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TAGHEUER
WatchTime.com
WATCHTIME.COM
WatchTimeisanaward-winningluxurywatchmediaplatformbasedin
NewYorkCity,andafoundingmemberoftheWatchExpertsExcellence
Network.WatchTime’swatchmagazineproductsreachamonthly
audienceofalmost800,000watchcollectors.WatchTimeisthemost
successfulwatchmagazineinNorthAmericaandoneoftheleading
watchmagazinesglobally.WatchTimeistheworld’sonlywatch
magazinewithtwoFOLIOFameAwardsforexcellenceinmediaevents,
sevenDigitalMagazineAwardnominations,aSmartCEOFuture50
AwardaswellastwoMequodaRocketAwardnominationsfor
outstandingdigitalaudiencegrowthandanApexAwardforexcellencein
electronicmedia.
10THINGSTOKNOWABOUTTAGHEUER
TAGHeuerisoneoftheworld’sleadingluxurywatchbrands,offeringa
stronghistoryofinnovation,deepconnectionswithsportstimingand
automobileracing,andmorerecently,aseriesofgroundbreaking
developmentsinthefieldofultra-fastmechanicalchronographs.Here
aretenthingsyoushouldknowaboutTAGHeuer.
SPORTINGROOTS
HeuerWatchCompanywasfoundedin1860byEdouardHeuer.Hisfirst
watchmakingworkshopwaslocatedinSt-Imier,intheSwissJura
region.Thecompanysoonbuiltareputationforqualityworkmanshipand
precisiontimekeeping.That,coupledwithaseriesoftechnical
innovationsdatingtothe1880s,ledthecompanytobecomeaspecialist
inthefieldoftimingsportingevents.Duringthe1920s,Heuerwatches
wereusedattheAntwerp,ParisandAmsterdamOlympics.In1933,the
brandlaunchedtheAutavia,thefirstdashboardstopwatchforracecars.
Othermorefamousdevelopmentsreceiveindividualattentionbelow.The
affinitywithprecisiontimekeepinginsports,andwithautomobileracing
inparticular,continuestothisday.
In1985,HeuerwasacquiredbyTAGGroup(Holdings)S.A.TAGisan
abbreviationforTechniquesd’AvantGarde.TAGGroupcombinedthe
TAGandHeuerbrandstocreatetheTAGHeuercompanyweknow
today.LVMHpurchasedtheTAGHeuersubsidiaryin1999.
Left,founderEdouardHeuer.Right,theAutaviadashboardstopwatch
forracecars.
SIMPLIFYINGTHECHRONOGRAPH
Backinthedayswhengoodengineeringtrumpedmarketingconcerns,
movementdesignerssoughttodevelopcaliberswithfewermovingparts,
tomakethemmorereliableandeasiertoservice.In1887,Edouard
Heuerdevelopedandpatentedtheoscillatingpinion,whichsimplifiedthe
chronograph.Thisconstructionisstillusedbymajormovement
manufacturerstoday.
Inanutshell,thepinioncouplesanddecouplesthechronograph,or
stopwatch,mechanismandtheregulartimekeepinggeartrainthat
powersit.Thepinionreplacedamorecomplexsystem,simplifying
manufacturing,assembly,adjustment,andservice,allwhiledelivering
excellenttimekeepingandreliability.Thisdevelopmentallowedmore
mechanicalchronographstobeproducedatalowercost,whichsounds
likeawinallthewayaround.
Left,adrawingfromtheoscillatingpinionpatent,andanactualpinion
picturedinfrontofamovementinaholder.
FASTERANDFASTER
Anothermajortechnicalachievementcamein1916,whenCharlesAugusteHeuerlaunchedtheoriginalMikrograph.Itwasthefirst
mechanicalstopwatchabletomeasure1/100thofasecond.To
accomplishthis,themovement’sratewas360,000vph–tentimes
fasterthanthe36,000vphchronographsthatweusuallythinkofas
“fast.”TheoriginalMikrographrevolutionizedsportstimekeepingand
servedastheofficialstopwatchforthe1920Olympics.
TheoriginalHeuerMikrographstopwatch,whichwentintoproductionin
1916.
FIRSTSWISSWATCHINSPACE
Whenyouthinkofmechanicalwatchesinspace,youthinkof,well,not
TAGHeuer.Butyoushould,becauseasitturnsout,Heuerwasthefirst
Swisswatchinspace.
InMay,1961,PresidentJohnF.Kennedyannouncedhisgoaloflanding
amanonthemoonandreturninghimsafelytoEarthbytheendofthe
decade.Thefirststeptowardthatgoalwastoputamanintoorbit.That
manwasJohnGlenn,flyingtheMercury“Friendship7”missionon
February20,1962.GlennorbitedtheEarththreetimeswearingaHeuer
2915Astopwatchonhiswrist,ontopofhisspacesuit,heldinplacebya
custom-madeelasticstrap.Thewatchservedasthemissionback-up
timer,anditwasusedinspace.Today,thewatchiskeptattheNational
Air&SpaceMuseuminWashington,D.C.
AstronautJohnGlennenterstheFriendship7capsulewearingaHeuer
stopwatchonhiswrist.
AcloserlookattheHeuer2915A,thefirstSwisswatchinspace.
THECARRERA
TAGHeuer’smosticonicmodelsareassociatedwithautomobileracing,
andoneofthemostfamousistheCarrera.JackHeuersuggestedthe
nameshortlyaftertakingcontrolofthecompanyfromhisuncle(moreon
thisbelow).ThenamecomesfromtheCarreraPanamericana,a
dangerousracerunonpublicroadsinMexicofrom1950to1954.
JackHeuerwantedtocreateawatchforracecardrivers.Ithadtobe
perfectlylegibleandtoughenoughtowithstandthevibrationsdrivers
experienceduringarace.Theresultisawatchthathasachievedcult
status.
AnoriginalHeuerCarrera,namedaftertheCarreraPanamericana
automobileraceinMexico.
THECHRONOGRAPHRACE
Whenautomaticwindingwristwatchesreachedthemarket,theysoldlike
hotcakes,leavingmanualwinderslanguishingonretailers’shelves.
Recognizingtheneedforanauto-windchronograph,threecompanies
andconsortiumsundertooktodevelopsuchamovement,none
apparentlyawareoftheothers’efforts.Thissetupacompetitiontosee
whichcompanywouldreachthemarketfirst.
OneofthecompetitorswasSeiko,anotherwasZenith,andthethird
wasacollaborationinvolvingHeuer,BreitlingandBuren.The
collaborationdevelopedamovement,andplannedtoannounceitatthe
BaselwatchshowinMarch,1969.Bythattime,theywouldhaveenough
workingprototypestodemonstrateserial-productioncapability.Thenin
January,1969,ZenithannounceditsElPrimero.Heueranditspartners
heldtotheirschedule,makingtheirannouncementatBaselinMarch.As
planned,theybackeduptheirclaimbypresentinghundredsofworking
watches,demonstratingserialproduction,orindustrial,capability.Atthe
show,Zenithhadonlyafewprototypes(though,tobefair,theZenithEl
Primerocaliberwasmoresophisticated).
HeuerlaunchedthemovementastheCaliber11andstakeditsclaimto
historyasadeveloperofthefirstautomaticwindingchronographcaliber.
AnoriginalHeuerCalibre11,oneofthefirstautomaticchronograph
movements.
LET’SGORACING
Severaltimepiecesarecloselyassociatedwithautomobileracing,
perhapsnonemorecloselythantheHeuerMonaco.SteveMcQueen
madethewatchfamouswhenheworeitinthe1971filmLeMans.To
playtheroleofdriverMichaelDelaney,McQueensoughtadvicefromhis
friendandracingdriver,JoSiffert.Inthefilm,McQueenworeSiffert’s
drivingsuit,whichcarriedthe“ChronographHeuer”logo.Whenitcame
timetochosehiswatchfortherole,McQueenwentwiththeMonaco,
andtherestishistory.Today,themodel1133carriesthecollector
nickname“McQueenMonaco.”
SteveMcQueenwearingtheHeuerMonacointhefilmLeMans.
JACKCOMESBACK
Aftertakingcontrolofthecompanythatbearshisnamein1962,Jack
HeuerledituntiltheacquisitionbyTAGGroupin1985,afterwhichwhen
helefttojointheelectronicindustry.Jack’sstewardshipencompassed
theyearsthatputthebrandonthemap.Amongotherthings,he
oversawtheCarreradevelopmentandlaunchandtheCalibre11
developmentprogram.HewastherewhenSteveMcQueendonnedthe
MonacoforthefilmLeMans.HepresidedoverHeuerbetween1971to
1979,whenthecompanyservedastheofficialtimerforFormula1
racing.(N.B.TheHeuerlogoisseenoftenintherecentfeature
filmRush,whichchroniclestheepic1976battlebetweendriversJames
HuntandNikiLauda.)
In2001,JackHeuerreturnedtothecompanybearinghisfamily‘sname
asHonoraryChairman,andfollowinghisreturn,TAGHeueragain
reachednewheights.We’lldiscussafewofthenotableachievements
below.
JackHeuerretiredfromTAGHeueronNovember18,2013,theday
beforehis81stbirthday.Askedwhyhechosethatdate,herepliedthat
he’dpromisedhimselfthathewouldnotworkbeyondtheageof80.
Jackisagentleman,lovedbyall,andalegendintheindustryhehelped
build.
Left,JackHeuerasayoungman,andafterhisreturnasHonorary
ChairmanofTAGHeuerin2001.
MONACOV4
TheMonacowasfamousenough,butin2004,TAGHeuertookittoa
newlevelwiththelaunchoftheMonacoV4conceptwatchat
Baselworld.CEOJean-ChristopheBabinintendedtomakeastatement
withtheV4.ThestatementwasthatTAGHeuerwillclimbtonew
heights,developingcuttingedge,avante-gardemechanicalmovements.
TheV4’sbirthwasnotaneasyone.Ittookafewyearstoperfectthe
design,butperfectittheydid,andthefirstMonacoV4soldatthe2009
OnlyWatchcharityauction,appropriatelyheldinMonaco.Sincethat
sale,severallimited-editionserieshavesoldout.
TheMonacoV4provedsuchachallengebecauseitsmovement
representedamajorbreakfromtraditionalwatchmaking.Ratherthanthe
usualgeartrainandwheelswithteeth,theV4’smovementisbelt-driven,
andthedesignisinspiredbyanautomobileengine.Manypeoplethought
itwouldneverwork.ThatTAGHeuersolvedtheproblemsisatestament
tothebrand’snewlydevelopedcapabilities,muchofwhichisthankstoa
mannamedGuySémon.
TheMonacoV4vaultedTAGHeuerintotheleagueofcutting-edge
movementmanufacturers.
ULTRAFAST
Itusedtobethata36,000vphmovement,capableofmeasuringtenths
ofasecond,wasconsideredfast.Thenanengineer-pilot-physicist
namedGuySémonjoinedTAGHeuer,andtheworldchanged.After
solvingtheV4’schallenges,hisskunkworksinsideTAGHeuerhas
released,inrapidsuccession,theMikrograph(360,000vphmeasuring
1/1oothofasecond),theMikrotimer(3,600,000vph,measuring
1/1000thofasecond),andtheMikrogirder(7,200,000vphmeasuring1/
2,000thofasecond).
Sémonaccomplishedtheseultrafastratesbydesigningwhathecalls
“dualarchitecture”movements.Eachmovementhastwoseparate
mainspringbarrelspoweringseparategeartrainsregulatedbyseparate
escapements,eachwithadifferentfrequency.Theslowonehandles
regulartimekeeping,andthefastonecontrolsthechronograph.The
Mikrogirdergoesastepfurther,replacingthetraditionalescapement
withaseriesofthreetiny,ever-fasteroscillatingbladestomeasuretime
atratesthatwouldhavesoundedcomicalafewyearsago.Togetan
ideaofhowfastitis,considerthattheMikrogirder’scentralchronograph
secondshandspinsaroundthedial20timespersecond,renderingit
invisiblewhileinmotion.Sémonhasusheredinanewerainmechanical
chronographdevelopment.
Lefttoright:theMikrograph,Mikrotimer,andMikrogirder.
IMPRINT
WatchTimemagazineistheleadingwatchmagazineinNorthAmerica
andoneoftheworld’smostrespectedauthoritiesonluxurytimepieces.
PublishedworldwidebyEbnerPublishingInternational.
EbnerPublishingInternational,Inc.
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