History of Tag Heuer

In 1860, the young Edouard Heuer - just 20 years old - founded a watchmaking shop at Saint Imier in the Swiss Jura under the name of "Edouard Heuer, Watchmaker". The company changed its name several times before finally settling on TAG Heuer in 1985. TAG Heuer has left its mark on the history of Swiss watchmaking, starting with the 1887 oscillating pinion up to the 2007 Link Calibre S. Over 145 years of watchmaking know-how and technical innovation has made it today’s ultimate reference in avant-garde sports watches.

1887: Patent for the renowned "oscillating pinion".

1911: TAG Heuer develops its famous "Time of Trip", the first dashboard chronograph designed for cars and aircraft.

1916: Patented in 1916 and used during the Antwerp, Paris and Amsterdam Olympic Games, the Micrograph was the first stopwatch accurate to 1/100th of a second.

1920: Heuer is timekeeper for the Antwerp Olympic Games, followed by Paris in 1924 and Amsterdam in 1928.

1933: launch of Autavia, the first dashboard stopwatch for racing cars and planes, often combined with the Hervue 8-day watch.

1950: launch of the Mareograph, featuring a tide indicator and chronograph functions.

1962: the astronaut John Glenn sets off on the first American manned spaceflight with a Heuer stopwatch on his wrist.

1964: launch of the Carrera series.

1966: TAG Heuer patents the Microtimer, first miniaturised electronic timer accurate to 1/1000th of a second.

1969: presentation of the Chronomatic Calibre 11, one of two first movements for automatic chronographs. Launch of the legendary Monaco in the same year.

1972: launch of the Microsplit 800, first pocket quartz stopwatch in the world to be accurate to 1/100th of a second.

1975 : launch of the first wrist quartz chronograph in the world - the Chronosplit - accurate to 1/100th of a second.

1987: TAG Heuer launches the Sport/Elegance, a unique sports watch as elegant as it is functional.

2003: presentation of the Microtimer, a true wrist timer accurate to 1/1000th of a second.

2004: Presentation of the Monaco V4 chronograph concept at the Basle Fair. The Monaco 69 is awarded the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in the Best Design category.

2005: presentation of the Calibre 360 Concept Chronograph, first mechanical wrist chronograph accurate to 1/100th of a second. Launch of the Professional Golf Watch developed with Tiger Wood.

2006: Basle presentation of the Monaco Calibre 360 LS Concept Chronograph. Launch of the Carrera Calibre 360 pink gold limited edition.

2007: presentation of the Link Calibre S.