In watchmaking, careers can nonetheless span a long time, and we’re not even speaking about households that personal their very own manufacturers. Engravers and sprucing specialists may be at manufactures or specialised producers for upwards of 20 years. Because of this for nevertheless lengthy you personal a specific watch, the individuals who labored on that piece may be with you for the size of your individual journey with that watch. It is a little bit of a romanticised notion, to make certain, but it surely additionally applies to the front-office of us, and generally even the high brass. Even when they don’t seem to be at the identical firms, or in the identical roles, as whenever you first meet or hear of them, there’s a good probability that they may stay in the business for his or her complete careers.
We select to start this story about TAG Heuer Designer in Chief Guy Bove this manner as a result of we first met him in 2006, when he was Georges Kern’s chief designer at IWC. As we’ve famous earlier than, his design for tonneau-tortue Da Vinci stays one in all our favourites. Over the years, he moved from IWC to Chopard, after which to Breitling with Kern once more, after which lastly to TAG Heuer. Regardless of the many acquainted faces one encounters in the area of interest watchmaking commerce, few relationships graduate to the degree of friendship. Because of this, I’ll dispense with our traditional observe of sustaining third-party voice. It might be disingenuous to take action anyway.
Guy Bove is definitely a pal, and we felt this most keenly at Watches and Wonders Geneva, the place we met once more after years of pandemic-enforced distance. Time is often tight at such gala’s, and I perceive after a few years that I’m nobody’s precedence however the advertising and communications departments. Regardless of this, Bove actually made lots of time for me, for which I’m grateful, and delivered some off the document feedback, which I’m sorry to exclude. I’ll say that he’s a grasp of utilizing bodily communication to convey sure factors, such that you’d by no means be capable of quote him anyway. To that, I say well-played sir!
At TAG Heuer, Bove has been busy, touching nearly all the pieces in the present assortment, as he says. This in fact doesn’t imply he’s accountable for each current TAG Heuer design, however relatively that he has been coming to grips with all the pieces in the model’s grand design story. If you wish to know what his design imaginative and prescient is at TAG Heuer, you want solely look to the present Aquaracer timepieces, which he himself declared is totally modified, but the thoughts’s eye might not register any revolution right here; Bove asserts that in case you take a look at the new Aquaracer and the 2015 model side-by-side, the variations are apparent, and that’s only a truth. Once you look fastidiously, there are many delicate variations between the present 43mm mannequin and the previous one, which helps to clarify why the watches put on so in another way.
I realise I’ve not stated a lot but about Bove and that’s as a result of the interview runs fairly lengthy. It has already been edited for readability in addition to to take away banter… all the traditional belongings you may say between buddies, which I’ll spare you, expensive reader. I’ve additionally minimize out the questions, all to have extra space for Bove’s solutions. That stated, from my biased place, I characterise Bove as a creator of nice integrity. As you’ll uncover, he doesn’t merely wander into any given assortment trying to make his mark all over the place. At identical time, maybe quixotically, he’s additionally not too eager on the development in direction of up to date reissues. You’ll be able to see this for your self in the TAG Heuer Tribute to Reference 844, which we spent lots of time inspecting in challenge #61 final yr. There are a lot of methods to make a business success of such a watch, however Bove proposed this one, which is suitable provided that TAG Heuer means to look ahead relatively than backwards, attempting to recapture glory days.
On that be aware, we’ll go away it to Bove to take the present ahead, with a nod in direction of our personal particular focus this challenge.
On innovation, sustainability and the joint growth with La Joux Perret for the Aquaracer Solargraph…
The watch has all the benefit of quartz, with out the disadvantages (of the identical). You don’t have to fret a couple of battery. You don’t must open the seals to vary the battery. You don’t have to the touch the look ahead to years and also you don’t have to consider, is the battery going to be lifeless? You simply expose the Solargraph to daylight for 10 seconds and it’ll begin working, and two minutes of publicity could have it working for the complete day (the TH50-00 motion will get a full cost on publicity to daylight for lower than 24 hours, though virtually talking meaning you’ll have to pass over in daylight for a few days – Ed). What’s cool about the watch is that in case you take it off and set it apart, it can maintain ticking for six months. That’s actual innovation, and this is a crucial a part of TAG Heuer’s historical past, and nonetheless is at present. We need to maintain innovating on quartz watches as a result of it’s a big section for us. Proper now, we’re focussed on the innovation message with this watch, however you might be proper to counsel that that is additionally about sustainability – you don’t must cope with batteries, throw away batteries, mine extra minerals to make extra batteries…it’s nice!
On the Aquaracer assortment normally…
There are some actually good issues about (historic) Aquaracers, and we didn’t need to change that an excessive amount of, however we did do lots of work nonetheless, on the case. If you happen to, take a look at it from the aspect, in case you examine it with the earlier (2015) mannequin, the horns are a lot shorter and steeper. We additionally added the aspect from the authentic 844, which redefines the view of the watch (in profile). I believe it seems like a really dynamic sports activities watch. We additionally performed lots with the proportions to get it to suit proper on the wrist…in case you look to the Superdiver (above), I believe that is one in all the slimmest skilled water resistant to 1,00zero metre dive watches (in manufacturing at present). With this mannequin particularly, which is 45mm, we tried arduous to make it match correctly on a human wrist! With the Aquaracer 200, we’re speaking about human powered actions (versus motorsports in different ranges) outdoors the water too. So, I don’t know what you do throughout your lunch break, however say you go snowboarding, or mountain climbing. You’ll be able to put on the Aquaracer 200 as a result of it’s robust sufficient to go in your journey, after which match again below the cuff of your shirt whenever you get again to work.
On the Monaco Gulf…
Effectively, you’ll be able to see that we haven’t completed a whole redesign right here — it is a restricted version adaptation. I believe (for us) the query was how can we adapt the Gulf to the Monaco; in case you take into account simply the geometry of (the Monaco Gulf) it’s the identical as we’ve in our present vary. Then once more, in case you actually take a look at it, it’s fairly a special beast. We needed to determine what makes the Monaco tick — sorry for the pun! It’s the interaction between circles and squares and also you see it on the dial, however you additionally see it on the aspect of the case the place there’s a round arch in an oblong form. We have now additionally used the sq. chronograph counters, with the gentle blue and orange colors, which anybody who’s not blind can see. We have now the navy blue on the dial, the place it’s sunray-brushed in the centre circle and flat in the sq. outdoors — Gulf additionally used navy blue apart from the gentle blue. It doesn’t cease there… on the dial at 12 o’clock we’ve the 60 as a substitute of the hour markers (typical for the Monaco) and the colors proceed onto the strap, and the motion the place the column wheel can also be orange. It’s a true collaboration between us and Gulf.
On the problem of working with iconic designs…
Once you get your fingers on an icon (like the Monaco but additionally the Aquaracer), there are a number of methods you’ll be able to take a look at the mental problem. You’ll be able to say out with the previous, in with the new; you’ll be able to say we’re afraid to the touch that — let’s not do an excessive amount of there; or you’ll be able to ask what the individuals who labored at the model at the moment have been attempting to say once they created the watch, initially. I like that final one. Most of the time, you’ll be able to’t ask the precise individuals who labored on the watch as a result of they’re lengthy gone, however Jack (Heuer) remains to be round. For him, it was all about legibility.
With some watches, you’ll be able to see that they (no matter model it’s) went very far — possibly too far — and adjusted lots. Different instances, you’ll be able to inform that they have been afraid to the touch something. For us, it begins with a query (as I stated). It’s actually about understanding what TAG Heuer was attempting to do at any given time. With the Aquaracer for instance, there may be lots of good things in the 2015 model, however at the identical time, the model is transferring in a special route now, so we needed to ask how we will transfer the watch in the route the model goes.
On the Carrera Plasma…
What’s humorous about this watch is the automotive connection. You understand how automotive firms ship camouflaged prototypes onto racetracks for testing? That camouflage is the inspiration. What’s totally different is that we’ve used diamonds for the camouflage, which you see much less usually in automobiles… We additionally needed to push boundaries right here, and make a present of drive about what might be completed with rising diamonds, chopping them, and getting them to suit onto instances very exactly. You see that a few of the diamonds are set into the case in such a means that multiple face exhibits, which implies further complexity by way of doing the aspects. Then there’s the polycrystalline diamond dial, which is a sort of panda dial, which has by no means been completed earlier than in black and white diamond; the entire factor is a single piece. The concept was not so deep as to reference asphalt or F1 tires, as you thought (I believed each the case and dial had racing concepts behind them – Ed). The crown is a single diamond, and right here we had two questions: one was may this even be completed, and the way would it not be hooked up to the watch. (Clearly), we did it, and the little defend your see in the diamond crown is how it’s linked to the motion.
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