A First-of-Its-Kind Collaboration: Introducing New Balance x TAG Heuer

Authentic. Credible. Boundary pushing. These are words I heard in flux during the three days I spent in Boston, where I was immersed in the worlds of two brands that had just done something no one had ever done before. On the morning after we arrived, New Balance, the Boston-based sportswear brand founded in 1906, and TAG Heuer, the Swiss watchmaker founded in 1860, announced a partnership—and not the kind that just slaps two logos on a product and calls it a day. As Brian Lynn, New Balance's global vice president of lifestyle and basketball, told the media from a stage next to the brand's famed indoor track, this collaboration has been in the works for three years—three years full of endless trials and back-and-forth to ensure that it was, at its core, authentic, credible, and boundary pushing. After both wear-testing the resulting pieces and hearing directly from the team members who made them, I can say with certainty that it was all worth it.

Both TAG Heuer and New Balance prioritize craft over all else, a trait that became clear to their individual teams when they began work on two products: The TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5 40MM x New Balance Edition watch and the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite V5 sneakers. "Both brands obsess over details most people will never see, but that precision is what creates real performance," Lynn told us. "It's a true partnership," he continued. "Something that we've been building over time together."

As a result of this obsession with precision and perfection, they were able to create a foolproof way to get into and stay into running—no fears or anxieties necessary—by fusing TAG Heuer's watchmaking expertise with New Balance's profound understanding of running movement and athletic performance.

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First, let's dive into the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite V5 sneakers, which are featherlight, with a PEBA midsole and carbon plate that genuinely projects you forward, ensuring increased speed on race day. They're not for the day-one runner—these were built for breaking records—but they give you something to work toward. New Balance created a running shoe for the day you do the thing you've been training so hard for. (I have run in them recreationally once to try it, and while it's not recommended, I will say they feel great: bouncy but stable and fast as hell.) Like the accompanying connected TAG Heuer watch, this sneaker's mesh outer is painted a deep shade of violet with vibrant green accents.

It was an intentional palette, and one that the two brands had gone back and forth on extensively over the three years of preparation for this moment. They could have opted for a more minimal color palette, and according to members of the design team, they heavily considered it. "We had three directions, and definitely one of them was leaning more quiet and lifestyle," said one of New Balance's shoe designers. But since the FuelCell SuperComp Elite V5 sneakers were designed for competition, it felt right to go bold. It's not, after all, a shoe for every day. It's for winning.

The TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5 40MM x New Balance Edition watch, though equally race-day ready, was also designed for the lead-up to that highly charged moment. The watch is one of five newly released Connected Calibre E5 watches, the fifth luxury smartwatch TAG Heuer has released over the last decade, a time frame that has seen many of its competitors join and exit the genre. What makes this version especially exciting in that journey is its proprietary TAG Heuer OS, an interface that, because it was developed in-house, gave the Swiss team complete control over the watch's digital experience. They created everything, from the customizable running programs that come with the $2050 timepiece (and can then be connected to an app on your smartphone) to the digital golf features that allow you to connect to over 40,000 courses and use GPS tracking to map your day on the green (and record your strokes).

The running programs are especially exciting and different from any available to runners right now. The personalized programs are designed to help people stay consistent, with features that gamify the system of running to make it enjoyable rather than something you want to check out of on a rainy day or after a long night. The watch's sensors will also monitor your heart rate, GPS, and altitude, and show the effects of the results. Soon (coming this winter), wearers will have access to wellness features like sleep tracking, SpO2 monitoring, and heart rate variability. It really is the ultimate running companion, whether you're new to the practice or one of the fastest women in the world, like this collaboration's face, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

"It's a beautiful combination of performance and incredible, uncompromising design," George Ciz, CMO of TAG Heuer, said of the limited-edition connected watch. "This watch is something that you can look amazing in while running, but just as easily, you can wear it to a business meeting." This sentiment rings especially true when you consider the other Connected Calibre E5 options, of which there are five, including a rose-gold version, 45-millimeter alternatives, and one with a metal bracelet that provides you with the same look as a traditional mechanical timepiece. Plus, TAG Heuer made sure the straps were easy to change using a quick-release system—I timed one of its designers, and it took him exactly 12.9 seconds—and you can choose between any of the brand's most popular dials, from the Carrera to the Formula 1, as well as limited-edition colorways. "It's a chameleon," Ciz said.

Shop more versions of the new TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5:

McLaughlin-Levrone, a longtime ambassador for both TAG Heuer and New Balance, knows what will make her faster and what will slow her down. As a four-time Olympic champion, five-time World Champion, and the current world record holder of the 400-meter hurdles, she has to. That's why she exclusively wears New Balance and TAG Heuer. "Time is everything, both for me and for them," McLaughlin-Levrone said during a panel alongside Chris Davis, New Balance's president and CMO, and Antoine Pin, the CEO of TAG Heuer, at the track on launch day, alluding to her brand partners. For her, every single second—milliseconds, even—counts, and New Balance and TAG Heuer are the two companies she counts on most to help her ensure that none are wasted. Her reasoning is simple: "Both brands just exude excellence."

That's what makes this collaboration so special and unlike the hundreds of others we see released each year. "What stands out about working with TAG Heuer is the shared respect for craft," Lynn said at the event. "Both brands obsess over details most people will never see, but that precision is what creates real performance." He also referred to one of New Balance's iconic tag lines, which referred to the brand as "The Intelligent Choice," noting that it's more than just a marketing slogan. "That's really our North Star when we make a decision of what we do and what we're going to do, and that's why this campaign feels so right—it's the intelligent choice."