SpotlightAhoy There, Captain: TAG Heuer Revives Their Vintage Skipper Watch In A Contemporary Carrera Case

In a fascinating rebirth of a vintage unicorn watch—one that’s so rare, it almost never existed—TAG Heuer revive their Skipper timepiece. This watch, originally a tribute to an award-winning yacht and its captain in the 1960s, and produced in limited editions for regatta sailors till 1983, makes its revival 40 years later in a the new ‘glassbox’ Carrera case. Only, now it’s a functional tool that also carries a piece of history within its design, and not just a yachter’s watch or a collector’s dream. The TAG Heuer Carrera Skipper features a beautiful blue dial, with the date window at six, and three counters that include a 15-minute tricolour yachting recorder in a vivid ‘regatta orange’, ‘lagoon green’ and a lighter, ‘Intrepid teal’.

The Skipperera—Captain In A Carrera Case

The TAG Heuer Carrera line, inspired by and named after the Carrera Panamericana race through Mexico, was introduced in 1963. Since then, Jack Heuer’s brainchild has been associated with motorsports. But even before the Carrera collection was born, starting in the 1940s, Heuer had a partnership with American apparel brand Abercrombie and Fitch, which eventually led to Heuer timing the America’s Cup boat Intrepid in the 1960s. The America’s Cup, one of the oldest sporting events in the world, is a yacht race held every two or three years. In 1967, Heuer provided the Intrepid with hand-held stop watches meant for yachting, and the crew with red-and-white countdown timer-equipped wristwatches with the names ‘Aquastar’, ‘Heuer’ and ‘Intrepid’ on their dials.

Needless to say, the Intrepid won the regatta by a long margin, and to celebrate its victory and that of its skipper Emil ‘Bus’ Mosbacher Jr, in 1968 Heuer released the Skipper watch in a Carrera case (reference 7754). All future Skipper watches were housed in the brand’s Autavia case. However, this first 7754 model—called the ‘Skipperera’ for Skipper and Carrera—is among the rarest watches in Heuer’s collection. The distinctive mint green sub-dial at nine and the five-minute interval in on the 15-minute counter at three matched the deck of the Intrepid perfectly. The tricolour counter stood out so spectacularly that an original Skipperera is among the most sought-after vintage Heuer watches today—so rare and coveted that the brand released a 125-piece limited edition in collaboration with Hodinkee in 2017, to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Skipper watch. This version featured a single tricoloured counter at nine o’clock, and was sold out soon after its release.

The Intrepid won the America's Cup yachting race by a long margin, and to celebrate its victory, in 1968 Heuer released the Skipper watch in a Carrera case

The distinctive mint green subdial at nine and the five-minute interval in on the 15-minute counter at three matched the deck of the Intrepid perfectly

Aye, Aye, Carrera Skipper

Now, TAG Heuer revive the Carrera Skipper in the 39mm Carrera Chronograph’s ‘glassbox’ case, without an external bezel, which was showcased earlier this year at Watches and Wonders, Geneva. This is slightly larger than the 1968 Skipper, which had a case size of 35mm. The 2023 Carrera Skipper’s polished stainless steel case features a steel crown at three o’clock with the TAG Heuer logo, and two retro push buttons at two and four o’clock. The Carrera Skipper is also water-resistant to 100m, which definitely makes it ideal for sailing, but also makes it easier to wear every day.

The vivid orange is used to alert the crew to the fact that there was just five minutes to go; green to represent the colour of the boat’s rigging and light teal to replicate the colour of Intrepid’s deck

The Carrera Skipper is water resistant to 100m, which definitely makes it ideal for sailing, but also makes it easier to wear every day

The dial, in the brand’s distinctive Carrera blue with a circular-brushed finish, houses three sub-dials—a 12-hour recorder at nine in the Intrepid teal, an almost-invisible permanent seconds counter at six o’clock, and, at three o’clock, is the distinctive 15-minute regatta timer in orange, green and mint. The 30-minute recorder was modified to countdown the 15-minute yachting ‘regatta pre-start in three, five-minute segments’ (three horns signalled at five minute-intervals, during which yachts basically prepare for the race by sailing up and down within the starting area). Unlike the Skipperera, the 2023 update features a date window at six o’clock.

TAG Heuer revive the Carrera Skipper in the 39mm Carrera Chronograph’s ‘glassbox’ case, with a steel crown at three, and two retro push buttons at two and four o’clock

The dial, in the brand’s distinctive Carrera blue with a circular-brushed finish, houses three sub-dials

A 12-hour recorder at nine, an almost-invisible permanent seconds counter at six o’clock, and the distinctive 15-minute regatta timer in at three

The 30-minute recorder was modified to count-down the 15-minute yachting ‘regatta pre-start in three, five-minute segments’

The teal 12-hour counter at nine o’clock features the name of the watch Skipper

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This new Skipper from TAG Heuer is also different from the Carrera ‘glassbox’ Chronograph in that it doesn’t have a tachymeter scale around the periphery of the watch. This is, after all, a sailing watch, with no real use for a tachymeter scale. Instead, there’s a minutes/seconds track on the flange in the same blue as the dial, with white markers, unlike the Skipperera, which featured the minutes track on a white ring. This is clearly visible even at most angles, thanks to the curved design of the sapphire crystal glass protecting the dial. Rhodium-plated, white Super-LumiNova-filled hands have distinct orange tips, and the central seconds hands is in a lacquered orange.

This new Skipper from TAG Heuer doesn’t have a tachymeter scale around the periphery of the watch. Instead, there’s a minutes/seconds track on the flange in the same blue as the dial, with clear white markers

Updated For Sailing, And For The Everyday

The Carrera Skipper is mounted on a blue fabric strap with a brushed and polished steel folding clasp, and double safety pushbuttons. Powering the watch is the brand’s automatic calibre TH20-06, which features an oscillating weight that winds the movement bi-directionally, and offers a whopping 80-hour power reserve.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Skipper's rhodium-plated hands are filled with white Super-LumiNova

The Carrera Skipper's timekeeping hands have distinct orange tips, and the central seconds hands is in a lacquered orange

TAG Heuer's TH20-06 movement powering the watch offers an 80-hour power reserve and is visible through the caseback

The Carrera Skipper is mounted on a blue fabric strap with a brushed and polished steel folding clasp, and double safety pushbuttons

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The original Skipperera featured the word Skipper at 12 o’clock, just above the Heuer branding. This name has been repositioned to the counter at nine, a subtle but noticeable change to collectors. Still, given the watch’s overall contemporary aesthetic and functions, and the fact that it is now featured in the brand’s core collection and not just a limited-edition timepiece, this is a win for collectors, yachters, and just about anyone who appreciates colour, or for those who want a piece of history on their wrist—for the unicorn just became a living, breathing creature.