WorldTempus had an exclusive walk around the Museum in Motion exhibition at the TAG Heuer store in Geneva with Catherine Eberlé-Devaux, TAG Heuer Heritage Director. The exhibition is open to the public until 29th November 2018.
A large map of the world spread across three windows and dotted with red points underscores the global nature of this exhibition, which started in Miami last February and will conclude in January 2019. Its arrival in Geneva was perfectly timed to coincide with the autumn watch auctions and the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
Catherine Eberlé-Devaux explained the rationale behind the exhibition. “We wanted to take watches from the museum on tour around the world to tell the story of the Carrera, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year,” she said. “There are several batches of watches that are travelling around. The aim is to tell the story of the Carrera but also its predecessors and some of the watches that are related to it.”
“We have a fantastic museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds but few people can actually make it there. So we decided to bring the watches closer to our fans and what better way to do it than in our own stores. This type of exhibition is aimed to teach collectors who are interested in our vintage watches more about our modern history and conversely to show those interested in our modern collections that we have all this history and deep roots.
“Some of the oldest pieces on display are dashboard counters, which is what the brand was most famous for at the time. The Mikrograph, for example, is one of the timepieces we produced for the longest. We first started manufacturing it in 1916 and production continued until the 1970s. This was the first watch in the world that could measure a hundredth of a second, so at the time it was introduced it became a standard. It is also a timepiece that put the brand on the road to sports and timekeeping.
“There are some lesser-known pieces such as those with gold cases fitted with the Valjoux 72 chronograph movement, which has all the qualities of a high-end chronograph. We also have the first Monza, which was first produced to celebrate Nikki Lauda’s first world championship with Ferrari in 1975. It was launched in 1976 as a one-shot but it was so successful that it was included in the standard catalogue. This watch shows that there was already an interest for all-black watches in the 1970s. It’s nice to be able to show the public something less familiar.
TAG Heuer fans will discover some lesser-known models such as the Skipper and other regatta timers, the Airline model with all the world’s time zones on its metal bracelet and the first Formula 1 models that marked the change from Heuer to TAG Heuer. A milestone that was important according to Mrs Eberlé-Devaux, because “it gave the brand new energy”.
There are, of course, more familiar pieces such as the 1158 Carrera in gold, which is nicknamed the pilot’s watch, as well as the Carrera GMT with a blue and red dial that was a precursor of a current trend. “It was important for me to have the Carrera GMT here,” says Eberlé-Devaux, “because the red and blue dial is associated with other brands, but we can see that we already had it back in the 1970s”.
Museum in Motion
TAG Heuer store
Rue Robert-Céard 9, 1204 Genève
Opening hours
- Monday-Friday: 9.45am – 6.45pm
- Saturday: 9.45am – 6pm
Admission
Free of charge
