The watch industry certainly isn’t riddled with brand collaborations like, say, the sneaker world. However, some of our favorites have been from none other than the renowned watch blog Hodinkee. From partnering with John Mayer and G-SHOCK on a retro model inspired by the guitarist’s Casiotone keyboard from his youth to reviving the short-lived models that Braun (like the coffeemaker company) came out with in the ‘80s.
Hodinkee’s highest-profile collaborations seem to be the ones with Swiss icon TAG Heuer, but it’s been a while. First in 2017, they did a modern take on the coveted Skipper chronograph Heuer made for the America’s Cup yacht race in 1967 (only 20 have been confirmed to exist today). And then in 2021, there was the vintage-inspired Carrera Dato, a single-register tuxedo chronograph with some seriously understated style for your wrist.
For the two brand’s third collaboration, they’ve decided to dig into the catalog crate once again, reviving a white label watch that Heuer did for Abercrombie & Fitch back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Let’s take a look…
To a certain generation, the name Abercrombie & Fitch evokes black-and-white photos of pensive-looking shirtless dudes contemplating which preppy collared shirt they should wear next. However, that was all a part of a serious rebrand that happened in the 1990s after surviving Chapter 11.
Founded in 1892, Abercrombie & Fitch was actually a brand that catered to outdoorsmen. We’re talking about fishing gear and shotguns. Teddy Roosevelt shopped at the store prior to his 1909 safari, while Ernest Hemingway frequented the shop for firearms, including the gun used for his suicide.
A young Jack Heuer — great-grandson of founder Edouard Heuer — worked at a watch department inside Abercrombie & Fitch’s flagship store in New York. Right around that time, his family’s watch company was shifting to more tool-based timepieces like chronographs and pilot’s watches.
Right around that time, A&F was looking for a watch designed for hunters and fishermen, specifically tapping into John Alden Knight’s Solunar Theory which uses a series of annual charts that depict the days and times most favorable for hunting and fishing based on the alignment of the Sun and Moon (similar to how the moon affects the ocean tides). The company’s president Walter Haynes registered a patent for the design and approached Heuer to make the watch.
The end result was the Abercrombie & Fitch Solunar in 1949, co-branded with Heuer. It had a tide indicator in the form of a bottom subdial that rotated every 59 days — two lunar cycles. It could be modified to local tide tables with the help of a 4 o’clock pusher.
The Solunar evolved into the Seaferer a year later in 1950 by moving the tide indicator to the 9 o’clock position and adding a regatta timer and an additional 12-hour subdial at the bottom. It featured a simple solid bezel and a cream-colored dial with the Heuer branding now removed. In 1968, the Seafarer reached its final evolution with a blue and black version equipped with more diving capabilities and a rotating timing bezel.
Not a strict reissue of one particular Seafarer model, the 2024 version with Hodinkee combines elements from the 1950 version with its simple bezel design and the colors and 100m of water resistance of the 1968 model. The new model utilizes TAG Heuer’s modern glassbox Carrera case design with a domed sapphire crystal.
Measuring 42mm across and adorned with a black rubber strap, the stainless steel case houses a brand-new in-house TH20-13 tide indicator chronograph movement, which can be seen through the caseback. Returning are the tide indicator — now activated by its own “TIDE” pusher — and regatta subdial, while the bottom register is now a small seconds counter. The black dial is surrounded by a 60-minute rehaut scale in lieu of a timing bezel.
Case Size: 42mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Water Resistance: 100m
Movement: In-house TH20-13 tide indicator chronograph
Power Reserve: 80 hours
Band: Black rubber strap
Limited Edition?: Yes, 968
Limited to 968 pieces, the TAG Heuer x Hodinkee Carrera Seafarer is a unique timepiece, to say the least, and is currently offered on Hodinkee’s website for $7,950.
Hodinkee helps TAG Heuer revive their Seafarer tide indicator chronograph from the ’50s and ’60s. Combining elements from two different references, the watch was originally made for Abercrombie & Fitch to aid hunters and fishermen.
