The avant-garde Swiss watchmaker has revealed its second collaboration with the Godfather of Streetwear, Hiroshi Fujiwara, with a one-of-a-kind design equipped with a manufacture movement, the Calibre Heuer 02. Building on the resounding success of its first creation with the Japanese designer and his Fragment Design label in 2018, the latest collaboration has resulted in a bold yet minimalistic limited-edition novelty – a pure reflection of TAG Heuer’s motor-racing heritage and bold design principles, with high-end finishes, a ceramic bezel and a fiery red sapphire case back.
Hiroshi Fujiwara is the founder of Fragment Design, a multidisciplinary label created in 2003. He has since collaborated with some of the biggest and most renowned names in fashion, design and art. Fujiwara is a legendary figure who is celebrated in his homeland of Japan and around the world for his unique take on hip-hop streetwear. Beyond his legacy in contemporary fashion, Fujiwara is also known for his impact on mainstream culture, music and covetable design.
The latest collaboration between the two brands has created a daring reinterpretation of TAG Heuer’s signature motor-racing-inspired C-case models from the 1960s and 1970s, a case shape also found in TAG Heuer’s present-day collections.
“Redesigning this TAG Heuer chronograph timepiece gave me the opportunity to use an existing legacy to create a new one. I gave the design a modern and exceptional flair with the red case back, which reflects one of the brand’s logo colours and also gives it a completely new and evolved character”, Hiroshi Fujiwara explained.
Echoing his superbly proportioned and minimalistic style, Fujiwara strips the watch’s architecture down to its bare essentials, emphasising the iconic tachymeter scale on the bezel and clearing the dial of all extraneous embellishment. The black opaline dial has two black embossed subcounters at 3 and 9 o’clock. The black contrasts with white lettering and logos – including “FRAGMENT” between 4 and 5 o’clock – and a simple date window at 6 o’clock. The only counterpoints to the high-contrast composition are the red indexes and the red lacquered central hand, which give the dial an extra pop. The result is a bold and elegantly sparse 44 mm timepiece that is effortlessly easy to read at top speeds.
On the case back, the two-counter architecture of the in-house Heuer 02 movement is partially obscured and made even more eye-catching thanks to a circular red sapphire crystal window. The automatic column-wheel chronograph movement is a worthy centrepiece; exceptionally precise and boasting an 80-hour power reserve, it demonstrates TAG Heuer’s continued mastery of watchmaking design and engineering. The red sapphire case back features the unmistakable logo of Fragment Design, and each piece is engraved with a unique limited-edition number from 1 to 500.
In a numbered run of only 500 pieces, the TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Heuer 02 is a true original grounded in rich history. A testament to Hiroshi Fujiwara’s sense of design and TAG Heuer’s disruptive motor-sport legacy, it is a collector’s timepiece of the first order.
TAG HEUER X FRAGMENT DESIGN CALIBRE HEUER 02 AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH
Case: 44mm diameter – stainless steel case, brushed and polished – fixed bezel with black ceramic insert, engraved tachymeter scale – sapphire crystal – red-tinted sapphire case back – screw-down crown – 100m water-resistant
Dial: black opaline dial, two-counter display – red printed indexes – rhodium-plated hour and minute hands with white SLN – red lacquered central hand
Movement: Calibre Heuer 02, in-house – automatic chronograph, integrated, column wheel and vertical clutch – 31mm diameter – 33 jewels – 28,800 vibrations/hours – 80-hour power reserve – hours, minutes, chronograph with 30-minute and 12-hour counters, date
Bracelet: five-row steel bracelet, brushed and polished – steel butterfly folding clasp with safety push buttons
Reference: CAZ201A.BA0641
Availability: Limited to 500 pieces, available from July 27th, 2020
Price: CHF 6,000
