The watches and timepieces from Heuer (known as TAG Heuer since 1985) have been closely linked to sporting events around the world for some time. This is particularly the case in Formula 1, for which the company provided the timing devices between 1992 and 2003. Heuer registered the first patent for a stopwatch function in 1882.
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But Heuer's very precise watches were and are also used in the sport of sailing. In 1968, Heuer presented its first wristwatch designed specifically for sailing races, appropriately named the Skipper. The reason for this launch was the victory of the racing yacht Intrepid in the America's Cup in 1967. That year, the Intrepid crew had been equipped with Heuer stopwatches and Aquastar wristwatches.
The first Skipper chronometers were powered by a Valjoux 7730 movement that had a metallic blue dial that jumped every 30 seconds and 15-minute chronograph revolutions. The color design with dark green, turquoise and orange-red elements was based on the color of the Intrepid, which has a turquoise-painted deck. In its first edition in 1968, which probably consisted of 300 to 400 pieces, the Skipper chronometer was brought onto the market in the same case as the Carrera series produced by Heuer since 1964. In 1971, Heuer switched to the Autavia series case, which is more suitable for water sports.
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The first edition of the Skipper was never listed in a Heuer catalog and was probably simply forgotten at some point. In 2008, at the opening of the TAG Heuer Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Heuer collectors and watch enthusiasts spotted the early Skipper. One of those present was vintage Heuer collector and expert Jeff Stein, who later posted on the watch collector website hodinkee.com to find out what this watch was. Once it was identified by the watch community, this early Skipper was given a new name: the Skipperera (a Skipper in a Carrera case).
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Only 20 examples of the Skipperera are known today. This fact and the extraordinary look of the chronometer have led to high prices on the auction market in recent years. The highest was achieved in 2018 at Bonhams in London, when a Skipperera from 1970 was auctioned for £65,000 (about $86,320)
