The chronograph for yachting regattas takes center stage.
The status of the legend that TAG Heuer carefully upholds for its Carrera and Monaco collections has linked the brand so closely to the world of motorsports that we sometimes forget about their performance in other areas where you need to measure speed. In 2023, the company reminded us about one such striking model. We're talking about the Chronograph Skipper.
The original Skipper remained in the brand's catalog right up until 1983. A few years ago, interest in this model was reawakened by a limited edition created in partnership with watch news outlets: the "Dato" Limited Edition for Hodinkee in 2017, and the Skipper "Blue Dreamer" for the Rake & Revolution in 2018.
The original watch was first unveiled in 1968. Last year, the well-known watch referred to as the "Skipperrera" among close circles in the watch community was relaunched. The manufacturer dedicated it to a yacht called the Intrepid, which the New York Yacht Club sailed in the America's Cup.
Back then, the Americans overtook the Australian Dame Pattie to win the sailing competition. That was the first time Heuer took an interest in making their own watches for yachting. The first wristwatch with a Heuer logo for sailors competing in yacht races had appeared four years earlier in partnership with Aquastar.
The two logos signing the dial of the Aquastar Regate model appeared below a yacht timer in the form of five red circles. A similar approach was taken in watches like the Omega Regatta made in the late 1970s, or the relatively recent Frederique Constant Yacht Timer Regatta Countdown.
The Skipper (ref. 7754) took a different approach to timing. Last year's reissue still had two accentuated counters: reversed chronograph / countdown regatta timer at 3 o'clock and the chronograph hour counter at 9 o'clock. It was given a running seconds hand, along with a date aperture at the bottom of the dial.
While Heuer's 1968 model was equipped with a Valjoux 7730 movement, the new watch engine is a Heuer 02 caliber (Ref. TH20-06) with a column wheel and a 80-hour power reserve.
The Skipper is back in business this year. The company unveiled their new version of the revived model at Watches and Wonders in Geneva — this time not in steel, but in a gold case measuring 39 mm in diameter.