TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer S.A., founded Heuer AG is a Swiss luxury watchmaker. Heuer was founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer in St-Imier, Switzerland. In 1985, Techniques d'Avant Garde purchased a majority stake in the company, forming TAG Heuer. In 1999, French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH bought nearly 100 percent of the Swiss company. The name TAG Heuer combines the initials of "Techniques d'Avant Garde" and the founder's surname. Although best known for its chronographs, it has also manufactured stopwatches.
History
TAG Heuer is based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, and is led by CEO Frédéric Arnault. Jack Heuer, great-grandson of the founder, is the honorary chairman. TAG Heuer maintains a watchmaking workshop in Cornol, Switzerland, and a watchmaking factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds. TAG Heuer's slogan is "Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860".Image:Heuer chrono 18k 3.jpg|thumb|right|Heuer triple-date chronograph
Image:TAG Heuer Carrera blue.jpg|thumb|right|TAG Heuer Carrera automatic chronograph with tachymeter
1860 through 1880s
In 1860 Edouard Heuer founded Uhrenmanufaktur Heuer AG in St-Imier, Switzerland.Edouard Heuer patented his first chronograph in 1882 and in 1887 patented an "oscillating pinion" still used by major watchmakers of mechanical chronographs.
1910s
In 1911, Heuer received a patent for the "Time of Trip", the first dashboard chronograph. Designed for use in automobiles and aircraft, two large hands mounted from the center pinion indicate the time of day, as on a traditional clock. A small pair of hands mounted at the top of the dial indicates the duration of the trip. A top-mounted crown allows the user to set the time; a button mounted in that crown operates the start/stop/reset functions of the "duration of trip" counter.Heuer introduced its first wrist chronograph in 1914. The crown was at the 12 o'clock position, as these first wrist chronographs were adapted from pocket chronographs. In 1916 Edward Heuer's son, Charles-Auguste, introduced the "Mikrograph", the first stopwatch accurate to 1/100 of a second. This model was soon followed by the "Semikrograph", a stopwatch that offered 1/50 of a second timing, as well as a split-second function.
1930s and 1940s
In 1933, Heuer introduced the "Autavia", a dashboard timer used for automobiles and aviation. The companion "Hervue" was a clock that could run for eight days without being wound. Over the period from 1935 through the early 1940s, Heuer manufactured chronographs for pilots in the Luftwaffe, known as "Flieger" chronographs. The earlier version featured a hinged-back case and one pusher ; the later version had a snap-back case and added a second pusher. All these Flieger chronographs had two-registers, with a capacity of 30 minutes."In the mid-1940s, Heuer expanded its line of chronographs to include two- and three-register models and a three-register chronograph that had a full calendar function. As the highest development of Heuer's chronographs, these "triple calendar" chronographs came in stainless steel and 14, 18, and 22 karat gold cases. Dial colors were white, black, or copper.
1950s
In the early-1950s, Heuer produced watches for the American retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. The "Seafarer" and "Auto-Graph" were 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 produced a version of the "Seafarer" for sale under the Heuer name, with this model called the "Mareographe". Heuer produced the "Auto-Graph" in 1953 and 1954, which featured a tachymeter scale on the dial and a hand that could be preset to a specific point on the scale. This complication allowed a rally driver or navigator to determine whether the car achieved the desired pace over a measured mile. Advertisements and literature also pointed out that this hand could be rotated to count golf scores or other events.Auto dashboard timers
From 1911, Heuer manufactured timepieces to be mounted on the dashboards of automobiles, aircraft, and boats. These clocks and timers included a variety of models designed to address the specific needs of racers and rallyists. In 1958, Heuer introduced a new line of dashboard timepieces, which included the Master Time, the Monte Carlo, the Super Autavia, Sebring, and Auto-Rallye. Heuer continued to manufacture these dashboard timepieces into the 1980s when Heuer discontinued them. Heuer also introduced timing devices for ski and motor racing events, including Formula One.1960s
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Heuers were popular watches among automobile racers, both professionals and amateurs. Heuer was a leading producer of stopwatches and timing equipment, based on the volume of its sales, so it was only natural that racers, their crews and event sponsors began to wear Heuer chronographs. Heuer produced special chronograph versions with the logo of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as the names or logos of racing teams or sponsors.In 1962, Heuer became the first Swiss watchmaker in space. John Glenn wore a Heuer stopwatch when he piloted the Mercury Atlas 6 spacecraft on the first US crewed space flight to orbit the Earth. This stopwatch was the backup clock for the mission. It was started manually by Glenn 20 seconds into the flight. It is currently on display at the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
The Autavia chronograph was introduced in 1962 and featured a rotating bezel, marked in either hours, minutes, decimal minutes, or with a tachymeter scale. All manual-wind Autavias from the 1960s had a black dial with white registers. Early cases had a screw-back, and later models had snap-backs. Heuer had previously used the "Autavia" name for its dashboard timers.
In 1963, Heuer introduced the Carrera chronograph, designed by Jack Heuer, great-grandson of Edouard. The Carrera had a very simple design, with only the registers and applied markers on the dial. The fixed inner bezel is divided into 1/5 second increments. In the 1960s, Carreras were available with a variety of dials, including all-white, all-black, white registers on a black dial, and black registers on a black dial. A three-register, triple calendar version of the Carrera was introduced around 1968.
Most of Heuer chronographs from this period—including the Autavias and Carreras—used movements manufactured by Valjoux, including the Valjoux 72 movement and the Valjoux 92 movement. The Valjoux 72 movement utilized a "tri-compax" design, with three registers on the dial—one register for the chronograph hours, one register for the chronograph minutes, and a third register for a continuously running second hand. The second hand for the chronograph was mounted on the center pinion, along with the time-of-day hands.
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.
Automatic chronographs
In the mid-1960s, Heuer partnered with Breitling and Hamilton to introduce an automatic chronograph. These projects were conducted in secret, as none of the competitors wanted the other companies to be aware of their efforts. Heuer-Breitling-Hamilton held press conferences in Geneva and New York, on 3 March 1969 to show their new lines of chronographs.Heuer's first automatic chronographs were the Autavia, Carrera, and Monaco. These were powered by the Cal 11 and Cal 12 movements ; Cal 14 movement and the Cal 15 movement. The winding crown was on the left, with the pushers for the chronograph on the right. The earliest of Heuer's Cal 11 chronographs were named "Chrono-Matic". 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.
1970s
In 1975, Heuer introduced the Chronosplit, a digital chronograph with dual LED and LCD displays. Later versions featured two LCD displays.Heuer began using the Valjoux 7750 movement in its automatic chronographs, with the Kentucky and Pasadena models. The Valjoux 7750 movement was a three-register chronograph, that also offered day/date windows.
In the mid-1970s, Heuer introduced a series of chronographs powered by the Lemania 5100 movement. The Lemania 5100 movements have the minute hand for the chronograph on the center pinion, greatly improving legibility. The Lemania 5100 movement is considered very rugged and has been used in a variety of chronographs issued to military pilots. There are ten models of Heuer chronographs powered by the Lemania 5100—Reference 510.500, 510.501, 510.502, 510.503, 510.511, 510.523, as well as models with the names Silverstone and Cortina ; the Reference 510.543 was made for the A.M.I. and a special edition was made for AudiSport.
1980–present
TAG Heuer was formed in 1985 when TAG Group S.A., manufacturers of high-tech items such as ceramic turbochargers for Formula One cars, acquired Heuer. Akram Ojjeh, the owner of TAG Heuer sold a significant stake of the company to British businessman Ron Dennis.In 1999 TAG Heuer accepted a bid from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A. of CHF 1.15 billion, contingent upon a transfer of 50.1 percent of stock.
In 2010, TAG Heuer introduced the "Pendulum Concept", the first magnetic oscillator without hairspring capable of providing restoring torque comparable to that of hairspring.
In 2013, TAG Heuer celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Carrera, the racing-inspired chronograph that is a key part of the TAG Heuer range today. There have been ten generations of Carrera since its introduction, with models launched in every decade since 1963.
In 2017 TAG Heuer released limited edition Muhammad Ali watch.