On the back of the hefty, 10-year LVMH-Formula 1 sponsorship deal signed last year, TAG Heuer now returns as the official timekeeper of Formula 1, just in time for the sport’s 75th anniversary in 2025.
This is a homecoming of sorts of TAG Heuer, which was official timekeeper for F1 for a decade from 1992. In fact, the brand’s roots in motorsports go back several decades — Heuer was the first luxury watch brand to display its logo on a Formula 1 car in 1969, and the first to sponsor a team in 1971 when it partnered with Scuderia Ferrari. And TAG Heuer famously signed Ayrton Senna as an ambassador in 1988, just before he became a champion driver.
Jack Heuer (centre, in blue) at Ferrari in Maranello
In fact, the brand name itself references F1: well before TAG Group acquired Heuer in 1985, the Saudi-owned group was already shareholder in McLaren and only sold its stake in the automaker and racing team last year.
TAG Heuer’s return to F1 comes at an opportune time, with the sport having evolved into a global entertainment franchise under the ownership of Liberty Media. According to F1, it now boasts an audience of 750 million fans, many of whom are drawn into the sport by the hit Netflix series, and also an upcoming film starring Brad Pitt.
Peter Speake has introduced the first watches under his new brand, PS Horology. Long separated from the eponymous brand Speake-Marin, Mr Speake has launched the Tsuba.
A significant departure from his earlier designs, the Tsuba’s case and bracelet features flowing, organic lines inspired by tsuba, guards found on traditional Japanese swords that were functional but often exquisitely decorated.
The debut of PS Horology, just six days into the new year, is the first significant relaunch of 2025 but probably not the last.
Initial thoughts
Mr Speake is a significant figure in the early history of independent watchmaking, so the launch of his new brand attracted my attention. While the designs are a departure from what I’m used to seeing from the projects he’s been involved with in the past, they are nonetheless executed with an eye for the details.
The Tsuba is all about its case and bracelet design, which is almost organic in feel, calling to mind watches like the Patek Philippe Nautilus. But the Tsuba’s design has an altogether different influence, and the similarity is incidental.
The unusual shape of the case means it’s difficult to manufacture and finish, with dramatic transitions between brushed convex surfaces and polished concave surfaces. The watch is powered by the well-known Vaucher cal. 5401, a thin, sophisticated calibre that helps the Tsuba achieve its appealing slimness of just under 9 mm.
The multi-part dials are also worth close examination. The standard model, the Tsuba Blue, features a sapphire dial with an anodised frame that brings to mind gothic British tower clocks like Big Ben. Of all the design elements, I find this dial to be most deeply connected with Mr Speake’s earlier work. A pleasing Easter egg on the dial is the alignment of the logo with the open observatory-style hour hand at noon and midnight.
On the other hand, the dial of the Tsuba Dong Son, a limited edition exclusive to his retailer in Vietnam, is made of 18k gold and relief-engraved with motifs from Dong Son culture of ancient Vietnam.
But it was likely costly to develop; its unique shape means that seemingly ordinary components, like the front and rear sapphire crystals, required development specifically for this model, since off-the-shelf components would not work.
The man and the brand
Then still Peter Speake-Marin was part of the first big wave of independent brands in the early 2000s, launching Speake-Marin in 2002.
Prior to establishing his own brand, he studied watchmaking at Hackney College in London alongside Stephen Forsey, and later walked the same path as many other legendary watchmakers, starting with restoration before moving to Le Locle to work for Renaud & Papi. Mr Speake also had a hand in developing key products for other independent brands, most notably MB&F’s debut model, the Horological Machine 1.
Peter Speake
But independent watchmaking is a difficult business, and Mr Speake ultimately departed his eponymous brand, which continues to operate under different ownership.
After a stint providing collectors and enthusiasts with highly valuable movement deconstructions on his website The Naked Watchmaker, he founded PS Horology in 2022.
Eastern influence
Aesthetically, the Tsuba represents a significant departure for Mr Speake. While his original Piccadilly collection was inspired by his time restoring watches in that district of London, the Tsuba looks eastward for its inspiration. The Asian inspiration is not recent for Mr Speake – he was one of the first independent watchmakers to employ Japanese themes and techniques on his watches some two decades ago at Speake-Marin.
The name itself refers to the guards of Japanese swords; protective, functional devices found on Japanese swords like katana for centuries. During the Edo Period (1603-1868), tsuba gradually transformed from merely practical elements into blank canvases for decorative and artistic expression.
An example of tsuba
The shape of the case is directly inspired by the typical tsuba, which is loaded with symbolism. To execute on this vision, Mr Speake turned to designer Darren Jones, a British watch designer who provided the initial sketches and concepts for what would become the Tsuba.
The case is also the most complex part of the Tsuba to make, with its scalloped corners and rounded surfaces requiring a complex, multi-step process for machining and finishing. Interestingly, the articulation of the bracelet and the size and shape of the case were developed specifically for small and medium wrists, to appeal to clients in the Asian market.
Perhaps because of the complex form of the case, which required equally complex sapphire crystals, water resistance is just 30 m, which is probably sufficient but less than one would typically expect from a sporty watch with an integrated steel bracelet.
Detail of a bronze drum of the Dong Son culture of Vietnam
A tried-and-true movement
The Tsuba is powered by the Vaucher cal. 5401, a slim, micro-rotor automatic movement used by big names like Parmigiani and Hermès, and also supplied to small independents like Kikuchi Nakagawa, Laine, and Bradley Taylor.
The cal. 5401 is fairly ordinary on paper, ticking at 3 Hz and running for 48 hours on a full wind, but is exceptionally thin and well constructed. Mr Speake seems to have an affinity for Vaucher movements, which he documented in great detail on his website The Naked Watchmaker.
Key facts and price
PS Horology Tsuba Tsuba Blue
Tsuba Dong Son Slate
Tsuba Dong Son Ultramarine
Case diameter: 38.3 mm Height: 8.91 mm Material: Stainless steel Crystal: Sapphire Water resistance: 30 m
Movement: Vaucher cal. 5401 Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz) Winding: Automatic Power reserve: 48 hours
Strap: Stainless steel or synthetic textile
Limited edition: 99 (Tsuba Blue) and 80 (Tsuba Dong Son)
Availability: Directly from PS Horology (Tsuba Blue); from Miluxe in Vietnam (Tsuba Dong Son)
Price: Tsuba Blue: CHF 19,500 (excluding tax and shipping), with 30% deposit for delivery by August 2025; Tsuba Dong Son: Upon request
