In the 1960s, automatic watches were the call of the day and Heuer was hectically working on the creation of the world’s first automatic chronograph movement available to the public to be launched at the Basel fair in 1969.
To achieve the milestone of producing the world’s first automatic chronograph movement, Jack Heuer, managing director of the company in those years, had promoted a partnership with Buren, Dubois Depraz and Breitling. Buren was an important manufacturer of thin automatic movements, Dubois Depraz the leading specialist in the development of chronograph modules and other complications and Breitling another famous chronograph manufacturer that could share with Heuer the funding of this expensive project - codenamed Project 99 - and the resulting output: a modular automatic chronograph built on a Buren base movement (including the self-winding and calendar mechanisms) with an independent Dubois-Depraz chronograph module attached to the watch movement by three screws. Beating at 19,800 vibrations per hour, the movement offered a power reserve of approximately 42 hours.
Heuer originally planned to use this movement - known as Chronomatic Calibre 11 - in a Carrera model. This required to modify the shape of the Carrera case because the original shape was too slim to house the pretty thick movement.
To maximise returns from the introduction of the new revolutionary movement, Jack Heuer and his team decided to also use it in the Autavia.
But Jack Heuer, which was certainly not short of ideas, started considering the possibility to also build a less traditional timepiece - “something out-of-the-box” and "avant-garde", to use Jack Heuer’s words - around the brand new movement.
Erwin Piquerez, the owner of a large Swiss industry making watch cases, proposed to Jack Heuer a new square case that he had just patented to guarantee waterproofness, a first for a square case. Jack Heuer was immediately attracted by the new design and negotiated with Piquerez exclusive rights over this square case which was then trademarked.
Together with the new automatic Autavia and Carrera chronographs, the first version of the Heuer Monaco was finally launched at the Basel fair as the world's first waterproof automatic chronograph with a square case. In all these models, the crown was provocatively positioned on the left to remark that the watch did not need winding.
You can read a detailed history of the Monaco in our in-depth article "The history of the TAG Heuer Monaco".
The Heuer Calibre 11 and, below, an exploded view showing the base movement with its microrotor and the Dubois Depraz chronograph module
Heuer originally planned to use this movement - known as Chronomatic Calibre 11 - in a Carrera model. This required to modify the shape of the Carrera case because the original shape was too slim to house the pretty thick movement.
But Jack Heuer, which was certainly not short of ideas, started considering the possibility to also build a less traditional timepiece - “something out-of-the-box” and "avant-garde", to use Jack Heuer’s words - around the brand new movement.
Erwin Piquerez, the owner of a large Swiss industry making watch cases, proposed to Jack Heuer a new square case that he had just patented to guarantee waterproofness, a first for a square case. Jack Heuer was immediately attracted by the new design and negotiated with Piquerez exclusive rights over this square case which was then trademarked.
Together with the new automatic Autavia and Carrera chronographs, the first version of the Heuer Monaco was finally launched at the Basel fair as the world's first waterproof automatic chronograph with a square case. In all these models, the crown was provocatively positioned on the left to remark that the watch did not need winding.
Heuer advertising presenting the new automatic chronographs of the brand and emphasising that, thanks to the new movement, the user would touch the crown only for time setting - 1969
The Heuer Monaco reference 1133B where the B stands for Blue (Heuer also released a grey dial version with reference 1133G)
You can read a detailed history of the Monaco in our in-depth article "The history of the TAG Heuer Monaco".
In the early-1970s, Heuer expanded its line of automatic chronographs to include the Daytona, Montreal, Silverstone, Calculator, Monza, and Jarama models, all powered by the Calibre 11 movement.
In these years, Heuer was increasingly seen as the reference watch brand in the motor sports world. Steve McQueen wearing the Monaco chronograph during the filming of the popular "Le Mans" movie in 1971 and the sponsorship of the Ferrari Formula One Team from 1971 to 1979 certainly contributed to this exceptional success.
On the left, the Ferrari driver Clay Regazzoni wearing the brand's logo on his driving suit and a Heuer Silverstone timepiece on his wrist. On the right, superstar Steve McQueen wearing the 'Monaco' chronograph during the making of the film Le Mans in 1970.
Clay Regazzoni driving a Ferrari 312T2 Formula One car in 1976. In the 1970s Heuer was the official timekeeper of the Ferrari team - Picture courtesy of Lothar Spurzem
In the 1970s Heuer released several new chronograph models like the Calculator, Montreal, Temporada, Silverstone and Daytona, to name some of the most popular ones. These models differed for their design and, in some cases, for some extra features like the precision slide-rule of the Calculator.
Extract from a catalogue describing the Calculator and Silverstone models - 1977
At the same time, the company started developing new precision electronic instruments, like the Microsplit 820, the world's first quartz, pocket-sized sports timer (solid-state and digital display) accurate to 1/100th of a second launched in 1973.
It did not take long before the high-precision digital quartz technology was extended to wristwatches. From 1975 to 1982 Heuer produced interesting digital watches which became very popular. One of these was certainly the Chronosplit Manhattan GMT (1977), Heuer's first chronograph to combine a traditional analog read-out for the time of day, with a digital display for the chronograph / second time-zone.
Heuer Chronosplit Manhattan GMT - 1977
While the digital era was relatively short (initially perceived as highly innovative, LCD digital displays quickly became perceived as simply cheap), the use of quartz movements continued over the following decades and continues today as an alternative to mechanical movements for some specific lines.
A remarkable launch happened in 1983 with the 2000 Series, a line of professional sport watches characterized by six key features: 1) water-resistance up to 200 meters, 2) screw-in crown, 3) unidirectional turning bezel, 4) sapphire crystal, 5) luminous hands and hours markers, 6) double safety clasp.
Available in a wide range of models, both as three-hand watches and as chronographs, and powered by mechanical and quartz movements, the 2000 Series can be considered the precursor of the modern Aquaracer line.
A chronograph of the 2000 Series - 1983
This was one of the last product developed with Jack Heuer at the helm of the company. In 1982, despite excellent sales results, the financial tension due to the Swiss watch crisis and the consequential massive price pressure and margin reduction forced him to sell his shares to a group of entrepreneurs led by Valentin Piaget.
Thanks to the strong sales of their product, and in particular of the diving watches developed while Jack Heuer was still the CEO, the company solved its temporary difficulties quite soon.
In June 1985, the new management sold the again profitable company to a Saudi business group called TAG (the acronym for Techniques d’Avant Garde) owned by Akram Ojjeh, then a 66-year-old Syrian-born Saudi businessman who was considered to be one of the richest men in the world.
Once the takeover was completed, the company formally changed its name from Heuer to TAG Heuer starting from January 1st, 1986.
Ojjeh had the ambition to see the TAG initials on a Swiss product so the graphics of TAG was combined with the Heuer logo resulting in a shield in two colours, green and red, with the lettering in white.
The evolution of the Heuer and TAG Heuer logo
The first product launched with the new TAG Heuer logo was the Formula 1, the first analogue Heuer/ TAG Heuer series to be quartz-only. The watch was somehow inspired to the Swatch, a huge success of those years. Although the Formula 1 had a different positioning than the Swatch, it had some concept similarities: a case made from a synthetic material like fiber glass, bright and bold colour, a quartz movement.
From its launch to 2000, when the line was temporarily discontinued, TAG Heuer sold more than 3 million Formula 1 units. The line was then brought back in the TAG Heuer collection, with a new design and upgraded materials, in 2004.
The Formula 1 was followed by the S/el Series introduced in 1987. Its name “S/el” was a reference to the fact that the watch combined sports and elegance. One of its most distinctive feature was the S-shaped link bracelet with each link made up of two curved ingots.
A chronograph of the S/el Series with its distinctive bracelet
Ayrton Senna wearing his bi-metal S/el chronograph ref. S. 25706C in 1993
Successful since its launch, the S/el Series was one of the best selling TAG Heuer wristwatches till 1999 when its name changed to “Link” and its lines became squarer and flatter. The Link is still today one of the pillars of the TAG Heuer collection.
Above, a Link model powered by the Calibre 16 movement (Valjoux 7750) launched in 1999.
Below, a second generation Link with the design becoming more squared.
Below, a second generation Link with the design becoming more squared.
With the help of brilliant advertising campaigns and massive capital investments, the company had a considerable growth. Two of the most memorable advertising campaigns and slogans were “Don’t crack under pressure” in 1991, with Ayrton Senna among the brand ambassadors, and “Success - it‘s a mind game“ in 1995.
Worldwide sales increased from CHF 66 million in 1988 to CHF 420 million in 1996, making TAG Heuer the sixth-largest selling Swiss watch brand. The financial success led the company to be listed on the Swiss and New York Stock Exchanges in September 1996 with the existing shareholders keeping a controlling majority of approximately 64%.
Realising the value of its heritage, in 1998 TAG Heuer decided to launch the "Re-Edition" series, a collection of Carrera and Monaco timepieces directly inspired to classic Heuer chronographs of the 1960s.
To promote the Monaco, TAG Heuer contacted Chad McQueen, Steve McQueen’s son to negotiate the rights to use pictures of his father who had died in 1980.
The first re-edition Monaco was reference CS2110 with a flat black dial and the old Heuer shield. Produced in a limited edition of 5,000 units, this model introduced a re-stylised case with the winding crown at 3 o’clock and new push-buttons. The launch of the re-edition was an instant success with all the pieces selling out quickly.
The Monaco re-edition ref. CS2110 featuring a 30-minute chronograph counter at 9 o’clock, running seconds at 3 o’clock and date at 6 o’clock - 1998
In September 1999, the majority investors of TAG Heuer accepted a public tender offer by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA which resulted in LVMH owning nearly 100 percent of the Swiss company.
This was a strategic move for LVMH whose watchmaking activities were built around TAG Heuer. TAG Heuer continued to operate as an autonomous company and no changes were be made to its management, company name or the location of its headquarters.
In 2000, TAG Heuer presented a new re-edition model, the Monza. The watch had a double inspiration, combining some elements of the 1970s Monza and others of the 1930s mono-pusher chronograph that we showed earlier in this article. Various model versions were created, the most prestigious being the Monza Calibre 36 Chronograph, a special edition equipped with a COSC-certified El Primero automatic movement.
Confirming that LVMH is a group with great respect for the heritage of a brand, in 2001 Jack Heuer was appointed Honorary Chairman of TAG Heuer.
A timepiece that many watch enthusiasts still remember is the Monaco Sixty-Nine ref. CW9110 that was first shown as a concept watch at the 2003 Baselworld Show going into production a year later. It featured a reversible case displaying a mechanical analogue watch for the time on one side and a digital chronograph and alarm functions on the other side.
The reversible case of the Monaco Sixty-Nine - 2003
In 2004, TAG Heuer created a buzz presenting the Monaco V4 Concept Watch, the world’s first watch with belt drives, linear mass and ball bearings whose V4 name derived from the V-shaped main plate on which the movement's four barrels were mounted. While most people thought that it would have remained just a concept without reaching production stage, the Monaco V4 became a production model five years later, in 2009. Housed in a platinum case and limited to 150 pieces, the Monaco V4 had a price of euro 70,000. In 2014, the Swiss brand went even further with the Monaco V4 Tourbillon where its exciting innovation was combined to one of the symbols of classical Haute Horlogerie, the tourbillon.
The production version of the TAG Heuer Monaco V4 - 2009
2004 also marked the launch of a new model in the 2000 Series called the 2000 Aquaracer. Water resistant to 300 meters, the 2000 Aquaracer was characterized by circular lume-filled hour-markers and a bright aluminium bezel. The huge success of the watch brought TAG Heuer to rename the entire 2000 collection as Aquaracer, a name that continues today.
The 2000 Aquaracer - 2004
The celebration of the 150th anniversary of the brand included the launch of the Calibre 1887, the chronograph movement with automatic winding, entirely developed and produced in-house.
The movement was first housed in a new generation of the Carrera, the Carrera 1887 Chronograph. Faithful to the original in design and spirit, it is a contemporary model in terms of size, quality, performance and accuracy.
The Carrera Calibre 1887 and, below, the automatic Calibre 1887 movement powering it - 2010
That same year, TAG Heuer presented the Grand Carrera Pendulum Concept featuring the first mechanical movement without hairspring. Instead of the traditional oscillating hairspring, it used a magnetic oscillator. Four high-performance magnets generated a magnetic field providing the linear restoring torque for the balance oscillations. Thanks to the absence of mass and therefore inertia, much larger frequencies were possible so enhancing the overall precision.
The following years were characterized by TAG Heuer’s quest for new records in chronographic measuring accuracy.
In 2011, the Mikrograph was powered by a new 100% in-house integrated chronograph movement capable of recording time to 1/100th of a second. Interestingly, the high-tech movement was matched to a retro-themed design somehow inspired to the design of the Heuer Mikrograph stopwatch of 1916.
One year later, TAG Heuer broke a new barrier with the the Mikrotimer Flying 1000, the first mechanical wrist chronograph that could measure and display timing to an amazing 1/1000th of a second, ten times faster than the Mikrograph.
The Mikrograph, on the left, and the Mikrotimer
In 2012, the Mikrogirder concept watch won the “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix as the finest timepiece of the year, the top award of the 12th edition of the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Geneva.
The Mikrogirder, the winner of the Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie 2012
This watch had for sure a cool design - with the face placed at an angle on the case and the unconventional position of the crown and the chrono pushers - but the real innovation was in its mechanism with neither a balance wheel nor a hairspring. In fact, the regulator had three beams - or girders - working with a linear oscillation. The Mikrogirder was the first mechanical chronograph to achieve a 1/2000th of a second accuracy (also expressed as 5/ 10,000th of a second). Like the Mikrograph and Mikrotimer, the Mikrogirder was produced in the brand’s Haute Horlogerie workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
At Baselworld 2015, TAG Heuer introduced the Carrera Calibre Heuer 01, a sport chronograph with a new case design, a new dial and the new automatic movement Calibre Heuer 01, the evolution of the Calibre 1887 launched in 2010 and the backbone of the new collection, as remarked by the "01" used in the product name.
The Carrera Calibre Heuer 01 and, below, the automatic Calibre Heuer 01 - 2015
No longer produced from a single piece, the new case used a modular construction with 12 different components offering the possibility to experiment with many combinations of materials, colours and finishes.
2017 marked the come back of the Autavia, one of the most beloved driver's chronograph from the Sixties. Inspired to the design of the 1962 original, the new model came with updated functions and a proprietary movement, the in-house produced Calibre Heuer 02 (recognizable for its 3-6-9 counter layout compared to the 6-9-12 layout of the Calibre Heuer 01).
In 2019, TAG Heuer integrated the Heuer 02 movement also in the Monaco. This way, for the first time in its half-century history, the Monaco is now powered by an in-house manufacture movement.
The Autavia reissue (2017) and, below, the Monaco Heuer 02 (2019), both powered by the Calibre Heuer 02 manufacture movement
In that same year, TAG Heuer also unveiled a hairspring made of a carbon composite invented, patented and produced by the Swiss watchmaker which, thanks to its lightweight and low-density geometry, is virtually unaffected by gravity and shock, guarantees perfect concentric oscillations, and is completely antimagnetic. The development of this innovation took years, with the ambition of improving the performance and accuracy of mechanical watches.
Designed and produced in TAG Heuer's in-house laboratory in La Chaux-de-Fonds, this carbon-composite hairspring is a first step that will lead to more in-house improvements in the process of being developed.
This first-ever carbon-composite hairspring was integrated in the Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph, a 500-piece automatic chronograph fitted with a tourbillon mechanism and meeting the official standards for classification as a chronometer.
2021 marked the release of the new-generation of its Aquaracer diving watch, the Aquaracer Professional 300, a robust diving watch that can be worn every day thanks to its refined look (you can read our review here).
It is not by chance that the brand defines this timepiece, characterised by the signature 12-sided unidirectional rotating bezel, "a go-anywhere luxury tool watch".
In 2023, for the 60th anniversary of its iconic Carrera timepiece, TAG Heuer launched the Carrera Chronograph Glassbox 39 mm, a streamlined new interpretation of the revered chronograph to make it even more comfortable on the wrist.
In this model, the case is topped with a sapphire crystal shaped liked the domed hesalite crystals found on Carrera models from the 1970s. Only now, the crystal has been redeveloped to have a curve that flows seamlessly over the tachymeter scale that runs around the dial edge and into the case. In the same way, the flange and indexes have been curved, too, for a seamless integration in the structure. Our hands-on review of the Carrera Chronograph Glassbox 39 mm delves deeper into this modern marvel.
Year after year, TAG Heuer continues to demonstrate a unique ability to evolve its timepieces while upholding the brand's tradition and respecting its rich legacy. tagheuer.com
The TAG Heuer headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds
By Alessandro Mazzardo.
Latest update: January 23, 2024.
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