VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Indy 500' Limited Edition Solargraph

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 Limited Edition

For a long. long time I've been meaning to write a post about all the 'Indy 500' watches that TAG Heuer have released over the years, but I've still never quite gotten around to it... and here we are again with the latest addition to that particular collection. 

So, the obvious question is where does this one sit in the pantheon of TAG Heuer Indy 500 watches? I'd say it's one of the better ones, but there have been some real mingers over the years so let's not get too excited just yet. The overriding problem any Indy 500 watch has to overcome is the distinctive (but distinctly awkward) shape of the Indy 500 logo itself. Over the years it's been squashed into various subdials with limited success, so it's nice to see it here with plenty of space to breath and printed at a size where it's easy to see the details. 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Indy 500' Limited Edition Solargraph by Brent Miller Time

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 Quartz Chronograph by Random Rob

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz 'Indy 500' Special Edition

CAZ101AW.BA0842

At some point I should probably write a post about the many Indy 500 watches TAG Heuer have produced, but for now let's concentrate on this brand new model released last week at Watches & Wonders 2024. TAG Heuer have been pretty consistently releasing Indy 500 watches for the last few years, some of them really nice and some of them not so much. From the renders this one looks to be one of the better ones, perhaps bested only by the CAZ101AD released in 2020 with its black case, asphalt dial and red brick stripe.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Indy 500' Limited Edition Quartz Chronograph

  

CAZ101AU.BA0842

In 2020, TAG Heuer released one of the best 'Indy 500' branded watches they've ever produced (for me, of course, the Heuer 01 skeletons are the pinnacle of the genre), a black PVD coated model on a rubber strap with red bricks covering part of the dial which garnered a very respectable 6.5/10 from the Council of Considered Opinion in the big end of year vote. 

For some reason, perhaps due to Covid(?) the 2021 race didn't get a watch, but last year TAG Heuer released a rather underwhelming black and gold model featuring the supposedly 'iconic' control tower. Frankly it didn't inspire much positive comment from anywhere much and seemed to disappear without trace. I've still never seen one and I don't suppose I ever shall now. I don't even know for sure how many pieces it was limited to, I heard 500 although that seems a bit unlikely.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Indy 500' Limited Edition Quartz Chronograph

 

CAZ101AR.BA0842

Well this is slightly embarrassing... I found this post in the 'Draft Posts' folder, it should have been posted over a month ago and included in the 'Half Year Round-Up'. I can only apologise for my tardiness! 

Over the years there have been some fairly.... umm, unattractive looking 'Indy 500' watches produced by TAG Heuer. But two years ago they finally got it right and produced the rather good looking CAZ101AD. Here at last was a watch I and many others on the TH Forum could get behind, regardless of whether or not they had any interest in the race itself. With it's black coating, rubber strap and bespoke dial (with red brick stripe), I even contemplated buying one myself and I've never watched an Indy 500 in my life!

But of course, with success comes pressure when it's time to follow it up... and here we have the follow up to that very watch. As you can see it's very much designed on the same template as this year's 'Red Bull' Special Edition, but instead of the somewhat controversial 'grid markings' instead we have the control tower (or as someone cheekily suggested on the TH Forum the 'Christmas Tree').

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Indy 500' Quartz Limited Edition

CAZ101AD.FT8024

TAG Heuer have been celebrating the Indy 500 for quite a while now and Googling 'TAG Heuer Indy 500' brings up quite a selection of special editions to mull over. Last year we had both a quartz Formula 1 and a Calibre 16 Carrera (both of which recently turned up at Bicester Village, making way for the new piece no doubt), and here once again we have a 43mm quartz Formula 1 chronograph sporting the famous 'IMS' logo in the '6' position subdial. As far as I know there's no Carrera model this time and if there was I very much doubt they would have released them separately.

It's an interesting one this one, because when I first saw the render for this I thought it looked a bit of a mess to be honest, and then when I saw it in better quality I thought it looked better than I thought and when you blow it up and look at it really closely it looks even better. For example, the subdials have a nice circular texturing to them that isn't immediately apparent in low res pictures and the black part of the dial is made to look like asphalt. The brickwork too has been nicely done although I would maybe have preferred something a little less 'realistic', maybe just the mortar pattern in white or red perhaps? Still, the brick pattern is an important part of the scheme, symbolising the part of the Indianapolis track which was left bare when they asphalted the rest of the surface.

It's quite a busy dial and I can't help thinking those red splashes in the subdials are perhaps a flourish too much, and for me personally I really have a problem with the winged 'Indy' logo. Unfortunately it's not a very convenient shape to fit on a watch dial, anywhere other then where the TAG Heuer logo inevitably goes. It never looks like it really fits when they place it inside a subdial, and here again it looks rather crammed in. I get there's not much they can do about it, the logo is the logo after all, but it jars all the same.

I actually think that if you took that logo away and removed the red flashes from the subdials it would be an improvement. I do like the red 'Indy 500' text on the ceramic bezel and the black DLC case looks great. I also quite like the rubber strap it comes on, the FT8024, although I do think it's better suited to use with steel cases as it looks a little grey next to the black case here.

I think I can confidently say that this is my favourite of all of the TAG Heuer 'Indy 500' special editions, but to be honest none of the previous models have really grabbed my attention, so it's slightly hollow praise. It's interesting to see that this one is a numbered limited edition, rather than the more open ended 'Special Editions' we have had in the past. Of course, assuming the race goes back to it's normal May date next year they'll only have nine months to shift these rather than usual twelve... so perhaps it's just as well.

The CAZ201AD is limited to 1500 pieces and costs £1750.

VIDEO: Gifting an Awesome TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 by Wrist Watch Addiction

SPOTLIGHT ON: Mario Andretti's TAG Heuer 2000 Series 75th Indy 500 Watch

Recently Hodinkee posted a video interview they did with the famous racing driver Mario Andretti, Mario enjoyed a long and successful career including becoming the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship with the Lotus team, four Champ Car titles and one win at the Indy 500 (in 1969) and has gathered a fine collection of desirable watches throughout his career, seemingly without actually buying any of them.

TAG have produced many Indy 500 watches over the years, some of which are nicer than others, but this TAG Heuer 2000 Series made solely for the 33 drivers taking part in the 75th Indy 500 in 1991 is quite a special one as rather than simply sticking a badge on a regular model, they went the extra mile and produced a proper bespoke dial. True, it's not the most beautiful dial ever made, but at least they put some effort into it and as it was given to the drivers (who probably owned much more expensive watches anyway) it probably wasn't intended to be worn everyday (if at all).

Because it was given only to the drivers who took part in the race, most of whom would probably keep the watch as a keepsake and for whom the watch probably didn't represent a significant value to sell, I can't find any record of any of them ever having been sold, never mind for sale currently. Indeed, there is such a lack of information on the internet about this watch that I can't even really say for sure that it's automatic or quartz, given the year it was made I would guess quartz, but there are automatic models in the 2000 series, so who knows? The only other information I found was a photo of Arie Luyendyck's watch from the same race.

I do like this watch, even though I concede it's not conventionally good looking. I just like the fact that TAG went to the trouble to make something completely unique (well, technically not unique, but you know what I mean) rather than just adding some text or a logo to a production dial. On the other hand, I can see that it works more as a 'corporate gift' than as a commercial proposition, but even so I'm happy it exists and that we can see it, even if we know almost nothing about it!