Tag Heuer

TAG Heuer watches: a history of achievement

It was in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, that the story of TAG Heuer watches began. Around 1860, Edouard Heuer founded his own watchmaking company and set out to meet a major challenge: inventing a watch that did not require a key to wind. It took him less than a decade to achieve his goal and revolutionize the watchmaking world for the first time with his self-winding crown. Following the success of his models at the Vienna World's Fair, Edouard Heuer became the first manufacturer of mass-produced chronographs in 1880. From this date on, innovations and patents multiplied, such as a new chronograph mechanism in 1882, an oscillating pinion in 1887, and the very first waterproof case in 1895. Thanks to these small feats of ingenuity, TAG Heuer watches (simply called Heuer at the time) were hailed for their technical expertise by the end of the 19th century. The family business took a new turn at the end of the 19th century when Edouard Heuer's two sons succeeded him. To keep up with the race for precision in which the watchmaking industry was engaged, they decided to invent a counter capable of being at least five times more accurate than anything else in existence at the time. The feat was soon realized, allowing the creation of the first 4 emblematic models: the Semicrosplit, the Semikrograph, the Mikrograph and the Microsplit. The first mechanical counters accurate to 1/50th and 1/100th of a second, these models will accompany the development of modern sports.

Total sport TAG Heuer watches

From the 1930s, TAG Heuer watches are systematically associated with sports competitions requiring speed and precision. In particular, the family business would become the timekeeper for alpine ski races, horse racing, swimming and even sailing competitions. The following decades were full of new inventions and achievements of all kinds: the creation of a model with two time zones in 1955, the use of a Heuer counter on the first American manned space mission in 1962, the invention of the TAG Heuer Carrera watch in 1964, and the partnership with the winner of the America's Cup in 1967. The early 1980s saw the launch of the 2000 series, a collection that perfectly symbolized the brand's philosophy for years, illustrated by the message "Don't crack under pressure".