WBE5190.FC8268
When TAG Heuer relaunched the Autavia in 2016 with its new Heuer 02 movement, it did so via some savvy marketing which meant that the public got to vote on and choose the exact dial for the re-edition. Personally I think they got it wrong, but then I'm not the kinda guy that likes what everyone else likes and at the end of the day no-one really cares what I think, especially as I wasn't buying one!
I much prefered the JH85 edition, if only because the bezel was a vast improvement over the original version, and better yet was the Calibre 11 100pce limited edition, which to me is the best looking Autavia Heuer 02 by far (and the pre-owned prices seem to suggest I'm not far wrong there either).
A couple of years later we heard talk of a three handed Autavia... which brought grumbles of discontent from certain quarters. What was TAG Heuer thinking? The Autavia was a chronograph, always had been and always should be! But wait, Autavia... the name itself was a combination of Automotive and Aviation, the Autavia was partly a racing chronograph, but it was also meant to be a pilots watch too.
At least that was the angle TAG Heuer eventually settled on, but back in 2018 they hadn't quite figured out that they had an in to the fashionable 'Pilot' market and so come Bazelworld 2018 they offered up this instead.
A far cry from the Autavias that eventually arrived in 2019 I'm sure you'll agree and truthfully these models weren't so much 'presented' as shown to carefully selected members of the press... who duly leaked the photos. But then maybe that was the intention all along? After all, the reaction was negative and the brand had another think and came back with something much better (if only Audemars Piguet had done that with the Code 11:59!)
Which is just as well, because these two looked pretty off... especially this GMT version:
Maybe they just didn't photograph well? Not everything does, and to be fair, these were probably just prototypes... but I'm glad they backtracked because what they came out with in the end was a whole lot better to my eyes.
This last one wasn't even a prototype, all we got to see was a poor quality render, but this one actually looked quite a bit better and if nothing else it let us all know that TAG Heuer were definitely thinking about getting in on the bronze watch trend (which of course they eventually did with the stunning WBE5190 pictured at the top of this post).
The other thing you will have noticed about these is that all three wore the 'Heuer' badge on the dial; a contentious move at the best of times, especially when these didn't appear to be directly descended from anything in particular.
So it was for the best all round that TAG Heuer went away and redesigned the whole range, to the point where they realised that these new 'Piloty' watches were actually going to be completely new designs; even if they couldn't quite bear to part with the name. And so they were re-branded 'TAG Heuer', which pleased the vintage fans as they could distance themselves from the heretical 'new' Autavias and gave the company the freedom to develop the watches freely in the future.
Unfortunately, the new Autavias had a troubled start to life, with their groundbreaking carbon hairsprings proving problematic and leading to a recall and a few months off the shelves while the movements were changed to standard Calibre 5s. But that aside, they seem to have settled in nicely and found favour with quite a few people looking for something just a little bit different.
I must admit I was surprised when I got to see them the first time as I liked them much more than I thought I would, particularly the dial, which has much more depth to it than the pictures suggested. Once again it's a case of really having to see the watch up close and on your wrist to appreciate it, there really is no substitute for visiting a showroom and experiencing things first hand, it has certainly changed my perception of watches for better and worse countless times.
TAG Heuer Autavia First Impressions post (21/03/2019):
http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/03/first-impressions-tag-heuer-autavia.html
TAG Heuer Autavia On the Wrist post (30/05/2019):
https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2019/05/on-wrist-tag-heuer-autavia-isograph.html
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