Legendary Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna was a longtime TAG Heuer ambassador up until his death in 1994. On the 30th anniversary of his passing, the Brazilian driver is coming back to the fore with TAG Heuer unveiling the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Senna just in time for the premiere of the Netflix series Senna.

Based on the Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport, the Senna edition is presented in titanium, carbon composite, and the colours of the Brazilian flag. It bears the driver’s emblem on the carbon composite and hour register at nine, while the case back depicts a helmeted Senna.

Senna himself frequently wore the TAG Heuer S/el ref. S25.706C multi-function, which will also be seen in the upcoming television series

Initial thoughts

TAG Heuer is in some ways an underdog – because of its many affordable offerings, its higher-end models sometimes don’t get enough attention. The Carrera Dato “Glassbox”, for instance, is a vintage-inspired but original design that’s appealing and powered by an in-house movement.

The Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon is an integrated chronograph with automatic winding, plus a flying tourbillon, albeit an industrial movement. The big and bold styling isn’t the retro-inspired design that Heuer enthusiasts appreciate, but the Senna edition is executed well and priced right.

Personally speaking, the Senna edition is not my style — there are too Senna elements in the design, unlike the low-key regular-production version. However, the watch itself is affordable as such complications go and the Senna name goes a long way in widening its appeal.

Value-proposition tourbillon

Measuring 44 mm in diameter, the case is alternating brushed and sandblasted titanium with a carbon composite tachymeter bezel. Both the crown and pushers are also titanium.

The dial is skeletonised to reveal the base plate that’s decorated with a chequered flag pattern. Like the case, the dial features blue, green, and yellow accents, a reference to Brazil’s flag. The elapsed hours sub-dial at nine o’clock contains a large Senna “S”, while the flying tourbillon is at six.

The sapphire back is printed with a visage of the legendary driver in his helmet. This partly obscures the self-winding TH20-09, which offers 65 hours of power reserve and beats at 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz).

Key facts and price

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Senna
Ref. CBU5081.FT6274

Diameter: 44 mm
Height: Unavailable
Material: Grade-2 titanium
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: Cal. TH20-09
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, and tourbillon
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 65 hours

Strap: Blue integrated rubber strap with grade-2 titanium folding clasp

Limited edition: 500 pieces
Availability: At TAG Heuer boutiques and retailers starting November 2024
Price: CHF37,000

For more, visit tagheuer.com.

Elegant and distinctly 1970s in style, the Piaget Andy Warhol Clou de Paris is modelled on an oversized quartz wristwatch once owned by Andy Warhol. Originally known as the Black Tie Vintage Inspiration, the model has now been renamed thanks to Piaget’s recently inked partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, making it the first timepiece bearing the name of the American artist.

Part of Piaget’s catalogue for a decade, the new Andy Warhol wristwatch gains a reworked bezel decorated with Clou de Paris, replacing the stepped bezel on the preceding version. The latest iteration sports a blue meteorite dial, but the model can be customised via Piaget’s “Made to Order” programme that includes a variety of mineral stone dials as well as dial and case options.

The original version with a stepped bezel, here with a malachite dial

Initial thoughts

Andy Warhol was a watch collector who own over 300 timepieces – all of which were sold at Sotheby’s after his death – including seven by Piaget. One of them as a chunky yellow gold watch with powered by the Beta 21, a pioneering Swiss quartz movement. Piaget is making the most of this association by renaming the Black Tie model and expanding the options offered to clients.

Piaget does several things well, including ingenious, record-setting ultra-thin movements, but it really excels at elegant, retro dress watches like the Andy Warhol. While the original Black Tie model was essentially a remake of the vintage original, the new Clou de Paris version is a period-correct twist on the design. Though this design did not exist in the 1970s, it certainly could have been.

Andy Warhol’s Piaget ref. 15101 with a Beta 21 movement – the model was introduced in 1972

The possibility of customisation adds to the appeal of the movement, though the programme is limited and essentially a mix-and-match from a fix range of options for the dial, case, and hands.

Inside the Andy Warhol is the automatic cal. 501P1 movement. Although it’s a competent calibre, an ultra-thin hand-wind calibre would have been more appropriate given the formal style of the watch, especially since Piaget has a good number of them in its stable.

Andy Warhol with Yves Piaget (left) in 1984

Piaget’s icon

Although the Andy Warhol is a simple design, or perhaps because of that, it is a recognisable creation. The cushion-shaped case is large, oversized even by modern standards, at 45 mm in diameter.

This version is in 18k white gold with clou de Paris guilloche on the periphery of the bezel, which also has a radially-brushed flat top. The dial is blue meteorite, which is conventional iron meteorite that’s been plated to give it a dark blue finish.

The “Made to Order” programme also offers rose gold as an option for the case metal, as well as the traditional stepped bezel.

Like the case, the dial can be customised from a range of ten mineral stones, including falcon’s eye, turquoise and malachite. The hands can either be dauphine-style or batons like the vintage original.

A petrified wood dial with apertures for baguette-cut gemstone markers

The Andy Warhol is powered by the cal. 501P1, a slim, in-house movement that’s compact enough for the case. Introduced in 2020, the self-winding movement is a workhorse found in several of Piaget’s ladies watches.

A slim manual-wind movement, on the other hand, would have been more appropriate for a watch of this style and probably appealed more to enthusiasts.

Key facts and price

Piaget Andy Warhol Clou de Paris
Ref. G0A49238

Case diameter: 45 mm
Case height: Unavailable
Material: White gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Cal. 501P1
Functions: Hours and minutes
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 40 hours

Strap: Alligator leather strap

Limited edition: No
Availability: Now at Piaget boutiques and retailers
Price: Upon request

For more, visit piaget.com

One of the most intriguing and significant watches in Christie’s upcoming Geneva auction on November 11 is Breguet no. 3218, a tonneau-shaped wristwatch with a perpetual calendar and retrograde date sold in 1935.

In all likelihood the first wristwatch ever with these complications, no. 3218 is also notable for its provenance: the original owner was Paul Iribe, Coco Chanel’s romantic partner. The watch is going under the hammer with a low estimate of CHF100,000 – modest considering its significance.

According to Christie’s, there are only four known wristwatches with perpetual calendar and retrograde date made in the first half of the 20th century, regardless of brand, and this is one of them.

Two others were also made by Breguet, while the final example is the unique Patek Philippe ref. 96 (no. 860’182) that is the classic round Calatrava case. This watch, no. 3218, is the earliest of the four, making it likely the first-ever perpetual calendar wristwatch with retrograde date.

The 18k white gold case remains well preserved

Beyond its intrinsic features, no. 3218 is also historically interesting for its first owner. The watch was sold by Breguet in May 1935 – for a then-astronomical 10,000 francs – to Paul Iribe, a French designer who is perhaps most famous for being Coco Chanel’s lover. In September 1935, not long after he bought this watch, Iribe died suddenly at Chanel’s villa on the French Riviera.

The watch contains a decorated but unmarked movement, which was common for the period

The case is hallmarked on the inside of the back

Despite its age, no. 3218 appears to have been preserved surprisingly well, especially considering wristwatches of this period were not water resistant. Interestingly, it is fitted to a Cartier folding clasp that is noted in Breguet’s records in 1945, making it likely the clasp was sold with the watch in 1935.

Breguet no. 3218 is  accompanied by a Breguet archive extract signed by Emmanuel Breguet, the brand’s historian.

Estimated at CHF100,000-200,000, it is lot 55 in Christie’s Rare Watches sale that takes place in Geneva on November 11, 2024. For more, visit Christies.com.