On 9th September 2003 WorldTempus published in its entirety a special issue of the Tribune des Arts magazine dedicated to TAG Heuer. Reading this article shows just how much the brand has changed over the past decade, but also highlights one surprising similarity. The article carried an interview with the brand’s CEO Jean-Christophe Babin, who has since moved on to take over as CEO of Bulgari and been replaced by Jean-Claude Biver. Back then, the tag line of the brand’s advertising was the direct and somewhat provocative question “What are you made of?”, whereas today it is a more motivational and social media-inspired “#dontcrackunderpressure”.
One of the biggest differences between then and now is the product range, at least as far as the watches highlighted in the Tribune des Arts article are concerned. The Link Calibre 36, the “New” Carrera and the Ladies 2000 in gold are a far cry from this year’s “new” Carrera with in-house calibre (and even with a new tourbillon calibre), the Monza, a competition to choose the design for a re-issue of the legendary Autavia chronograph next year and, of course, the Carrera Connected smart watch. The latter could not even have been a glint in the eye in 2003, since we would have to wait another four years before the very first iPhone in 2007.
The article in our archives was published within a year of TAG Heuer entering the mainland China market. By October 2002 the brand had already opened its first store in Beijing and was poised to capitalize on a growing interest in sport in the run-up to the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Shanghai (2004) and the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008). The cliché would normally tell us that the rest is history, but in this case history is now coming full circle. After years of explosive growth, China’s economy has started to lose steam and watch exports to the country have plummeted as a result. In the eyes of the current TAG Heuer CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, this is the perfect time to invest in China.
