Boasting 13 pieces, the new generation of the Carrera offers four versions (All photos: TAG Heuer)
One of the ways for brands to increase the desirability of their products is to have a celebrity ambassador endorse them, someone who embodies its aesthetic or believes in the same goals. While many Hollywood actors have one or more brands under their belt — Keira Knightley is an ambassador for Chanel, Harry Styles for Gucci, and Beyoncé endorses Pepsi, Adidas and Giorgio Armani — there’s one who, surprisingly, has not represented any brand, until now.
“We are thrilled to announce Ryan Gosling as TAG Heuer global ambassador, for his first ever brand partnership,” says Frédéric Arnault, CEO of TAG Heuer. “A star since his early days, he has grown to become an icon — one both enigmatic and inscrutable. He is a true artist who chooses his projects with utmost care and dedicates himself to them like no other, not only shaping his character but the entire creative direction. The movie Drive represents the strongest link with who we are today, and we are excited about the creative projects we have together.”
Gosling is known for taking on a wide range of challenging roles and expressing a multitude of emotions with just one long look. He is what you would call a versatile actor, having played many different characters — from a dancing and singing love interest in La La Land and a romantic lead in the heart-wrenching love story The Notebook, to more serious roles in movies like The Big Short. It is Gosling’s passion for his craft, ability to take on any challenges, and effortless sense of style that make him the perfect new ambassador for TAG Heuer.
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“TAG Heuer has quietly and consistently been a classic and iconic pillar of excellence in its field for over 160 years. Partnering with them was an easy decision and time, in general, is just something I think a lot about now. My kids are growing up fast, so I keep an eye on the clock in a way I never used to,” says Gosling.
The 40-year-old actor takes being hands-on to a whole other level — he even does his own stunts. For the TAG Heuer campaign shoot, Gosling chose award-winning photographer Pari Dukovic, who captured the cover image for former US president Barack Obama’s book A Promised Land, and has photographed the likes of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as well as singers Billie Eilish and Megan Thee Stallion. Together, Gosling and Dukovic shot a unique campaign.
“Ryan said he wanted to do something completely different. Colour has emotion and it’s completely unexpected. In creating these portraits, it was about creating something timeless and timely at the same time. TAG Heuer’s watches have a timeless quality to them and that’s exactly what we wanted to do with the campaign,” says Dukovic.
To celebrate this partnership, the brand has released the new TAG Heuer Carrera Three Hands. The Carrera collection, introduced in 1963, is all about having a timeless design that focuses on legibility, ensuring it is easy to read at a glance. Boasting 13 pieces, the new generation of the Carrera offers four versions: the TAG Heuer Carrera Day Date 41mm, the TAG Heuer Carrera Twin-Time Date 41mm, the TAG Heuer Carrera Date 39mm and the TAG Heuer Carrera Date 29mm.
While all of the 13 timepieces come with a stainless steel case, one has a leather strap and the rest have an innovative steel bracelet with H-shaped links. These pieces come with a choice of black, blue, white or silver dials.
So what makes each of the new Carrera Three Hands watches unique? The TAG Heuer Carrera Date 39mm and Day Date 41mm are powered by the Calibre 5 automatic, and while they both have a date window, the former has it at 6 o’clock and the latter has a specially designed thinner date at 3 o’clock.
The TAG Heuer Carrera Twin-Time Date 41mm contains the Calibre 7, with more distinctive hour and minute hands with white Super-LumiNova. The Twin-Time hand tip is refined, containing Super-Luminova on the arrowhead. Finally, the TAG Heuer Carrera Date 29mm, the smallest case of the bunch, has the Calibre 9, as well as bolder hour and minute hands. As an ode to this collection’s heritage, the design of the 29mm has a date window at 6 o’clock and one version includes sparkling diamond indexes.
It makes complete sense that the announcement of the TAG Heuer partnership with Gosling should be celebrated with the new Carrera Three Hands, which is stylish and timeless. “I appreciate its timeless design. I like clean and simple design generally. Growing up, we lived on a pretty tight budget. I gravitated towards things that were simple and timeless, so I didn’t have to think about keeping up with trends,” says Gosling.
This article first appeared on Nov 15, 2021 in The Edge Malaysia.
