B HISTORY OF TAG HEUER 1860 • Edouard Heuer, the great-grandfather of Jack William Edouard Heuer, founds TAG Heuer 1958 • Jack Heuer joins the family business and gives the watches a modern twist 1969 • The Company creates the world’s first automatic chronograph 1977 • TAG-Heuer produces the Chronosplit Manhattan, an electronic wrist chronograph with analogue reading of the time and digital reading of the stopwatch function 1982 • Jack Heuer launches IDT (Integrated Display Technology, Ltd.) in Hong Kong, which today employs over 9,000 people 2012 • Jack Heuer celebrated his 80th Birthday.
Continues to Impress Irrespective of Product
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o matter if it is a wristwatch, mobile phone or eyewear, when the product in question is used regularly, it is important the users are happy. If a company invests time and effort into the product, irrespective of what it is, and focuses on customer satisfaction, the product will please. At TAG Heuer, regardless of what they are developing, they strive to give their customers the utmost benefit in terms of both style and practicality. Le CITY deluxe sat down with Thomas Houlon, Innovation Director for TAG Heuer, and honorary Chairman Jack Heuer himself. Is it true you haven’t always worked in the watch industry? TH: I actually spent the first 12 years of my career in eyewear. Designing glasses consisted of just not sticking a logo on the frame, but giving the glasses themselves real value. After ten years, it had become absolutely massive, even though our models were quite pricy. We managed to give customers the utmost benefit in terms of style, which, while pure and simple, was extremely practical. I then started working in watches, as the innovation manager for all watches, and I’ve been working on innovation ever since.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO CRAFTSMANSHIP AND FOCUSING ON THE BASICS. What is so special about this phone? TH: It all comes down to craftsmanship and focusing on the basics. In our opinion, today’s technology sometimes goes too far and is too complicated. And while we want to revert to something simple, it is also technologically fantastic and, first and foremost, beautiful. How will you celebrate your 80th birthday this year, Mr. Heuer? JH: I’m a product man, and I’ve designed a watch to commemorate my 80th birthday. I’ve signed the back and stamped it with the family’s 15th century coat of arms, which I find quite interesting. It is a limited edition of only 3,000 models, and numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are reserved for my 3 children and me.
İLKBAHAR/YAZ 2013
Are there any other new products in the works for TAG Heuer? TH: I also helped launch our first mobile phones three years ago. Today we are presenting a new mobile phone called Racer. We are trained to transpose new product categories, and today,
Tag Heuer’s DNA is so strong, it is becoming even more popular.
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