Friday, June 19, 2020

TAG Heuer – Fragment Design Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic Chronograph Edition















TAG HeuerFORMULA 1 Fragment Design Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic Chronograph Edition - 2020

TAG HEUER COLLABORATES ON NEW MOTOR-RACING-INSPIRED LIMITED-EDITION TIMEPIECE WITH FRAGMENT DESIGN’S HIROSHI FUJIWARA

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The TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Heuer 02 chronograph is a collector’s piece limited to only 500 units which sports a daring red sapphire case back and is fitted with the outstanding manufacture Heuer 02 movement, which boasts an impressive power reserve of 80 hours.

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La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland – 18 June 2020: 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.

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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.

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Introducing a globally influential designer, 
musician and watch lover

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.

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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.

Fragment Design makes its mark on 
the TAG Heuer chronograph

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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.

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Hiroshi Fujiwara explained: “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”.

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Franck Touzeau, TAG Heuer Vice President Creation & Product, added: “Hiroshi Fujiwara’s reinterpretation of TAG Heuer’s C-case chronograph is an ideal mix of celebrated legacy and avant-garde design. The TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Heuer 02 chronograph is everything that today’s watch aficionado desires in a timepiece: pure and innovative technology, eye-catching and stylish appearance and remarkable heritage”.

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Minimalistic style that focuses on the timepiece’s 
most noteworthy essentials

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The Fujiwara design also includes an exclusive new feature: a five-row steel bracelet with a butterfly folding clasp. It is finely polished and brushed to catch the light with every movement of the wrist.

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The watch will be available to pre-order from www.tagheuer.com and in select TAG Heuer boutiques before going on sale on July 27th, 2020.

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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.

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TECHNICAL DETAILS

Model:  TAG Heuer x Fragment Design (44 mm)
Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic Chronograph

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Reference CAZ201A.BA0641

MOVEMENT
Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic
DIAL
Black opaline dial
Two counters:
  • 3 o’clock: black embossed minute chronograph counter
  • 9 o’clock: black embossed hour chronograph counter
Red printed indexes
Rhodium-plated hour and minute hands with white Super-LumiNova®
Red lacquered central hand
White TAG HEUER printed logo
Date window at 6 o’clock
HEUER 02 AUTOMATIC/FRAGMENT printing
CASE
Diameter 44 mm
Polished, fine-brushed steel case
Ceramic black polished tachymeter
Fixed bezel
Flat sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective treatment
Steel screw-down crown at 3 o’clock
Red sapphire screw-down caseback with special engraving
Water-resistant to 100 m (10 bar)
BRACELET
Polished, fine-brushed, five-row steel bracelet
Steel butterfly folding clasp with safety push buttons

Limited to 500 pieces
Comes in a TAG Heuer x Fragment Design special branded box
Available from July 27th, 2020

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Press Release - 2020
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For further information, please contact:
Sonja Hagmann, International PR Manager
Tel. +41 32 919 81 52
Mobile: +41 79 898 54 73
E-mail: sonja.hagmann@tagheuer.com
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www.TAGheuer.com

Thursday, June 18, 2020

ORIS – Sixty-Five Bronze Holstein Edition


ORISDIVING Sixty-Five Bronze Hölstein Chronograph Edition

Oris celebrates its roots with the first in a series of limited edition pieces 
named in honour of the Swiss village of Hölstein 
where the company was founded more than a century ago

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From Hölstein, with love

The Oris Hölstein Edition 2020 is a celebration of the independent Swiss watch company’s roots, but it’s also designed to make people smile

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On 1 June 1904, Paul Cattin and Georges Christian signed a contract in the Swiss village of Hölstein that began a story that would span many generations. The contract gave the two watchmakers permission to set up and run their own watch company. They named it after a local creek: Oris.

More than a century later, Oris and Hölstein have become synonymous with one another. The village and the surrounding Waldenburg Valley have shaped Oris’s philosophy, just as Oris has shaped the area and its identity.

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On June 15 this year, Oris begins a new chapter in the story, releasing the first in a series of limited-edition watches named in honour of this magical place.

The Oris Hölstein Edition 2020 celebrates the company’s roots and its proud association with the Swiss village of Hölstein.

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To fully understand the story of Oris, you have to go back to that day in 1904. Cattin and Christian had come from the French-speaking Le Locle in the Jura mountains, the beating heart of the traditional Swiss watch industry. Hölstein represented a completely different proposition. It was in Switzerland’s German-speaking north, 25 km from Basel, an industrial town that was experiencing economic hardship. They saw an opportunity.

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Their vision was to build a watch company that brought together the best of both worlds. Could a mechanical watch be made using industrial techniques that stayed true to the romantic values of traditional horology?

Could man and machine combine to deliver beautiful watches at prices that hard-working citizens could afford?

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The answers to these questions might seem obvious now, but at the beginning of the 20th century and with society’s shape rapidly changing, such a concept was visionary.

It also worked.

By 1910, Oris was the biggest employer in the region, and in the coming decades it would continue to grow at pace. By the 1960s, it was one of the 10 biggest watch companies in the world, employing almost 1,000 people and producing more than one million watches a year that were exported to all corners of the globe.

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In the 1970s, the double impact of the global financial crisis and the evolution of quartz watches killed off vast swathes of the Swiss watch industry. Oris survived and by the early 1980s had secured its independence and its future. At its heart was the vision of its founders – to produce beautiful watches that celebrated mechanical watchmaking, industrial manufacturing and hand-craftsmanship. Watches that made sense in the real world.

In 2020, that vision makes more sense than ever before. No one needs a wristwatch, some argue. But even given the myriad alternative ways of telling the time, that’s only true to a point. A mechanical watch is also a thing of beauty, which as the great poet John Keats wrote, ‘is a joy forever’.

In these challenging times created by the Coronavirus crisis, we need that joy. A celebration of mechanical watchmaking isn’t a first priority, but it is a welcome distraction, a high point when the world is laid low.

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The Oris Hölstein Edition 2020 is cast in solid bronze, including the bracelet (a first in Swiss watchmaking), an industrial material with intriguing characteristics that we hope will charm everyone who comes into contact with it. On top of that, the case back is embossed with the Oris Bear, for one simple reason – to make people smile!

Time to celebrate

The Oris Hölstein Edition 2020 is named after the Swiss village where Oris has been based since 1904

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We are extremely proud of our roots. Hölstein is the Oris heartbeat. Our factory has been on the same site in the village since 1904. Today, this is where our watchmakers, engineers and designers create watches. It’s also where our test and quality control centres are, and our distribution centre.

To celebrate the inseparable relationship between Oris and this beautiful Swiss village, we’ve created the Oris Hölstein Edition 2020, a bronze version of the Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph.

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It’s inspired by the funky, quirky designs of the 1960s, when Oris made its first diver’s watch and started a tradition that continues today. Its case, bezel, bezel insert, crown and pushers are all cast in solid bronze.

So too is the bracelet, which is made of solid bronze links, each of which will acquire a natural patina as the bronze oxidises. As with the bronze dial on the Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date, this is a first not just for Oris, but also for Swiss watchmaking.


Achieving it wasn’t easy. Bronze is a soft, natural material, and proved insufficiently strong to be used for the pins that hold the links together, or for the folding clasp. These, together with the watch’s case back, are made of high-grade stainless steel.

The case back is embossed with the Oris Bear. In recent years, the bear has become a symbol of the Oris spirit – warm and honest. And it just makes you smile.

The Oris Hölstein Edition 2020 is the first in a series of watches that will pay tribute to this magical village we call home.

Beating heart

James Gruntz, Swiss musician, artist and friend of Oris has just composed a song for the brand


A few years ago, James Gruntz was playing at a Basel jazz festival when he caught the ear of company Co-CEO Rolf Studer. ‘When James came on, he was more than entertaining, he was art,’ says Rolf. ‘I met him afterwards and we formed a strong bond.’

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In the time since, James has performed at a number of Oris events and he now has a collection of Oris watches.

To coincide with the launch of the Oris Hölstein Edition 2020, James has composed an original track called ‘1904’, inspired by the year the company was founded.

I love Oriss joyful, independent spirit,’ says James. ‘There’s a maverick quality to the brand, which really resonated with me. I wanted the song to have this powerful, warm melody that embodies that spirit.

 Smiling from the front

 Tell us a bit about yourself…

I’m Rolf and I’m the Co-CEO of Oris with Claudine Gertiser-Herzog. I joined Oris in 2006, and 14 years later, I can honestly say I’ve not had one boring day here. I’m very proud and honoured to serve the Oris brand – I think of it as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

What’s the idea behind the Oris Hölstein Edition 2020?

First, it’s a celebration of Hölstein and this company’s values. It’s also a tribute to people who love the Oris brand and who love mechanical watches. We really wanted to put a smile on people’s faces with this watch.

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What exactly are those company values? 

We make watches for the citoyen. I hope that doesn’t sound pretentious. We make serious mechanical watches for people who work hard for their money, who play their part in building strong communities, and who appreciate quality and beauty. That’s the rational side. The emotional side is that we want to bring people joy. That’s been Oris since day one.

How does this watch express that?

We thought about doing a special movement, or playing with new materials, or even doing something colourful. But in the end, we decided what connects us to this place and to watch enthusiasts around the world is joy. So we did something quirky, something unexpected – who else puts a bear on the back of a luxury watch made of solid bronze?

Bronze is a natural material and as it oxidises it patinates. Is this a problem? 

I don’t think so. We’ve been working with bronze for years and our customers know what bronze is and will be aware that if they have a bronze watch, they may get oxidisation on their skin. But then you have a shower and its gone again. It’s part of the charm, and I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.

Why celebrate Hölstein?

Just as a person is defined by where they come from, it’s the same for a brand. We are from Hölstein, a remote place away from the centre of the watch industry. This part of Switzerland is more about rigour than romance. Being in Hölstein has defined us and made us the maverick that we are.

And why put a bear on a watch? 

How can you be mad at a bear? He’s a canvas for any kind of emotion. All of us had a teddy bear when we were kids and it was a mirror for our emotions. People buy watches because they cheer us up. Our job is to give people a happy moment in their hectic day.

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Technical Specifications

Collection: DIVING   

Model:  Sixty-Five Bronze Hölstein Edition

Ref.

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Case 
Multi-piece bronze case,
uni-directional rotating bronze bezel with bronze insert
Size 43.00 mm, (1.693 inches)
Dial
Gold-plated with black chronograph counters,
rose gold-plated indices Luminous material
Hands and indices with Super-LumiNova®
Top glass Domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating inside
Case back Stainless steel, screwed, special engravings of the Oris Bear
Operating devices Bronze screw-in security crown and pushers
Water resistance 10 bar (100 m)
Movement
Automatic winding chronograph
    Number Oris 774, base SW 500
    Dimensions Ø 30.00 mm, 13 1/4’’’
Functions Centre hands for hours,
minutes and chronograph ¼ seconds,
two subsidiary dials with continuous seconds at 9 o’clock
and a chronograph 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock,
fine timing device and stop-second
Winding Automatic
Power reserve 48 hours 
Bracelet Multi-piece bronze bracelet with folding clasp

Limited edition 250 pieces
Available through Oris boutiques, the Oris e-Shop, and retailers with access to the Oris e-shop.
Online tool to choose your limited edition number.

Availability June 2020
Swiss retail price CHF 4’800

Special wooden presentation box
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Press Release - 2020
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