Some brands lean towards tradition, others towards modernity. TAG Heuer is clearly the latter. While the Manufacture does not disown its heritage, it is clearly looking to the future. TAG Heuer tirelessly pursues its path towards the watchmaking avant-garde, the direction naturally imparted by its name in which TAG stands for Techniques d'Avant-Garde.
A 100% "R" Institute
Two entities specifically embody this signature. First, the Research Institute. This is an autonomous entity within the Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It employs around 20 people. As Carole Forestier-Kasapi, Director of Movement Development, mischievously points out, "It's not an R&D department, only an R department” – the point being that the Institute is dedicated to applied research. Its work is entirely focused on new technologies for future TAG Heuer watches. The TAG Heuer Institute’s mission is to create, invent and chart new territory. In a word, to embark on an adventure... even if it fails. Some ideas are put aside: the teams' initial intuition may be right, but the technical means at their disposal do not yet allow them to be put into practice and patience is thus required.
The Institute is nonetheless constantly working on some 50 parallel projects, a fact hinting at its strength and importance within the Manufacture. Frédéric Arnault, who until recently held the position of brand CEO, endowed the Institute with massive resources of its own to ensure that TAG Heuer research moves forward. No doubt the brand's new boss, Julien Tornare, former CEO of Zenith and himself strongly committed to a spirit of innovation, will continue to pursue this path.
The TAG Heuer Institute has already produced some fine results, such as the carbon balance-spring. While the latter offers all the advantages of the silicon balance-spring, it is even lighter and therefore less sensitive to gravity. It is also said to develop in a perfectly concentric manner, thereby guaranteeing greater precision. It has already been introduced in certain limited-series collections, until the Manufacture manages to transpose it into its production system, complete with the reliability and price that will enable its expansion.
Extreme testing
The second entity that sets the Maison apart is its test laboratory. Although all watch Manufactures have one, TAG Heuer's is far more advanced than average. While most watches on the market come with a two-year warranty, TAG Heuer tests its assembled watches through simulation cycles corresponding to five or more years.
All functions are accelerated over this period, as are material resistance and wear. Water-resistance also bears witness to this intransigence: with the exception of a few models certified to a depth of 100m, most parts are guaranteed to 200m or 300m. In terms of materials, TAG Heuer is even able to see and understand their robustness on a nanometric scale, that of the arrangement of particles. These infinitely rigorous tests ensure that TAG Heuer watches will stand the test of time, as they have done since 1860.
