The TAG Heuer Formula 1 x Mario Kart Chronograph Limited Editions offer fans two playful timepieces inspired by the famous world of Mario Kart
I’ve played my fair share of Mario Kart over the years. I’ve fallen off the side of Rainbow Road. I’ve fallen off the side of Ghost Valley. I’ve even fallen off the side of Wario’s Gold Mine. I’ve been falling off the side of the Mushroom Kingdom’s digital circuits ever since my dad hired a Super Nintendo as my nanny. So, when I heard that TAG Heuer was following streetwear brands aplenty into a heady collaboration with the red plumber, I was excited.
Tying into the racing theme, the base watch for the collaboration is TAG Heuer’s Formula 1 Chronograph in two different flavours. On the one hand, you have the base chronograph (limited to 3,000 pieces); on the other, an haute horology slant with a tourbillon (limited to 250 pieces).
Of the two, the chronograph is my racer of choice. The Formula 1 makes a good home for this kind of colourful video game collab and here pairs mainly black with Mario red across the minute track, hands, crown and contrast stitching on the strap (which happens to have a turtle shell pattern, the Karter’s weapon of choice). Even without the Mario link, it would be a solid look. The same can be said for the dial in a chequered finish-line pattern.
Mario sits in his default kart on the running seconds subdial, while the date is inspired, switching out some numerals for items from the game. It makes reading the date harder, but who cares? It’s geekily awesome. Inside is the Calibre 16 automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve.
The tourbillon is much more intense, with a multi-layered dial, an open barrel at 12 o’clock and an open tourbillon at 6 o’clock. The tourbillon is charming, with Mario, Bullet Bill and the infamous blue shell in chase. You can never escape the blue shell.
It has a contemporary look with more red-and-black contrast, but other than the tourbillon there are far fewer Mario hints. Still, it’s a funky collaborative tourbillon for £21,250, so it’s hard to sniff at. The movement’s a class up too, with the Calibre 02T offering a 65-hour power reserve.
It’s clear that I love Mario Kart, so perhaps I’m a little biased. But I’m sticking to my guns: not only is it a cool partnership on paper, the game-centric details across both pieces hint that someone in the design process has fallen off Rainbow Road almost as many times as I have.
