TAG Heuer Gives Us the Mario Kart Watch We Never Knew We Needed

I have long been a fan of watches and watch brands that have a go-for-broke, swing for the fences kind of attitude. To me, there’s nothing more likely to cure my insomnia than yet another black dialed dive watch that kinda sorta looks like another black dialed dive watch but maybe has one or two distinguishing characteristics to make it its own thing. Those watches have their place, some of them are even in my box, but they don’t exactly get me excited. Titillation, obviously, isn’t the primary goal of most watch brands. On the contrary, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that releases which find themselves going right down the middle are the most popular with consumers, and no brand can really be faulted for doing the thing that keeps the lights on. But that just makes the crazy stuff even more appealing. I love thinking through the logic of why a brand might release a watch that is so at odds with the expected, you have to wonder if you’re simply being trolled. Such is the case with the latest limited editions from TAG Heuer, both prominently featuring a certain Italian plumber. 

When TAG Heuer launched their collaborative watch with Nintendo, a limited edition Connected smartwatch that Blake wrote about here, I can vaguely remember thinking to myself that it was kind of cool, but it would be even cooler if they just went totally nuts with it. Make a mechanical Mario watch, maybe something complicated and making the most of the genuinely great watchmaking tech that TAG has access to, and that might be pretty exciting. A little more than a year later, and TAG has done exactly that, and to an even greater degree than I could have hoped for. 

By now you’ve no doubt heard the news that TAG has released a pair of racing inspired limited editions with a healthy amount of Mario Kart branding. The Mario Kart series of games is every bit as iconic as the core Mario Bros. titles most of us grew up playing, and given that these are true blue racing games, the partnership makes a ton of sense for a Formula 1 chronograph. The TAG Heuer Formula 1 x Mario Kart Limited Edition Chronograph is built around the Calibre 16 movement (a rebranded ETA 7750) and a 44mm stainless steel case, but just about every surface has been completely Mario’d. Mario himself appears in the 9:00 subdial, and the game’s logo is etched into the ceramic tachymeter bezel that circles the dial. Red accents, which are common in the iconography of the game, are everywhere, including on the crown, where a red “M” appears. The dial is a black and gray checkerboard pattern that is meant to conjure the image of a racetrack, and the most whimsical feature can be found where you’d normally spot the date window. Instead of displaying the date, this window shows the wearer various items that fans of the game will immediately recognize, like Bullet Bill, a banana, a yellow star, and so on. 

This Mario Kart F1 chrono is weird, niche, and a lot of fun. But the other watch in this limited edition drop is downright insane, and the kind of thing that gives me hope that big brands are still capable of taking risks and making off-the-wall decisions. The TAG Heuer Formula 1 x Mario Kart Limited Edition Chronograph Tourbillon features, yes, a tourbillon. And, yes, the tourbillon cage has been decorated with Mario in his kart, along with Spiny Shell and Bullet Bill, so it appears they are chasing each other around the smallest Mario Kart circuit ever as the tourbillon rotates. 

Other design flourishes on the tourbillon are similar to what you’ll find on the standard Mario F1 chrono. Lots of red accents, the Mario Kart wordmark in the bezel, a strap that has been made to look like a turtle shell, etc. But the dial, in addition to the tourbillon, is more complex, having been lightly skeletonized and featuring varying textures across the main dial and subdial sections. There appears to be an impressive level of depth to this dial thanks in large part to the contrasting red outlines that highlight the skeletonized portions. Another key difference between a tourbillon and the chrono is the case size and material. The tourb is a bit bigger at 45mm, but the case is grade 5 titanium, which should make it at least somewhat wearable for a watch of its size. 

At this point you might be wondering, “Who is this for?” I think that’s a natural reaction to something so unusual, but I don’t have an answer. Both of these watches are limited editions (the F1 chrono is limited to 3,000, and the tourbillon is limited to 250 pieces), so TAG doesn’t need them to be mass market hits. Purists have already lambasted these watches as tasteless, ugly, and worse on the usual forums for these types of discussions, but I think it’s clear that “purists” were the last thing on TAG’s mind when they were coming up with these designs. In fact, I’d argue watch enthusiasts might not have been on their mind either. Remember, video game collecting is its own crazy rabbit hole, and home to many well heeled enthusiasts who could well be inclined to making the type of poor financial decisions watch collectors are very much accustomed to. The buyer for the $25,600 tourbillon seems like it could more likely be a bidder for the copy of Super Mario 64 that sold for over a million dollars last year than someone with a bank box full of rare vintage Daytonas. 

The simpler, non-tourbillon F1 chrono is maybe a little more palatable and easier to understand than its haute horlogerie counterpart. This one comes in at a more reasonable $4,300, but I imagine watch and game collectors might still be fighting over these at TAG dealers. If you happen to be part of the overlap on that Venn diagram of collecting, though, you might be the most prized target for this watch, and have likely already made up your mind about an order. 

Both Mario Kart Limited Edition watches launch on October 20, and you can register for early access to purchase yours at TAG’s website. More information here.