Above left is the new TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 “SpaceX”, a limited edition chronograph.  This stellar looking timepiece marks the 50th anniversary of TAG Heuer (originally Heuer) being the first Swiss timepiece to be worn in space.  That being the above right, a modified Heuer 2915A stopwatch, worn by astronaut John Glenn in 1962.  Top to bottom, inside and out, this is one awesome TAG Heuer with a great story around it.  I’ve got lots of praise, more looks and more details, below.

TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 “SpaceX” Watch

Limited edition 2,012 pieces

Price: ~$5,800, available from October 2012

The Carrera SpaceX is based on TAG’s standard 1887 Carrera, a watch I am also a fan of.  Unlike the normal 1887 Carrera, the SpaceX watch hands are custom — and I must say they look superb.  The dial is starch white with anthracite colored hour markings, matching the hands. The watch is fitted on a brown perforated strap which in an unexpected sort of way really completes the look.

Inside the watch is TAG’s impressive in-house caliber 1887.  Although I stirred up some of the controversy a couple years ago over how this caliber was originally announced, that is water under the bridge now — make no mistake that I really like the 1887 and the pieces it has been used in this far (speaking from hands-on experience).

Anyway — the caliber is semi-visible through smoked-sapphire case back that is overlaid with a rendering of the SpaceX logo and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch rocket and the Dragon spacecraft.

The well proportioned case and clean, crisp dial on this watch really captures me.  That and the tie-in with both a great historical event and the future of commercial spaceflight make this a definite watch for my wish list.

Definitely one of the most exciting and best looking TAG Heuer’s I’ve seen in recent times.  Superbly done, TAG Heuer!

As for SpaceX, well, I could go on for quite some time about this revolutionary company — but I won’t.  I will only say that if you are not familiar with SpaceX, I recommend you take some time to check it out at http://www.spacex.com/.  It is one hell of a cool story.

In short:  The company was founded in 2002 by billionaire Elon Musk, a founder and former CEO of PayPal (sold to eBay) and current CEO of Tesla Motors. The company’s prototype rocket, Falcon 1, was the first privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit. The more powerful Falcon 9 rocket debuted with back-to-back successful flights in June and December of 2010.  The December 2010 flight included the first flight of the Dragon spacecraft, making SpaceX the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to orbit and return it safely to Earth.

In May 2012, SpaceX again made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle to successfully attach to the International Space Station —  with a TAG Heuer Carrera SpaceX watch on board. Previously only four governments — the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency — had achieved this challenging technical feat (sans Carrera).  SpaceX is the face of the new era in commercial spaceflight led by privately held companies.  SpaceX has even taken on the job of deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) under a service contract with NASA.

Again, more on Space X at http://www.spacex.com/

For more detail on the 1962 history and the May 2012 SpaceX International Space Station mission (which included this SpaceX Carrera),  I recommend TAG Heuer insider blog Calibre11.