TAG Heuer

Founded in 1860 by 20-year-old Edouard Heuer in St-Imier, Switzerland, the company quickly established itself as a chronograph pioneer. Heuer patented his first chronograph in 1882 and in 1887 developed the oscillating pinion, a mechanism still used in mechanical chronographs today. The brand introduced the first dashboard chronograph in 1911 and the first wrist chronograph in 1914. In 1916, Charles-Auguste Heuer unveiled the Mikrograph, the first stopwatch accurate to 1/100 of a second. The company became synonymous with motorsport timing and in 1962 became the first Swiss watchmaker in space when John Glenn wore a Heuer stopwatch aboard Mercury Atlas 6. The iconic Carrera (1963) and Monaco (1969) collections cemented Heuer's racing heritage. In 1969, Heuer co-developed one of the first automatic chronograph movements (Calibre 11). In 1985, Techniques d'Avant Garde (TAG) acquired a majority stake, forming TAG Heuer. The brand joined LVMH in 1999, gaining resources to develop in-house movements while maintaining its avant-garde spirit.