The new TAG Heuer LINK arriving in dealerships
By MyWatch
What turns a Swiss watch into an enduring icon of design and elegance? In the case of the TAG Heuer LINK, daring aesthetics, a glamorous history of celebrity endorsement, and, perhaps most important for the person who wears it, a level of perfect-fitting wrist comfort second to none. Supremely versatile, it is a watch for all occasions: whatever you do, wherever you are, the TAG Heuer LINK helps define who you are — urban, active, adventurous, sure of yourself and your place in the world.
One of TAG Heuer’s strongest brand assets, the TAG Heuer LINK is an instantly recognizable timepiece, avant-garde both for its ergonomic design and its understated, very contemporary elegance.
Motion, purity, curve, precision, an almost liquid-metal dynamism in its streamlined form and silhouette — these are the new TAG Heuer LINK’s signature values. The look is iconically urban. The symmetries between the dial and the bracelet, and between the links of the bracelet itself, evoke the fluid lightness and movement of contemporary architecture: clean lines in shimmering steel, sparkling glass and monochromatic text. The bold design is open and direct, explicitly organic; the timepiece floats weightlessly on the wrist, yet has expressive solidity and a dramatic shape.
Function, comfort and avant-garde aesthetics have rarely been so elegantly allied.
The TAG Heuer LINK has undergone several transformations during its first quarter-century. This year’s reinterpretation is the most radical to date. The lines are sharp, in keeping with contemporary tastes. The styling is more urban and dynamic, yet ever faithful to the TAG Heuer LINK’s timeless values and inimitable look and feel. Purer, sleeker, more contemporary, yet ineluctably linked to its distinct codes and identity — the new LINK is the pacesetter of the avant-garde.
The four key features of the new TAG HEUER LINK are its bracelet, case, bezel and dial.
BRACELET
The bracelet, with its instantly recognizable S-shaped links, is more comfortable than ever. Streamlined to its purest form, it combines simplicity with a sharper, more fluid shape. The steel S-links are fine brushed, with a new polished shimmer on the sides. The legacy of values inherited from the original remains firmly in place: avant-garde luxury aesthetics; comfort and flexibility without peer.
CASE
The new case is a stunning reinterpretation of the original, with, instead of a fully brushed finish, a striking contrast of fine-brushed horns and polished and rounded sides. Water resistant to 100 metres, it is a solid and forceful as its predecessors, yet the overall look is thinner and flatter — more contemporary.
BEZEL
The fixed bezel is a highly sophisticated multilevel design integrating both round and “cushion” shapes (except in the quartz model). The different levels elegantly catch and texture the light in a myriad of ways. The engraved numerals offer better readability.
DIAL
The dial comes in a variety of sizes and functions (Quartz, Auto, Day-Date, Calibre S, Chronograph). Black or silver, each has an eye-catching vertical streak effect, which continues the vertical geometry of the bracelet, giving depth and allure. The monochrome TAG Heuer logo is hand-applied. The curved and facetted indexes are hand-applied and polished. The faceted and polished hour and minute hand are rhodium-plated with luminescent markers.
The overall look is radically new, yet the strong spirit and timeless character of the original is still instantly recognizable in every element. The LINK remains what it has always been — TAG Heuer’s most elegant sports watch, avant-garde to the core, and now backed with new, top-end technology and a very urban and contemporary economy of form.
LINK. THE ELEGANT SPORTS WATCH.
Available in a complete range of sizes and with a host of different TAG Heuer movements to choose from, the LINK is, more than ever, a worldwide reference for avant-garde elegance and ergonomic design.
The frontrunner is the LINK Automatic Chronograph (43mm)Calibre 16.An elegant reinterpretation especially noteworthy for the black tachymetre scale on its polished, “cushion” shaped fixed bezel, the stylish chronograph is built around TAG Heuer’s powerful Calibre 16 movement. The angled date window is at 3 o’clock. Case and bracelet surfaces are polished and fine-brushed to a rich luster, while the new LINK signature — the textured vertical streak effect — is showcased on the broader black or silver dial. The bigger size means better readability and more uncluttered space for functions, including an oversized running second counter with silver edges at 9 o’clock, which allows the wearer to check and confirm proper functioning at a glance. Features include a curved, scratch resistant sapphire crystal with double-sided antireflective treatment; and a solid-steel folding clasp with safety pushbuttons. The engraved and decorated caseback is screw-fitted and adorned with the TAG Heuer logo.
The other avant-garde standouts are the LINK Chronograph (43mm) Calibre S, with its elegantly simple 1/100th of a second display, and a full lineup of Automatic watches. The LINK Quartz Watch (40mm) is the entry-point edition. The LINK Automatic Watch (40mm) Calibre 6 and LINK Automatic Watch (42mm) Calibre 5 – Day Date are available with Arabic or Roman numerals on the bezel. Those looking for an extra boost of luxury will opt for the stunning Calibre 6 Steel & Gold edition.
THE LINK. AVANT-GARDE ELEGANCE. AVANT-GARDE DESIGN.
The story of how the LINK became a legend begins in 1987, when TAG Heuer introduced a new generation of precision-driven sports watches and chronographs called S/el. The unorthodox name stood for “sport and elegance” and drew attention to the line’s most compelling feature: a steel bracelet fashioned of S-shaped links. This marked the first time in Swiss watchmaking history that the genesis of a new watch was its bracelet. The unique, interlocking design was elegant; its ergonomic comfort was, and is, unparalleled. The strongly futuristic codes and fluid symmetries were decades ahead of its time.
The signature design gained worldwide fame in 1988 when it flashed on the wrist of F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna. The Brazilian racecar driver, a long-time TAG Heuer Ambassador, wore it to three consecutive F1 World Championships.
In 1999, TAG Heuer rebuilt the watch from the ground up — new bracelet, even more ergonomically designed, a wider, thinner dial, and easier-to-use functions. The completely redesigned series, re-launched worldwide as the LINK, was pushed to the forefront through celebrity endorsements from great champions in a wide range of sporting disciplines, from Boris Becker and Monica Seles in tennis to Colin Jackson in track and Leonardo in football.
Future LINK models streamlined the design elegance of their predecessors even further, accentuating cleaner lines and a purer economy of form. In 2003, to honour golfing legend Tiger Woods, TAG Heuer launched a new flagship timepiece, the 1/10th of a Second LINK Caliber 36 Mechanical Chronograph — streamlined bracelet, case cut from a solid steel block, larger face for optimum readability, but thinner and rimmed with a slender fixed bezel.
In 2007, the brand celebrated the LINK’s 20th anniversary with a 3rd Generation breakthrough creation: the TAG Heuer LINK Calibre S, an exceptionally easy-to-read chronograph with unprecedented 1/100th of a second accuracy. The groundbreaking chronograph fused intuitive, at-a-glance functionality with a very contemporary design aesthetic.
Now, for 2011, TAG Heuer award-winning workshop in the Swiss mountains of the Jura have focussed its design and engineering prowess on taking the LINK to the next level.
