iW Magazine Fall 2019 | Page 22

Dialed In HOROLOGICAL NEWS TAG HEUER AND PORSCHE AGREE ON FORMULA E TAG Heuer and Porsche have entered a long-term agreement regarding their Formula E engagement. TAG Heuer is now the Title and Timing Partner and will enter the ABB FIA Formula E Championship 2019/2020 under the name of TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. You may recall that “TAG-Turbo made by Porsche” powered Formula 1 cars in the 1980s and won two Constructors’ Championships (1984 & 1985) and three Drivers’ Championships (1984-1986). Similarly, Heuer was involved in motorsports in the 1970s, teaming up with Jo Siffert who drove for Porsche from 1966 to 1971 and won a number of endurance races, as well as contributing to Porsche’s victory in the 1969 in the World Sportscar Championships. TAG Heuer in the 1990s became a sponsor of the Porsche Supercup and still continues its role as partner for several Porsche Cups today. Porsche and TAG Heuer now enter their sixth engagement in Formula E, the first electric street racing series soon starting its sixth season. Porsche unveiled the Porsche 99X Electric racing car (right) it will use to start at the Formula E for the first time in the 2019/20 season. The racecar will be driven by Neel Jani and André Lotterer. CHRONO24 OBTAINS ADDITIONAL FINANCING German-based online watch marketplace Chrono24 has secured 43 million euros in its the most recent financing round, according to company founder and co-CEO Tim Stracke (left). Chrono24, founded in 2003, now has more than 250 employees in offices in Karlsruhe, Berlin, New York, and Hong Kong, and counts more than 80 million euros invested in its expansion over the past five years. “With over fifteen years of experience in the industry, we feel closer to our users than ever before and are familiar with what makes them tick. We will use this new capital to better address the needs of dealers, private users, and manufacturers,” said Stracke. VORTIC CELEBRATES THE AGE OF STEAM Colorado-based Vortic Watch Company has created a one-of-a- kind version of their new Railroad Edition timepiece to promote and celebrate the one-year anniversary of The Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio, a museum dedicated to American steam locomotives and railroading. Vortic planned to give away the watch in a promotional drawing in November. Vortic’s Age of Steam Roundhouse Railroad Edition utilizes a movement manufactured in 1924 for Cleveland’s Ball Watch Company. It was one of only 53,600 ever produced. The movement is a 21-jewel, 16-size, lever-set movement with a white porcelain dial marked with the Ball Watch Company “RR” trademark. Ball established the “RR Standard” (“RR” for Railroad) to assure a high accuracy and near- perfect time reading for all railroad employees. The watch is engraved on the case back “Age of Steam Roundhouse.” 22 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | FALL 2019 Porsche 911 964 Cup from 1993 Porsche 99X Electric racing car BEAUGESTE AT MCCALL’S MOTORWORKS REVIVAL Distributor BeauGeste Luxury Brands recently partnered with Chatel La Passion Horlogère, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, to display many of watch brands BeauGeste distributes in the United States at the recent McCall’s Motorworks Revival in Monterey, California. Visitors to the vintage automotive, motorcycle and aircraft exhibition were able to see and try on watches from Chronoswiss, Eberhard Hysek, Kerbedanz and Reservoir.