Watch collectors journey through time as soon as they lay their eyes on the new Tissot Heritage 1973, which references a decade when fearless drivers risked their lives on racetracks. We took it for a spin in this test from our September-October 2019 issue.
While often described as the greatest Formula 1 decade ever, the ?70s, of course, were also a terrible time for accidents. People were hypnotized not by the stats, but by the stories, mainly because drivers were prepared to take a risk. Anyone who ventured onto the racetrack wasn?t just an athlete, but a modern gladiator whom the masses showered with acclaim. The Tissot Heritage 1973 takes us back to F1?s historical high-water mark. This timepiece embodies an attractive combination of retro and racing elements. Historical inspirations are evident in the oval shape of the case, the contrastingly colored subdials and the mushroom-shaped push-pieces. Connections to the world of auto racing are obvious in the stopwatch function, the perforated calfskin strap and the tachymeter scale. The latter component is an analog aid to help drivers calculate the average speed of their vehicles. The wearer starts the chronograph when their car passes a mile marker and stops it again after having driven either one mile or one kilometer. The central chronograph hand now shows the car?s speed (in miles or kilometers per hour) on the scale along the dial?s periphery. The TIssot Heritage 1973 (Ref. T1244271603100) is limited to 1,973 pieces.
...