LVMH is the largest luxury group in the world. And they are not shy when it comes to partnerships that get more mainstream consumers looking at their brands.
Hublot just ended their partnership with Ferrari, who previously worked with Girard-Perregaux and Panerai. Zenith announced NFL star quarterback Aaron Rodgers as its new ambassador last week and debuted a partnership with Land Rover last year, and Range Rover before that. Both companies are LVMH-owned, like TAG Heuer.
Clearly, the LVMH watch brands are no strangers to big-name partnerships. And with that said, yesterday, TAG Heuer, whose iconic Carrera sports watch shares the same name as Porsche’s legendary 911 Carrera sports car, has made an official partnership to create co-branded timepieces. Even with competition coming from Porsche Design watches — which Porsche AG owns the controlling interest in — the two companies came to an agreement.
Introducing the first timepiece in an ongoing TAG Heuer x Porsche collaboration — the 2021 TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph Special Edition Heuer 02. Presented in TAG Heuer’s latest 44 mm stainless steel case, with black ceramic bezel, driven by the caliber Heuer 02 in-house chronograph movement, the new watch is based on the 2020 Carrera Sport Chronograph, with a new dial and bezel.
In addition to the black ceramic bezel with Porsche engraved and then filled in with red, the dial features a unique knocked down texture and gray color which provides a subtle contrast to the three black “azurage” finished subdials. The rhodium-plated baton-shaped hands for the chronograph counters and sweeping chronograph center seconds hand, have red-lacquer painted tips that provide a sporty accent to the dial and distinguish the chronograph hands from those that indicate the time.
Black gold plated applied Arabic numbers with white lume and rhodium-plated hour and minute hands with white lume, along with a rhodium-plated baton-shaped hand in the counter at 6, indicate the time and add. The TAG Heuer shield logo is applied at 12 o’clock. “CARRERA HEUER 02 80 HOURS” is printed at 6 o’clock. A domed and beveled sapphire crystal protects the dial side and screw-down sapphire caseback protects and reveals the movement. A steel screw-down crown with a red-color band surrounding its band control all functions. Water-resistance is 100 meters.
Will the two Carrera makers working together bring a new level of interest to owning a TAG Heuer for watch collectors and enthusiasts? We doubt it but as we mentioned above, this strategy is more about reaching mainstream consumers, and with Porsche being hotter than ever, there’s a good chance it might pay off. Although considering the amount of car and watch partnerships that never last, only time will tell. The 2021 TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph Special Edition comes with either an embossed black calfskin leather strap with gray threaded hand stitching and a calfskin lining and a folding clasp (Ref. CBN2A1F.FC6492) for $5,850 or with a steel H-shaped bracelet (Ref. CBN2A1F.BA0643) for $6,050.
