Mar 7, 2020
Reading time 3 min.
TAG Heuer Partners with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing for Commemorative Formula 1 Watch
NEWS
Last month, TAG Heuer unveiled the new Formula 1 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Special Edition 2020. The new model, which as its name implies is part of the popular racing-inspired Formula 1 series produced by the brand, is the second commemorative watch produced in collaboration between TAG Heuer and the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing since their partnership first launched in 2016. The release comes on the heels of the latest car introduced by the F1 team to the world last month in Barcelona — the RB16 designed for the 2020 Formula One World Championship — whose colors have directly inspired those of the watch.
TAG Heuer Formula 1 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Special Edition 2020
PR
The Red Bull Racing Team's RB16 Formula 1 Car
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Taking a look at the specifics on the new model, we find a 43-mm brushed steel case with large, polished pump pushers, a screw-down crown protected by subtle crown guards, and a fixed, toothed aluminum bezel featuring an enlarged blue tachymetric scale with silver and red accents. On the sunray blue dial we see a simple outer minute ring, with applied hour markers that vary in length depending upon their intersection with other dial elements. At the 4 o’clock position is an angled date window; at 2:30, a running seconds counter; at 9:30 a 30-minute counter; and at 6 o’clock an enlarged subdial for both a 1/10th-second counter and a 10-hour counter. Each of these subdials are black and use red accents. Toward the top of the dial is the modern TAG Heuer green-and-red logo, while sweeping over it are two Super-LumiNova filled hands for the hours and minutes and a simple yellow pointer for the chronograph seconds.
The Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing emblems are engraved in the caseback.
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Inside the new special edition is the Ronda 5040D movement, which is used for all quartz chronograph models in the Formula 1 series. The movement is protected behind a solid, screw-down caseback with a special Aston Martin Red Bull Racing engraving, while the entire watch is secured to the wrist using a brushed steel bracelet with a folding clasp that uses a double safety feature and a driving extension.
The new Formula 1 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Special Edition 2020 will be sold at authorized TAG Heuer retailers globally later this year, priced slightly higher than other quartz models in the Formula 1 collection at $1,700.
The watch comes in a handsome collectors' box.
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The Formula 1 series usually flies under the radar compared to TAG Heuer's other popular and more historically significant models like the Carrera, Monaco, and Autavia, both powered by mechanical movements. Yet, at its core, the Formula 1 is the brand’s bread and butter, offering consumers — especially younger consumers — an entry-level option among its racing-focused collections, bringing in buyers who might make a more consequential purchase, from one of the above-mentioned classics, down the line.
Red Bull F1 Racers wearing TAG Heuer
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Interestingly, TAG Heuer opted to release its second watch in its partnership with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing within the Formula 1 series, which speaks further to the kind of consumer it's looking to attract with this series. F1 racing is, in many regards, a luxury sport, and TAG Heuer’s partnership with the Red Bull team positions it well as a racing-focused luxury timekeeper — a position of authority it has long held in the watch market. This latest special edition model not only capitalizes on this position but is also, thanks to its accessible price point, clearly geared toward a younger audience.
