Tag Heuer Watches

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Edouard Heuer founded a watchmaking company in 1860.

In 1869, Edouard Heuer patented the first crown-winding mechanism for pocket watches. In 1889, during the Universal Exhibition in Paris, the Heuer company won a silver medal for its collection of pocket chronographs.

Early twentieth century

In 1911, Heuer received a patent for the "Time of Trip", the first dashboard chronograph.

Ed. Heuer introduced its first wrist chronograph in 1914. The crown was at the twelve o'clock position, as these first wrist chronographs were adapted from pocket chronographs. In 1916, Heuer introduced the "Micrograph", the first stopwatch accurate to 1/100th of a second. In 1933, it introduced the "Autavia", a dashboard timer used for automobiles and aviation (whence its name). The companion "Hervue" was a clock that could run for eight days without being wound.

Mid twentieth century

In the early 1950s, Heuer produced watches for the American retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. The "Seafarer" and "Auto-Graph" were unique chronographs produced by Heuer to be sold by Abercrombie & Fitch. The "Seafarers" had special dials -- with blue, green and yellow patterns -- that showed the high and low tides. This dial could also be used to track the phases of the moon. Heuer introduced its own version of this chronograph in the late 1960s, known as the "Mareographe". The "Auto-Graph" was produced in 1953 and 1954, and was designed to compute the speed of an automobile over a measured mile.

In 1958, Heuer introduced a new line of timepieces, designed to be mounted on the dashboard of an automobile, airplane or boat. Leading models of these dashboard timers included the Master Time (eight-day clock), the Monte Carlo (12-hour stopwatch), the Super Autavia (full chronograph), Sebring (60-minute, split second timer) and Auto-Rallye (60-minute stopwatch). Heuer continued to manufacture these into the 1980s.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, Heuers were popular watches among automobile racers, both professionals and amateurs. The Autavia chronograph was introduced in 1962 and had a rotating bezel, marked in either hours, minutes or with a tachymeter scale. The Autavia name had previously been used on Heuer's dashboard timers (described above). The Carrera chronograph, designed by Jack Heuer, was introduced in 1963, and became a design icon, known for its clean lines. Most of Heuer chronographs from this period used movements manufactured by Valjoux, including the legendary Valjoux 72 movement (for a 12-hour chronograph).

Heuer acquired the "Leonidas" brand in the early 1960s, with the combined company marketing watches under the "Heuer-Leonidas" name. One of the designs that Heuer acquired from Leonidas was the "Bundeswehr" chronograph, used by the German air force. These "BWs" feature a "fly-back" mechanism, so that when the chronograph is reset to zero, it immediately begins running again, to time the next segment or event.

In 1969, Heuer was part of a partnership (with Breitling and Hamilton) that introduced the first automatic chronographs. Heuer's first automatic chronographs were the Autavia, Carrera and Monaco. These were powered by the Cal 11 and Cal 12 movements (12-hour chronograph); Cal 14 movement (12-hour chronograph and additional hand for GMT / second time-zone); and the Cal 15 movement (30-minute chronograph). Unusually, the winding crown was on the left, with the pushers for the chronograph on the right. The earliest of Heuer's Cal 11 chronographs (from 1969) were named "Chrono-Matic".

Late twentieth century

In the early 1980s, Heuer introduced a series of chronographs powered by the Lemania 5100 movement. These chronographs have the minute hand for the chronograph on the center pinion (rather than on a smaller register), greatly improving legibility. This series of chronographs was considered to be very rugged and durable.

TAG Heuer was formed in 1985 when TAG (Techniques d'Avant Garde), manufacturers of high-tech items such as ceramic turbochargers for Formula 1 cars, acquired Heuer. Together they modernized the product line and became one of the biggest names in Swiss watches.

On September 13, 1999, TAG Heuer accepted a bid from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A. of 1.15 billion francs ($739 million) contingent upon a transfer of 50.1% of stocks.

Current models

TAG Heuer concentrates on chronographs with some less expensive models in each line lacking chronograph features. The lines include Formula One, Aquaracer, Link, Carrera, Monaco, and others. Most models feature automatic (self-winding) mechanical movements, water resistant cases, and sapphire crystals; some pieces also include sapphire casebacks, enabling wearers to view the movement's inner workings.

Some of the more recently announced models include the Monaco V4 (the movement of which is driven by belts rather than gears); the Carrera Calibre 360 (the first mechanical wrist chronograph to measure and display time to 1/100th of a second); and the Monaco 69 (withboth a digital chronograph accurate to a millisecond and a traditional mechanical movement, with a hinged mechanism allowing wearers to flip the watch between its two separate dials).