**Correction:** 5:42 The bezel on the Autavia 02 is in fact Aluminium - I had confused it with the bezels on the Autavia 3 Handers which use ceramic bezels for the blue & black variants. S/o to Gruenkoohlwiesel for pointing it out :) What do you think of the Tag Heuer Autavia Chronograph? Do you agree that it's the best of both worlds in terms of the modern movement and vintage styling? Would you prefer this or another vintage evocative design like the Speedmaster or Zenith Revival collection? Should I get this as my next chronograph? Let me know what you think in the comments section.
Great video, thank you 🙂👍. Yes, the discontinuation of TAG Heuer Autavia Heritage Chrono has had me scratching my head, also. Seemed like THE watch that was pointing the company in the right direction. Then poof! Off the catalog. Thanks again 🙂👍
Fingers crossed they bring it back and find a way to maybe shave a bit of thickness off, but yeah i'm not to sure about what they're doing with the current autavia collection...the flyback version is interesting but i feel like this Autavia 02 had more charm, but lets see what the future holds :)
I have the jack Heuer limited edition 85th birthday and it's one of my favourite in my collection. Amazing piece. Admittedly I do wish it was just a bit thinner but I still love it and it's one of the most comfortable watches I own. ( I have Tudor Chrono, Rolex pepsi, Datejust41, Heuer01, Speedmaster etc. ) I can't recommend this one enough. It was one of the first models to house the heuer02 and it's going to take years to refine the movement to make it thinner. So I think it can be forgiven as it's a new movement.
The Jack Heuer edition is great too, and I love the relevance of it being the first watch released during Jack Heuer's time in charge of the company as well as the added functionality of the hours & minutes on the bezel. I completely get how it manages to stand out despite being amongst such strong competition even within your collection...it's not a perfect watch but there's something special about it that keeps bringing me back to it. I'm not even too sure that the movement is entirely to blame for the thickness either - the 160th Anniversary Edition Carrera is apparently only 14.7mm thick while still having 100m of water resistance and a display caseback, the Carrera 02 42mm is also around 14.5mm. I think this shows that Tag Heuer is aware and putting in the effort to slim down the cases around the movement through more refined construction techniques without compromising the water resistance or the ability to see the movement. That being said...it'd still be cool to see them to a manual wind Heuer 02 (similar to what Breitling did with the B09 in the AVI 765), especially with that 80h power reserve it wouldn't even be that big a deal to manually wind it every few days.
Oh the Breitling Premier B01 is really nice and very tempting too. I reviewed the wooden dial Bentley Centennary Edition last year and loved it! Which one do you have?
It’s a real shame that TH didn’t continue this version. The 3 hand version is alright but doesn’t do the trick for me. As far as I know it was very well received as they involved the community, as you mentioned. Customer service of LVMH is great, as well service is great. Whether you are at TH, Hublo, Zenith, ... you really feel well welcome there. It would be great seeing the Autavia Chrono again, and 2021 just has startet ... 😁 Great video and thoughts bro, hope you’ll never pull the trigger on a Chrono to keep those videos up 😂
So true, Tag Heuer & Hublot boutiques that I've been to around the world have been very consistent in giving good service, wouldn't be surprised if Zenith did the same too. Hehe well don't worry if I do end up buying one, there are still so many chronos to talk about these videos aren't stopping any time soon 🤣
I wish they make it in 39mm. Also not sure why some models the 30min register has all 30 markers and other only a few every 10 min. Defeats the purpose of having a chronograph.
Great in depth review, the Cal 02 Autavia panda dial is a winner. Recently got an opportunity to pickup the Hodinkee `Orange Boy' version. Mint preowned, this Autavia 02 is my grail watch as far as chronos go this ones really hard to top. So happy!
Oh nice! Congrats on the new watch, especially such a rare version of it! The 02 really is such a cool watch, i'm a bit disappointed that they seem to have discontinued it but hopefully they bring it back soon :)
Thanks man! And likewise, I always learn a lot whenever we speak & when i see your videos too. By the way, have you ever had a Tag Heuer in the collection?
@@ShahLusso just visited the tag heuer site and the watch is still available and I can order it online. This is their French site I visited. The watch hasn’t been discontinued
It's weird because on their US site it's not listed (if you go to the Autavia section > View all Autavia watches, or if you go to Chronograph watches and filter by Heuer 02). Perhaps it's just discontinued in certain markets? Because there's still the issue of it not showing up in the 2020 catalogue (Picked up at their Dubai boutique last year). Or perhaps they're still phasing it out so some markets have it a bit longer? Unfortunately, unlike Patek Philippe, Tag Heuer doesn't release a discontinue list so that you just known what's being discontinued. When they discontinued the Isograph movement and replaced it with the non-carbon hairspring version, they switched it around on the main page but you could still find your way to the listing page for it through Google for a little while before they finally took the page down. Similarly I can still find the listing page for the Autavia 02 through Google (and in your case through another country's website) but on the main US site it's hidden if you try to find it directly. Most likely their tech team just hasn't covered all its bases when removing it (perhaps they similarly forgot to take it off other markets' websites?) but all signs still seem to point towards it being on its way out if not discontinued already.
Yeah, maybe they’ve stopped producing it but will keep selling it till they run out - a good move in my view, better than them dumping the stock on the gray market and devaluing the brand
Good video. Thanks. I’d love to purchase a reissue of an iconic Heuer Autavia!!! Big time! This Reference was a big miss. Case is too large and too thick. Most importantly, the bezel is too wide. What was TAG thinking?!!! It was discontinued because it was never popular. Bring back a true reissue (without extreme faux lume, light cream color ok) and I’ll add one to my collection.
I wonder if maybe they'll just do a re-edition of one of the other 16 references they pitted against each other in the 2016 competition to decide which one they'd take inspiration from. For me the biggest sticking point is the thickness, but perhaps if they made a manual version of the 02 they could shave some of the thickness off while being closer to the original Valjoux 72 equipped Autavias of the 60s.
Sorry Scott but I completely disagree, apart from the thickness but we have to remember, the heuer02 is a brand new in house movement, it takes years and years to refine Chronographs, so it can be forgiven for that IMO.
Just double checked and you're right - it is aluminium. I think i had confused it in my head with the current Autavia 3 handers which do use ceramic bezels. Surprising too because in the metal the bezel still has that shine that ceramics have - I'm so used to aluminium bezels being more of a matte finish, but yeah confirmed and it's aluminium. Thanks for pointing it out & correction pinned to the top (also, great display picture 😃)
@@ShahLusso too sad, whish you were right. If it was ceramic I'd go out and buy one asap :D Perhaps sometimes in a near future Heuer releases a current Carrera in 41 mm with ceramic bezel as inverted panda dial edition, this is at least what I am hoping for. I own an original 2446C once worn by my grandpa - such a beauty but not a watch for everyday. Btw: thanks for your great video content, I am really enjoying watching your watch vids!
Oooh now that would be interesting! And they’re not too far off, they have a 42mm and the 44 uses the ceramic bezels so they just need to connect the dots :) The 2446C is beautiful, I’m still pretty new to getting to know vintage Heuer but my god they made some beautiful watches. They really have such a great back catalogue to choose from. Glad you’re liking the content and thanks for the support 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
The Monaco is definitely a classic in the Tag Heuer catalogue, but while the modular chrono set up with the crown on the opposite side is more historically accurate to the original, in general I'm not the biggest fan of modular chronos - now if they found a way to make the Monaco 02 have the crown & pushers on opposing sides IMO that would be the ultimate.
Tag Heuer took a lot of beating over the years and some might say, rightfully so. But the autavia, especially at the 2200€ price point on chrono 24 is an excellent watch for someone who doesn't want to spend crazy money on a watch. Some people just want a decent piece for an honest price. And I think the autavia really nails it in that category.
💯 IMO this is one of the best representations of what Tag Heuer can be as a brand - great value, in house movement, solid history, and good looking design. With the new Carrera and Monaco models they seem to be continuing in that spirit albeit with higher prices than the Autavia 02 was, but still pretty solid value for an in house chronograph. It'd be interesting to see if they can transition to pull of the same trick with their 3 handers & redefine their entry level.
@@ShahLusso what's your take on them making in house mechanical movements as well as smart watches? Is that heresy or a welcoming take on a marriage between Swiss quality watches and modern technology? I haven't really made my mind up myself at this point so it's an open question. I think in the best case, it can be a reliving antidote to watch snobbery. In the worst case, it could chase the spirit of the time too much and become just another obsolete piece on the junk yard.
I think Jean Claude Biver put it best when he compared smartwatches to what Swatch was doing before - in that they provided gateway into watches by getting people used to the idea of wearing a watch. So under that context I think it's great, and considering that LVMH group doesn't have a Swatch level brand to lean on, this is a modern way for them to open themselves to a new market of potential collectors & bring more people into the hobby in general.
yeah, the thickness really is the only thing that's held me back from getting this watch so far. I think Tag Heuer's on the rigth track though because the Carrera 160th Anniversary and the Carrera 42mm are both bout 1-1.5mm thinner than the Autavia chronograph and they both use the Heuer 02 just like this, so I'm hoping that's a sign they've recognized this was too thick and if they do bring it back then it'll be thinner :)
