On the first day of the Baselworld international watch fair, the La Chaux-de-Fonds watchmaker is launching an interactive operation, a community project, with the aim of bringing back one of TAG Heuer’s iconic models from the 1960s.
On Thursday watch enthusiasts, collectors, connoisseurs and TAG Heuer fans are invited to participate in a virtual activity with a real-world outcome, by sharing their opinions on 16 Autavia models.
Back to the 1960s
It all started in 1933, when Heuer created the first Autavia. The name, a contraction of the words AUTomobile and AVIAtion, was given to the first dashboard-mounted timer for cars and aircraft. Years later, in 1962 to be exact, the Autavia was made available to clients as a wristwatch, becoming the first mass-produced chronograph with a specific model name. It was a runaway success. More than 80 Autavia models were subsequently produced, with a bewildering choice of dials, colours and functions.
A facelift for 2017
The Autavia will finally be reborn from its ashes: a single model, from among the 80 that have been produced since 1962. Just one, out of sixteen pre-selected by TAG Heuer. The company is not only reviving an iconic watch from the 60s, it’s allowing the public to choose. Lovers of fine watchmaking and cultural heritage are therefore invited to make their views known.
Fingers on buzzers, please
Voting is child’s play. A dedicated website – autaviacup.com – will be online until 31 March. After the first round of voting is complete, voters will be invited to make a second selection, up to the 14 April deadline. At that point TAG Heuer’s internal product committee, chaired by Jean-Claude Biver, company CEO and President of the Watch Division of LVMH Group, will make the final choice from the four models that have reached the final. The winning watch will then be manufactured and presented at next year’s Baselworld, in March 2017.
Worldtempus will, of course, be on hand to tell you everything you could ever wish to know about the brand new Autavia.
