The original TAG Heuer Formula 1 watch collection was a massive commercial hit. During the 1980s and ’90s, when it was in production, it was released in over 20 different colours and came accessibly priced, at about £100 to £300. It was an ideal starter watch, or an easy graduation gift for any style-minded kid, and came in a mini 28-mm size, perfect for a young person’s wrist. The rugged plastic or stainless steel cases and rubber straps made it an even more fitting choice for someone not looking for a precious timepiece. Three million of these pop-coloured watches were sold in the 10 years that they were made, making them a crucial star in the millennial-memory universe.
TAG Heuer’s new Formula 1 x Kith collab, photographed at Watch and Wonders 2024
That universe is exactly where Ronnie Fieg, founder of the nostalgia-fuelled lifestyle powerhouse Kith, does his best work. His latest shrewd move is to revamp the TAG Heuer Formula 1 for the modern collector — and for the hordes of hype-crazed fans he’s amassed since launching Kith in 2011. This is Fieg doing what Fieg does best — turning a beloved product from his youth into a modern status symbol. He’s done it with sneakers, streetwear, and even cereal. And his new collaboration with TAG Heuer is almost guaranteed to be another success. “This is as important to me as any [luxury] watch because of what it means to the market, what it means to the wide spectrum of watch lovers, and who it can cater to at its price point,” says Fieg. The Kith Formula 1 collection will revamp the watch in 10 new colourways, all of them heavily indebted to the originals. The updated version will feature an adult-size 35mm case; pinstriped and clean dials stamped with Kith’s slogan Just Us; and will retain the original’s toothy daisy-shaped bezel and pop hues. The size isn’t all that’s been increased for 2024, though. The new watches are priced at $1,550, an adult-size budget too. “It’s up to par with what TAG is making today,” explains Fieg.
The partnership started, as so many great things do, over dinner. On one fortuitous occasion, Fieg had been seated next to Frédéric Arnault, then the CEO of TAG Heuer. Never one to miss an opportunity to keep Kith at the centre of the conversation, Fieg turned to Arnault and espoused his adoration for the Formula 1, the watch from his childhood. “Having one of those meant a lot in the ’90s, and this was the watch that I wanted,” says Fieg. Later that night, he even dug out an old photo of himself as a teenager with a Boy Meets World kind of hairdo and a red-and-black Formula 1 on his wrist to show Arnault. The pitch came at a golden moment, just as the Formula 1 was having a surge of renewed interest in the watch community, with collectors rushing to eBay to buy them – or digging long-forgotten examples out of storage. A comeback was already on the minds of TAG Heuer’s executives. At an event in March of last year, Nicholas Biebuyck, TAG Heuer’s heritage director, joked, “Oh, no, of course we’re not bringing back a watch that everyone is talking about right now!” Fieg’s childhood memory synced perfectly with the brand’s plans; and shortly after his dinner with Arnault, an official partnership was formed.