on-trend substitute for the “Arnite” thermoplastic of previous. As earlier than, although, that is molded over a metal internal core, making for a watch that is fairly extra sturdy than most plastic-cased equivalents.
There are 9 variants: three in sandblasted stainless-steel with inexperienced, black, or blue polymer bezels and 6 full-color limited-editions to grow to be accessible at upcoming Grand Prix races, with instances and bezels in contrasting tones, together with yellow/black, purple/black, and inexperienced/purple, all with matching rubber straps.
What the TAG spotters gained’t have gleaned from the pit lane clock, nonetheless, is that the up to date Components 1, formally titled the TAG Heuer Components 1 Solargraph, can be the newest step in TAG Heuer’s plan to raise the status of solar energy by making it the spine of its entry-level providing.
As with sure fashions in TAG’s Aquaracer sports-watch class, the brand new piece accommodates the model’s solar-powered TH-50 motion utilizing tech from Citizen, the Japanese firm, hooked up to a motion equipped by the latter’s Swiss subsidiary, La Joux-Perret. At $1,800 (£1,650), the Components 1 Solargraph is greater than $1,000 cheaper than the fundamental Aquaracer Solargraph, and now by a long way essentially the most reasonably priced watch in TAG Heuer’s lineup. However, inside the broader class of solar-powered watches it carries a big Swiss Made premium (for equal performance, Citizen’s personal watches high out at round $600).
The dial, consisting of two superposed polymer layers, permits gentle via to a photo voltaic cell beneath it, charging an accumulator storage unit that delivers power to the motion. If left in darkness (in a drawer, for example), a totally charged watch will proceed to run for 10 months, an enchancment on the six months initially claimed for the TH-50 motion (and likewise for Citizen’s personal Eco Drive fashions). It will also be left in power-saving mode, with the crown pulled out to stop the arms shifting, for as much as two and a half years, and takes simply 10 seconds of sunshine publicity to restart.
On the one hand, it’s notable that TAG Heuer—with its eyes firmly on the spending energy of hundreds of thousands of Gen-Z shoppers drawn to Components 1’s mushrooming presence as a digital-first, Netflix-assisted pop-cultural phenomenon—continues to see digital timekeeping because the gateway to its luxurious watches. Like many manufacturers, it has lengthy used Swiss-made battery-powered actions for entry-level watches, however right here the model is making an attempt to place solar energy as a contemporary, premium format, and a assure of the comfort and efficiency it says younger consumers, particularly, are after.