New Watches & Wonders 2024 Release – the TAG Heuer Indy 500 Quartz Special Edition Watch

The new Indy 500 release from TAG Heuer’s Formula 1 watch collection distils the essence of high speed and endurance on the racetrack with a new, legible asphalt display.

TAG Heuer has an excellent presence in the motor racing world. Just last month, the Formula 1 season commenced with Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen securing a position on the podium in first place. The brand’s incredible history with the sport and its relationship with professionals living life at high speed is worth an overview of in order to introduce the new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Indy 500 Special Edition watch.

If you’re new to the Formula 1 watch collection by TAG Heuer, you may not quite realise the history and provenance behind its design. Its iconic profile features notches on the bezel and a striking TAG Heuer shield that cements itself at the very top of the dial in full view. Shots of colour, a masculine case construction and legible features also represent the unique collection and its instantly recognisable identity. Formula 1 watches by TAG Heuer are also highly technical. They blend an avant-garde design with supreme materials and a precise movement.

Back in the 1970s, TAG Heuer’s relationship with Formula 1 began when a partnership was secured between Jack Heuer and Scuderia Ferrari in 1975. It was an important milestone, not only for TAG Heuer but for the watchmaking industry and watch enthusiasts worldwide. It was the first non-automotive brand to sponsor motor racing. Ferrari drivers sported Heuer watches on their wrists, which were, by then, becoming quite the collectable for fellow-minded sports enthusiasts. By the 1980s, the brand was no longer going by the name of “Heuer” but had now been renamed to “TAG Heuer”. Its sponsorship also switched from Ferrari to McLaren in 1985, which spurred the brand to release the Formula 1 watch collection the year after. Of course, this bold and sporty design was primed for hours spent on the race track. McLaren drivers endorsed the style and appeal of these watches as they took to the steering wheel, demonstrating how these watches could be utilised by those on and off the race track.

In 1992 the Swiss watchmaker became the official timekeeper for Formula 1 where some of its best drivers could now be spotted wearing these wristwatches. Due to the success of these motorsport instruments, the brand re-launched the Formula 1 watch design. This same year, in 2005, the company also became the official timekeeper of the Indianapolis 500 race. Since then, TAG Heuer has been enjoying a vibrant and exciting partnership with the race, releasing several special edition watches that mark its presence at the track and its deep-rooted association with motorsport. In 2016, TAG Heuer became an official partner of the Red Bull racing team. It marked its relationship with the famous Formula 1 racing team with several timepieces inspired by its livery. The success of these two great leaders lends itself to a reliable, sporty and high-performance chronograph watch. As we speak, that partnership is still thriving.

The exhilarating races and unforeseen twists of the Indy 500 racing event are represented quite apply in the design of TAG Heuer’s formidable Formula 1 collection. Adding to this collection at the recent Watches and Wonders 2024 showcase in Geneva this year, the brand launched the new, striking Formula 1 Quartz Indy 500 Special Edition watch.

New TAG Heuer Formula 1 Quartz Indy 500 Special Edition Watch

As aforementioned, TAG Heuer has been consistently releasing stylish timepieces in celebration of its partnership with the Indy 500 race for the past few years. In 2020, for example, the Swiss watch manufacturer released the ref CAZ101AD, which featured a beautiful red brick decoration running down the right-hand side of the dial – a nod to the race’s red brick track. The sub-counters for the chronograph were filled in white, as were the luminous-coated hour markers and hands. The Indy 500 lettering was adorned to the surface of the black bezel, accompanied by a 60-minute track.

This year, TAG Heuer releases the new Indy 500 Special Edition watch, powered by a quartz movement and adorned in an eye-catching black, red and white display. This watch puts legibility at the forefront of the design, with a red minute scale on the flange that trims a sleek black dial. The asphalt surface effect adds yet another layer of dimension to the dial, as seen in previous models and is equipped with the tri-counter layout where the sub-dials sit in a balanced fashion at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. The Indianapolis Speedway wings and tyres logo, of course, is the centrepiece of this design. A hallmark that tells a passerby or fellow admiring watch enthusiast that this is a Special Indy 500 version of the much bigger Formula 1 watch collection. The logo sits behind a 1/10th of a second function with red detailing and a matching red hand. The 6 o’clock feature is flanked by the other two chronograph counters at 3 and 9 o’clock.

The new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 Quartz Special Edition watch features a small second counter at 3 o’clock and a 30-minute totaliser at 9 o’clock. These features are dressed in red and black detailing to keep in line with the rest of the Indy 500-inspired design. The 11 o’clock location along the hour track identifies itself in a red hue, standing out from all the other Arabic numerals in the hour track. The design element has been chosen to mark the birth year of the race in 1911. The hours and central hands have been treated with Super-LumiNova to enhance legibility at night and sit underneath a piece of scratch-resistant and anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass. This feature helps uphold the watch’s water-resistant rating of 200 meters, as does the screw-down crown. The pusher at 2 o’clock, used for actuating the start and stop function of the chronograph complication, is also trimmed in a red band. Both the 2 and 4 o’clock pushers are the traditional piston style which works well with the rest of the sporty design.

This 43mm TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 Special Edition watch is crafted from stainless steel and is fitted to a matching stainless steel bracelet. The three-link bracelet, with a fine-brushed finish, secures to the wrist with a TAG Heuer shield engraved folding clasp with a push button mechanism.

If you’d like to order the new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Indy 500 Quartz Special Edition watch, you can call and speak to a member of our Jura Watches sales team today on 01345 453453.