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Founded in Switzerland, TAG Heuer is a luxury watchmaker with its headquarters based in La-Chaux-de-Fonds. One of the best-known luxury watch brands in the world, TAG Heuer’s slogan is “Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860”. Established by Edouard Heuer, the company would be built on the two foundations of technical innovation and family leadership.
In 1869, Heuer caused a revolution in watchmaking with his first patent, covering a crown-operated, keyless winding system. By the 1880s, the company was producing large numbers of pocket chronographs, which were used to time sports races – making Heuer’s timepieces a status symbol for fans of horse or greyhound racing.
1887 would see Heuer introduce a patent to improve the “oscillating pinion”. This new design allowed the chronograph to start and stop instantly by pressing a push-button. It was dubbed the “perfected chronograph” by Heuer and is still used even today.
The reliability of Heuer’s stopwatches led to the brand becoming a supplier for the 1920 Olympic Games – and Heuer timepieces have been used to time all kinds of motor and sports events in the decades since, including the Formula One races, and the Indianapolis 500.
Partners and Ambassadors
TAG Heuer has long-standing links with athletes and movie stars from across the world. They team up with celebrity ambassadors to promote the brand, including Hollywood actors such as Ryan Gosling and Patrick Dempsey, and tennis players such as Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova to name but a few. One of their most famed partnerships must be that with acting legend Steve McQueen, who wore a blue Monaco (the “McQueen Monaco”) in the 1971 movie Le Mans.
TAG Heuer has also been known to partner with Porsche, with whom they have produced many timepieces over the past decades. Working together since 1963, the two brands have unveiled many luxury watches including the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche line, which marries iconic features of both TAG Heuer timepieces and Porsche cars.
TAG Heuer’s latest moves
TAG Heuer recently unveiled their Monaco 2024 Edition, inspired by Formula 1 and the latest in their esteemed Monaco line-up of luxury watches. With a black diamond-like carbon coating and a skeletonised blue dial, the Monaco 2024 Edition aims to attract those who have a passion for motor racing, as well as those who admire avant-garde design.
In June 2024, they also unveiled the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963, the most recent collaboration between the two brands. Featuring a skeleton dial in forged carbon, the watch is white, red and black to link back to Porsche Motorsport – it also features logos from the car, and the watch is water resistant to 100m. Julien Tornare, CEO of TAG Heuer, was quoted as saying “In celebration of Porsche’s racing successes, we are extremely proud to have worked on such a timepiece with our partner.” Actor Patrick Dempsey fronted the watch’s advertising campaign.
The 2024 Hollywood movie, The Fall Guy, sees Ryan Gosling star as a stuntman who wears a TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph, a timepiece specifically designed for high speeds and high-pressure situations – perfect for a stuntman. It also delivers top-of-the-line precision thanks to its next-generation Calibre TH20-00 movement.
Sources
https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/92/TAG-Heuer-S-A.html
http://www.thewatchguy.com/pages/HEUER.html
https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/partnerships/ambassadors.html
https://www.watchpro.com/tag-heuer-and-porsches-daytona-challenger
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