Tap into TAG Heuer
Investing in a luxury watch is a reliable and solid purchase, especially if you know what you are doing. Lining up your first purchase can feel daunting – overwhelming even – as first-time buyers of both new and pre-owned tag watches can struggle to navigate the market.
The go-to brands are equally the most recognisable: Rolex and Omega. But they come with a hefty price tag. Arguably, the most prestigious Swiss watch brand is Patek Philippe but they’re hard to source.
Entry-Level Swiss Timekeeping
Smart investors will be tracking multiple markets. It’s clear that the volatility in the global markets and exchanges, alongside the increase in the cost of living, make traditional stocks and shares unpredictable. Gold is always an option but, equally, where do you start?
With luxury watches, the brand equity is a reliable indicator of what you can expect in return for your investment. In terms of affordable Swiss luxury, TAG Heuer is shored up by a good reputation, more than a sprinkle of glitz and some pretty cool brand ambassador relationships.
Cool vs. Classic
With TAG Heuer, the brand manages to bridge the gap between the timeless elegance of a Cartier and the funky creativity of a Hublot. This means that a TAG Heuer can be all things to all people and, for some Swiss watch buyers, that can be confusing. Swiss watch fans can be fiercely loyal to one brand and find it hard to embrace the brand that stands out.
Where Did It All Start?
Founded by Edouard Heuer in Switzerland in 1860, as Heuer AG, it was 12 years before Heuer created and launched its first chronograph movement. This movement represented a major development in watchmaking. Named the ‘oscillating pinion’, the movement is a horizontal clutch that dramatically tly improves the chronograph’s engagement and it continues to be used by esteemed watchmakers today.
Rather than focusing on wristwatches, Heuer honed in on chronographs for automobiles and airplanes. Patenting the Time of Trip chronograph for car dashboards in 1911, Heuer was able to show the time of the day and the trip’s duration.
Heuer AG introduced their first wristwatch chronograph in 1914, adding the micro chronograph in 1916. In terms of accuracy, AG Heuer was reliable enough to do much of the timekeeping at the Olympics in 1920.
Heuer Hits the Spot
Heuer chronographs became the watch de rigueur in the 1950s, with intense popularity enduring until the 1970s. A little known fact is that Heuer was the first watch worn by a US spaceman, with John Glenn sporting a AG Heuer when he piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 spacecraft. Although Omega lay claim to the ‘Moonwatch’, as the Omega Speedmaster was the first watch to land on the moon.
Racing Ahead
When it comes to Swiss luxury watches, racing and Hollywood, Paul Newman is renown for his Rolex Daytona, even hitting the headlines for the price that one of his preowned watches fetched at auction.
For TAG Heuer, their Hollywood brand ambassador was the ultra cool Steve McQueen. AG Heuer had been exploring the world of motor sports and racing with their Carrerra, but it was McQueen’s square-faced Monaco model – which he wore in the movie ‘Le Mans’ -that raised AG Heuer’s profile.
Make no mistake, TAG Heuer have been the watchmaker behind some very iconic timepieces.
Rapid Expansion
It may be that the top end of the market reacted to AG Heuer’s 1970s expansion. Driven by their love of innovation, AG Heuer released several models in a short space of time, including the Daytona, the Silverstone and the digital chronograph, the Chronosplit.
Was it this surge of releases that dulled AG Heuer’s star in the eye of Swiss watch fans? Hard to know, but the brand returned to a slimmed down roster within years – although they did follow Rolex’s footsteps and expand into dive watches.
AG Heuer Turns into TAG Heuer
It wasn’t until 1985 that AG Heuer became Tag Heuer – when Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG) acquired the Heuer company. Had Heuer been a more practical brand up until this point? More technologically driven? It could be that TAG Heuer’s true entry into the luxury market didn’t really happen until 1999, when the TAG Group sold the majority of Tag Heuer to the European luxury goods giant, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
Smart watch?
Where other Swiss watchmakers have feared to tread, TAG Heuer has excelled. Their first smartwatch, the TAG Heuer Connected, was released in 2015 and ran on Android Wear. As a measure of this smartwatch’s success, TAG Heuer released the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45 in March 2017. It was this smartwatch model that became the official watch of the effortlessly cool Kingsman movie franchise – replacing Bremont, which had been the official watch of the first Kingsman films.
Amazing Ambassadors
TAG Heuer are not alone in securing their brand reputation with a brand ambassador programme, but it could be their choice of ambassadors that speaks to people.
When it comes to Hollywood, many Swiss watch makers opt for role models that hark back to the Golden Era of the big screen. With TAG Heuer, their ambassadors reflect a more vulnerable side. Ryan Gosling may appear to be a typical leading man, but has delighted audiences with films that include ‘The Notebook’ and ‘LaLa Land’, with his Oscar nod for Ken in 2023’s ‘Barbie’ the perfect example of why TAG Heuer aren’t afraid to be just off-centre.
The brand certainly has to be celebrated for its approach to sports ambassadors, supporting up and coming stars, such as Naomi Osaka and Fred Kerley, and dedicating their efforts to helping these young people excel and achieve.
Affordable Excellence
It’s undeniable – TAG Heuer fills the gap between the mass market and the higher end of the luxury Swiss watch market. However, just because they pull the moon a little closer to Earth, they certainly don’t compromise on their standards. To invest in a TAG Heuer means that you can shop on your terms and walk away with the model you want, without compromise.