TAG Heuer Formula 1 Midsize

There is no doubt that 'tool watches' hold a special place in the hearts of many collectors, ourselves included. In fact, Analog:Shift was founded nearly ten years ago with its eyes set squarely on vintage divers, which then evolved into purpose built tool watches in general. With their simple designs and robust movements, the tool watches of the 1960s and 1970s were built to accompany the adventurer across the globe and to keep time at its great heights, dark depths, and around a racetrack. Today, tool watches are stronger than ever with the spirit of an era past living on in the full spectrum of the market - from entry-level micro-brands, all the way up. In the mid 1980s, Techniques d'Avant Garde acquired Heuer and released the Formula 1 line of watches as their first watch under the new brand, TAG Heuer. The Formula 1 line was made serve as a robust, dependable, and affordable tool watch and featured a wide variety of colors, material usage, and eventually complications and features. This particular watch, a Reference WA1211, features a 34mm steel case with a super cool and very 1980s TAG Heuer, fully-luminous dial with both printed black and Tritium indices, a matching 'Mercedes' handset, a unidirectional rotating timing bezel, and stainless steel Jubilee-style bracelet with a signed fliplock clasp. Colorful, reliable, and sized well for men or women, this early TAG Heuer is a lovely example of a (neo-vintage) tool watch.