One component of the 80s F1 rubber straps that has not carried over to the new assortment, although, is the V-shaped grooves on the underside portion of the unique straps. TAG made the 80s rubber straps further lengthy so surfers and divers might put on the F1s over wetsuits. The V-shaped grooves meant these might simply be minimize right down to a desired size—significantly helpful should you have been simply going to put on it on the wrist and never within the waves. Clearly, TAG would not need anyone reducing up its new rubber straps.
I’ve wished a basic authentic orange TAG F1 for years, and eventually managed to select one up earlier this 12 months, though it’s the later WA1213 mannequin. Eddy Burgener, who designed the TAG F1 within the 80s, has acknowledged that vivid, popping colours have been key to the unique assortment, and that the fashions weren’t, initially not less than, regarded as being linked to driving however watersports as a substitute.
Talking to look at website Hodinkee final 12 months, Burgener stated TAG was “making an attempt to create a brand new type of watches for American surfers, divers, and different younger people heading for the seashore,” so the transient was to create a brand new watch that was enjoyable, colourful, and younger, emulating the intense surfboards and the garments surfers have been sporting on the time.
To nail the intense colours, Burgener acknowledged that the case needed to be artificial, which then added the complication of making an attempt to make a diver’s watch utilizing artificial supplies, one thing that was extremely troublesome on the time. Ultimately, they settled on a combination of fiberglass and plastic as the bottom materials for elevated hardness and stability.
TAG’s photo voltaic F1s now sport a type of bioplastic—a extra eco-friendly castor-based polyamide which the model has named TH-Polylight—changing the outdated “Arnite” thermoplastic. As earlier than, that is molded over a metal interior core, making for a sports activities watch that is extra strong than most plastic-cased equivalents.
