With the new TAG Heuer Carrera Skipper, the La Chaux-de-Fonds based luxury Swiss watch brand revives the legacy of a classic sailing watch.
Produced in various series from the original version of 1968 to the final full production model of 1983, the Skipper was once a favourite timepiece of professional and amateur sailors alike. Now, exactly 40 years after it disappeared from the TAG Heuer catalogue, the iconic Skipper watch is making a comeback.
Although later versions of the Skipper used the Autavia case, the very first examples (of which only around 300 were made) were based on the celebrated Carrera chronograph.
For the new generation Skipper TAG Heuer has opted for the recently-launched ‘glassbox’ Carrera design, which makes this sailing watch both good-looking and practical.
Thanks to the glassbox design without a bezel, the ingenious ‘curved flange’ dial and the perfectly placed chronograph counters, the Carrera Skipper is superbly legible in all conditions.
The new Skipper also gets the Carrera’s robust yet elegant 39mm diameter case, fitted on a high-end, resistant textile strap. This automatic sailing watch houses the latest TH20-06 movement with bi-directional winding, offering an 80-hour power reserve.
Although made according to the modern specifications, the TAG Heuer Carrera Skipper owes its distinct appearance to the original model that was born from Jack Heuer’s involvement with the world’s most historic yacht race – the America’s Cup.
In the mid 1940s, high-end sporting goods supplier Abercrombie and Fitch commissioned Heuer to produce A & F-branded watches to sell in its New York stores. The first was the Solunar that displayed tide times and which, in the 1950s, led to the creation of the more sophisticated Seafarer and Mareographe chronographs.
The relationship with Abercrombie and Fitch was two decades old by the late 1960s, and it was Jack Heuer’s close friendship with the retailer’s president Walter Haynes that led to Heuer becoming the official timing partner of the America’s Cup boat ‘Intrepid’ – the 12-metre U.S. yacht that was to defend the trophy for the New York Yacht Club against Dame Pattie, the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s challenger.
For the 1967 America’s Cup match, Heuer provided Intrepid with a set of hand-held yachting stop watches and equipped her crew with Aquastar wrist watches featuring an ingenious countdown timer comprising a red and white disc that rotated behind a series of five holes.
Intrepid went on to win the event by a decisive four races to nil – in celebration of which Heuer produced the Skipper chronograph with a 30-minute subdial that was adapted to count-down the 15-minute regatta ‘pre-start in three, five-minute segments.
Each of these segments was a different colour, with vivid orange being used to alert the crew to the fact that there was just five minutes to go; green to represent the colour of the boat’s rigging and light teal to replicate the colour of Intrepid’s deck.
The new Skipper revisits that distinctive and colourful livery, with a circular brushed main dial in Carrera signature blue (a tone initially inspired by the sea) and sharply contrasting sub-dials – the 12-hour counter being ‘Intrepid Teal’ and the 15-minute regatta counter having segments in Intrepid teal, Lagoon Green and Regatta Orange.
Inspired by the historic watch, it also features the prominent, triangle shaped markers positioned at five- minute intervals around the outer curved flange, the bright orange central seconds hand and the inclusion of the ‘Skipper’ name at the base of the 12-hour counter.
Back in 2017, TAG Heuer collaborated with Hodinkee and produced a limited edition of 125 watches as a tribute to the 1968 Skipper model.
Technical details
Model: TAG Heuer Carrera Skipper
Reference CBS2213.FN6002
Movement
Calibre TH20-06 Automatic
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph
Dial
Blue circular brushed dial
Blue flange with 60 second / minute scale 3 counters:
– 3 o’clock: green, orange & teal color lacquered 15-minute count-down indicator; rhodium plated polished hand
– 6 o’clock: blue permanent second indicator; rhodium plated polished hand
– 9 o’clock: teal color lacquered hour chronograph counter; SKIPPER printed; rhodium plated polished hand
Rhodium plated facetted, polished applied indexes
Rhodium plated facetted, polished hour and minute hands with white Super- LumiNova® and orange lacquered triangle shaped tip Orange lacquered central hand 6 o’clock angled date
Case
Steel fine brushed, polished case
39 mm diameter
Lug-to-lug: 46.0 mm
Thickness: 13.9 mm
Bezel free construction
Glassbox domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective treatment
Steel crown at 3 o’clock
Fine brushed, polished steel round pushbutton at 2 o’clock
Fine brushed, polished steel round pushbutton at 4 o’clock
Water resistance: 100 meters
Bracelet
Blue fabric strap
Fine brushed, polished steel folding clasp with double safety pushbuttons
Availability
July 2023
Suggested retail price
6,600 CHF
