Japanese streetwear designer and musician Hiroshi Fujiwara bridged streetwear and high-fashion in the days before the internet. Such was his influence and taste that many regarded him as the godfather of streetwear. Fragment Design came soon after the advent of the internet in 2003, where he worked on collaborations with prestigious names like Louis Vuitton, Nike, Moncler, Bvlgari, and of late, prolifically with TAG Heuer. The Fragment Design Heuer 02 chronograph is a collector’s piece limited to only 500 units infused with Fujiwara’s design ethos.
The second such collaboration since 2018, the TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Heuer 02 chronograph is iconic Fujiwara, stripped of superfluous details and focused on the essentials via Fujiwara’s signature accents: What results is a bold yet minimalistic limited-edition novelty – a pure reflection of TAG Heuer’s motor-racing heritage and bold design principles, with high-end finishes, a ceramic bezel and a fiery red sapphire case back.
modelled on the C-case Autavia models from the 1960s and 1970s, the design philosophy of the TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Heuer 02 chronograph is best explained by Fujiwara himself: “Redesigning this TAG Heuer chronograph timepiece gave me the opportunity to use an existing legacy to create a new one. I gave the design a modern and exceptional flair with the red case back, which reflects one of the brand’s logo colours and also gives it a completely new and evolved character”.
Hiroshi Fujiwara is himself a vintage watch aficionado, in an interview with Eric Ku and 10 Past Ten, Fujiwara revealed that he preferred classic watches over their modern counterparts and has a strong passion for vintage Paul Newman Daytonas. Hence, it is no coincidence that his 2018 collaboration with TAG Heuer also resulted in something with the same retro-aesthetic paired with a futuristic minimalism.
Credit: 10 Past Ten – Fujiwara’s vintage watch collection
Indeed, echoing his superbly proportioned and minimalistic style, the TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Heuer 02 chronograph plays up the raison d’être of a timing instrument: emphasising the iconic tachymeter scale on the bezel and clearing the dial of all extraneous embellishment, increasing subtlety by way of design elements like red cardinal points on black surface while simultaneously increasing legibility with high contrast white numerals and minute rails.
The black opaline dial of the the TAG Heuer x Fragment Design Heuer 02 has two black embossed subcounters at 3 and 9 o’clock with visual counterpoints in the form of the red indexes and the red lacquered central hand, which give the dial an extra pop. The result is a bold and elegantly sparse 44 mm timepiece that is effortless to read at top speeds or while out for pub crawl after the sun has ling set.
On the case back, the two-counter architecture of the in-house Heuer 02 movement is partially obscured and made even more eye-catching thanks to a circular red sapphire crystal window. The automatic column-wheel chronograph movement is a worthy centrepiece; exceptionally precise and boasting an 80-hour power reserve, it demonstrates TAG Heuer’s continued mastery of watchmaking design and engineering. The red sapphire case back features the unmistakable logo of Fragment Design, and each piece is engraved with a unique limited-edition number from 1 to 500.
The Fujiwara design also includes an exclusive new feature: a five-row steel bracelet with a butterfly folding clasp. The watch will be available to pre-order from www.tagheuer.com and in select TAG Heuer boutiques before going on sale on July 27th, 2020.
Fragment Design Heuer 02 chronograph Price & Specs
Movement Automatic Calibre Heuer 02 with 80-hour power reserve
Case 44 mm stainless steel with 100 metres water resistance
Strap Bracelet
Price On Application
