The TAG Heuer brand belongs to a narrow circle of the watchmaking elite. The brand's reputation is deservedly at the highest level, and its past and present contain many facts that are important for understanding the core values of TAG Heuer, and are simply interesting. Here are some of these facts.
1. Origins
In 1860, Edouard Heuer opened a watch workshop in the Swiss town of Saint-Imier, which grew more than 150 years later into the TAG Heuer company, one of the recognized leaders in the world watchmaking. If the famous Olympic motto sounds like “Faster, higher, stronger!”, then the company’s motto can be called the words “More precisely, more precisely, more precisely!”
2. Chronographs
In 1882, the first serial Heuer pocket chronograph was created, which made it possible to accurately measure periods of time - this was important for the increasingly popular sports competitions. Edouard Heuer invented and patented the oscillating valve, which remains to this day the main component of chronograph movements of many brands.
3. Sport
In 1916, Charles-Auguste Heuer introduced the Mikrograph stopwatch, followed by the Microsplit. The oscillator oscillation frequency was 50 hertz, and the accuracy of time measurement reached 0,01 seconds! The Heuer company became the official timekeeper of the Olympics in Antwerp (1920), Paris (1924), Amsterdam (1928).
4. Space
As you know, the first cosmonaut on Earth was Yuri Gagarin, and the first watch in space was the Sturmanskie. The second was German Titov, but the third was the American astronaut John Glenn, on whose wrist on February 20, 1962 was a Heuer 2915A chronometer, equipped with a mission timing function. Now this watch is kept in the US Aerospace Museum in Washington.
5. Iconic Carrera
As early as the 1930s, Heuer collaborated with automakers and organizers of amateur and professional auto racing. And in 1963, the Carrera chronograph appeared, created under the leadership of Jack Heuer, the great-grandson of the founder of the brand. Jack had a passion for motorsports since childhood and he himself became a great racer. The Carrera watch was conceived and designed as a benchmark chronograph for motor racing, and its name is borrowed from the extreme Mexican rally Carrera Panamericana. The Carrera collection still remains the flagship collection in the TAG Heuer brand book.
6. Steve McQueen, Monaco
In 1971, the film “Le Mans” was released, in which Steve McQueen played the main role of racing driver Michael Delaney. The hero’s costume bore the Chronograph Heuer logo, and on his right hand was a Heuer 1133 watch, the world’s first chronograph with a square case. Yes, even with the crown on the right side. Later this model, reproduced in many versions, was named McQueen Monaco.
7. Monaco V4
In 2004, the model range was expanded with the Monaco V4 chronograph. The movement of this watch was the first in the world to be equipped with a belt drive, a linear rotor and ball bearings, and the presence of the Latin letter V and the number “4” in the name indicates the V-shaped plate on which four winding barrels were located. The two pairs of drums resemble the cylinders of a Formula 1 racing car engine.
8. Chronomatic
The year 1969 was marked by a significant event for the entire watch industry: the world's first automatic chronograph movement was released - Chronomatic, also known as Heuer Caliber 11, which was soon replaced by Caliber 12. The Autavia, Carrera and the modern version of the Monaco are powered by this mechanism.
9. New times
In 1985, Heuer became part of the TAG group (Techniques d'Avant Garde, “Avant-garde technology”) and received its current name: TAG Heuer. And since 1999, the manufactory has become a subsidiary of the giant LVMH corporation. The company and its headquarters are located in one of the capitals of the world watch industry - the Swiss city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
10. Persons
There are many people in the history of the company who played important roles in it. It is impossible not to mention two. The first is Jack Heuer. He headed the company from 1962 to 1985, returning to it in 2001 as honorary president, and finally retired on November 18, 2012, the day before his 80th birthday. Jack explained the choice of this date by the fact that he once promised himself to rest, starting at the age of 80. The second is the legendary Jean-Claude Biver, head of the LVMH watch department.
11. Ambassadors and partners
TAG Heuer has a strong connection to the world of sports. This includes auto racing - the brand is the official timekeeper of the Red Bull F1 team, and football - close cooperation with Manchester United, and cycling, and tennis... But not just sport! Brand ambassadors include street artist Alec Monopoly, supermodel Bella Hadid, actor Lee Yifeng, musician Jay Balvin and many others. And TAG Heuer is also participating in the Chinese Mars exploration program!
12. Looking to the future
The manufactory develops and implements cutting-edge technologies. An example is the customizable TAG Heuer Connected Modular models, which radically change the idea of smart watches. They combine Swiss classics with digital technology and exceptional precision.
