With the Dutch Grand Prix preparing to take its final bow at Zandvoort later this month, TAG Heuer has chosen exactly the right place to turn up the colour. The new Formula 1 Solargraph 38 mm arrives in two limited editions dressed in the unmistakable orange of the Dutch crowd, a neat piece of timing for a race weekend that runs from 21–23 August and will include the first F1 Sprint ever held in the Netherlands.
Zandvoort deserves the homage. Its 4.259 km circuit is narrow, quick and undulating, threading through the North Sea dunes with banked corners that give the lap an old-school sense of speed. The modern Dutch Grand Prix only returned in 2021 after a 36-year absence; 2026 will now close that chapter, at least for the foreseeable future.
TAG Heuer hardly needs to borrow credibility from Formula 1. Motorsport has been woven through the company for decades, and it served as Formula 1’s Official Timekeeper from 1992 to 2003 before returning to the role in 2025. The Formula 1 watch itself dates to 1986, and new 38 mm proportions are closer in spirit to the original than the oversized sports watches of recent years.
Left: The TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph 38 mm limited edition on its three-row steel bracelet, presented in dedicated Formula 1 packaging.
Right: A closer look at the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph 38 mm, pairing a sandblasted steel case with a vibrant orange TH-Polylight bezel and grey opaline dial, colours inspired by Zandvoort.
The Zandvoort edition is wonderfully direct. A grey opaline dial is framed by a bright orange TH-Polylight bidirectional bezel, with red lacquered hands and indexes and warm eggshell Super-LumiNova. The sandblasted steel case tempers the vivid orange with a more functional, motorsport feel. On the orange rubber strap (£1,800), limited to 1,500 pieces, it is exuberant and unmistakably race-weekend; the 1,000-piece steel-bracelet version (£1,900) is the easier everyday proposition.
More interesting is what sits underneath. TAG Heuer’s TH50-00 Solargraph movement converts natural or artificial light into power. One minute in direct sunlight provides roughly a day of running, while a full charge gives up to ten months of autonomy in darkness. Solar is hardly new to watchmaking, but it is finding a growing place in Swiss luxury, as more brands explore what light-powered quartz can offer.
The new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph is colourful, practical, technically convincing and tied to a genuine moment in Formula 1 history. For Zandvoort’s last lap, orange feels exactly right.
Author: Lina Ress
If you like watches with a genuine connection to sport, you may enjoy our recent articles: The Sporting Life of Swiss Watches, The Cup that Holds no Water, and Two Wheels, Two Hands.
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