The story of the rarest Tag Heuer F1 watch, the Ukyo Katayama

Eagle-eyed Esquiristas may recognize this model on the wrist of Nicholas Biebuyck, Tag Heuer's Heritage Director, who wore it during our recent visit to Watches & Wonders (read our review of the exhibition here). He called it his “travel watch” and it was a refreshingly sweet contrast to all the steel and gold on the wrists of all the other watch bosses.

That he wore it was the latest indication that Tag was belatedly about to re-release a watch that would be fondly remembered for being affordable, fun, and a gateway to a world of watches, in which these two things are often in short supply. In fact, the bright and beautiful F1 is back, launched in collaboration with Kith.

Hand on heart, we are a little disappointed about the departure from these two founding principles. That's why we're still beyond obsessed with the Ukyo Katayama version, the only signature model in the entire nine-year series of Formula 1's first era. While his record may not seem impressive, he raced in a time when it was There were hardly any points and only a few manufacturers had competitive cars. His 97 races are still the Japanese record, and although he failed to finish 63 of them – largely due to mechanical problems – he was a phenomenon in his homeland, so much so that Tag Heuer stepped in as personal sponsor and had a spot up his sleeve his racing suit.

We love the watch not so much because of Katayama, but because it embodies everything that made the original F1 such a brilliant piece of watchmaking; its four primary colors, that crazy signature, the affordable retail price. They were originally intended for the Japanese market, and while today you can pick up most original F1 watches for a few hundred dollars on resale sites, you can now find them in Japan, and only if the watch gods agree with you.

While Kith Heuer has all the makings of a first-day sellout, we're still waiting for something that still has a few miles left on the clock.