-
TAG Heuer - An Appetite for Watches
WORLDTEMPUS - 2 July 2012
Jack Heuer is in impressively good shape, and not just for a man who turns 80 this year. He had knee replacement surgery five weeks ago after a serious skiing accident (he is still a passionate skier - and competed as a student), but there's no sign of a crutch, a walking stick or even a winsome PR girl on his arm to offer support.
We're at a hotel a few hundred yards inland from England's East Sussex coast on the eve of this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed - the annual celebration of motorsport that took place over the weekend - and Mr. Heuer, or "Jack" as everyone seems to be calling him, is the guest of honour at a press dinner.
I've not met him before, and I'm encouraged to sit next to him over a plate of barbecued steak, chicken and lobster. He is chatty, charming and hungry - dinner is a help-yourself affair and he is the first from our table to go for seconds.
In between visits to the grill, he regales his eager audience with tales of his life in the watch industry. He talks lucidly of being sent to New York as a twenty-something in the late 1950s with a check book and a brief to set up a subsidiary in the U.S., of being asked to give up his shares in the company during the dark days of the "quartz crisis," and of how in today's world you'd never be able to do some of things Heuer the brand did back in the day.
"Now, if you were putting, say, St. Moritz on the dial of a watch, someone would ring you up and say, "I own that name, give me some money'," he says. "But back then, we could put Silverstone or Montreal on a watch and nobody thought about it. We didn't have the word 'marketing' in Switzerland in those days."
Candid Carrera
He's come to Goodwood, where TAG Heuer is the Festival of Speed's official timekeeper, for the second year running as part of an exhaustive world tour to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Despite his largely ambassadorial role as the brand's honorary chairman, Heuer was involved in the development of the limited edition Carrera Calibre 17 launched to celebrate the start of his ninth decade and lent his signature to the case back. It's a fine looking watch. "Thank you," he says when offered the compliment. "It was nice to be asked to help with the design and I think it turned out nice."
Heuer penned the original Carrera design in 1963 (brace yourself for a big anniversary next year). Did he ever imagine it would still be with us 50 years on? "No, of course not," he says, quite reasonably. "How could I?" The Carrera has become TAG Heuer's most successful model and you can see from the way he talks about it that it's particularly close to his heart. That and the fact he's wearing the fortieth anniversary model - number one of 1,964, as it happens.
As a rule, Heuer is candid in his appraisal of models launched during his tenure as brand boss. He has little time for the Silverstone for example, because it wasn't well received. It never had a Steve McQueen moment, unlike the original square-cased Monaco, which got mixed press until the iconic actor wore it in the 1971 film "Le Mans." I get the impression his feelings about the Monaco would be as laconic but for its subsequent popularity - remember the good times, move on from the bad.
Time to move on
I ask him if he'd like to see the Autavia, a favorite of mine, make a return. "I asked them about it," he admits, referring to the top brass at TAG Heuer headquarters. "But they said maybe it would be too many watches in the collection - and maybe they are right, so…" A shrug of the shoulders, a final slice of cheese, and it's time to retire for the evening.
He rises and waves cheerily to the throng, before turning in for the night. He has to be up early the following morning to open a photographic exhibition at the festival dedicated to the many achievements in Formula 1 of TAG Heuer ambassador Alain Prost.
All evening, he's been genial company. In the past, he has said publicly how painful his separation from the company was in the early 1980s, but from the outside it appears those wounds are all but healed, even though it's likely he will be the last of the Heuers to have an active role in the brand. He's glad to be putting his name to watches again; glad to be dining al fresco on a sunny English summer's evening; glad to be involved.
-
TAG Heuer - The Winners of "Art of Watchmaking"
TAG Heuer, the leading Swiss luxury watch company, and Parsons The New School for Design today revealed the winners of the "Art of Watchmaking," a 10-week competition that charged eight teams of Parsons product design students with reinterpreting TAG Heuer's classic Monaco chronograph. Each member of the three teams will receive a monetary prize and a TAG Heuer timepiece. Additionally, TAG Heuer has the potential to produce one of the first-place designs as a limited-edition piece.
The winners were selected by an illustrious panel of judges that included: Narciso Rodriguez, CFDA award-winning womenswear designer and Parsons alumnus; Renaud Dutreil, Chairman of LVMH North America and New School trustee; Ulrich Wohn, president & CEO of LVMH Watch & Jewelry North America; Marion Fasel, contributing jewelry editor, InStyle magazine; Michael Thompson, editor, International Watch magazine; Rama Chorpash, director of product design, Parsons; and Andre Fortier, vice president of after-sales service, TAG Heuer.
During the review, each of the student teams showcased three concepts, and discussed their inspiration, target consumer and design philosophy. Ideas ranged from a Monaco with a rotating case to designs inspired by the New York City transportation system. "The students' enthusiasm for this program was clearly evident in the quality of their designs," said Wohn. "They truly immersed themselves in the brand and presented ideas that embraced the avant-garde, daring spirit of TAG Heuer. We are inspired by the students' perspective on luxury timepieces and their unfettered creativity. It's nice to look at your brand through new eyes."
First-place honors went to the team of Yong Yi Lee, Yoav Menachem and Amit Ran, whose designs included a sleek, black model with a shield over the watch face and edition numbers to appeal to collectors; second-place honors went to the team of Enrique Diaz Rato de Zabala, Michelle Organ and You Jin Sung, whose designs included a black ceramic timepiece with neon accents; and third-place honors went to the team of Yusuke Sekiguchi, Christopher Beatty and Helen Kim, whose designs included a piece with naturally grown crystals in its dial.
"We partner with industry leaders like TAG Heuer because they provide our students the kind of professional challenges they'll face when they graduate," said Joel Towers, executive dean of Parsons. "These types of projects are integral to design education."
Added Chorpash, "This is a project that is ultimately about constraint. Our students were pushed to think innovatively about the design, while keeping in mind the parameters of the client's design brief and the technical requirements of the manufacturing process."
The partnership and competition—a first for TAG Heuer—began in early September, when TAG Heuer presented the 24 students with a comprehensive overview of the Monaco, which was first introduced in 1969 and shattered the conventional codes of watch design and engineering with the world's first self-winding automatic chronograph movement and waterproof square case.
Under the guidance of faculty members Anna Rabinowicz and Peter Allen, students were charged with creating their own iteration of the Monaco. Many aspects of the timepiece were open to interpretation, including the material choice, color and design of the dial, subdials, hands, indexes and folding buckle. However, students could not alter the distinctive shape of the Monaco's case, whose clean, geometric lines marked a radical departure from the rounded watch dials of the '60s and '70s.
The teams each rendered 100 original concepts, and throughout October and November, narrowed down these initial ideas into three final designs. During this time, students received constructive feedback from TAG Heuer executives during milestone visits, as well as toured the brand's New Jersey-based facility to experience firsthand the precision and craftsmanship that assembling a luxury watch demands.
-
Baselworld - Drives the Industry
With 100,700 industry professionals from all over the world, the show received extremely high atten-dance (+7% up compared to last year). At the close of the event, the exhibitors were delighted with the pace of business. The World Watch and Jewellery Show proved a real inspiration for the industry.
During the past few days, the most important and largest World Watch and Jewellery Show, Baselworld, confirmed its leading position worldwide. 100,700 trade buyers from 100 countries streamed into the elegant exhibition halls in Basel.
Thanks to its unique presence, Baselworld secured its reputation as the highlight for the watch and jewellery industry, confirming its tremendous importance for all participants. Baselworld 2010 met the high expectations in terms of business performance and gave new impetus to the industry after challenging economic times.
Confirming the strength of the international show
Jacques J. Duchêne, President of the Exhibitors' Committee, confirmed: "We are delighted with this year's Baselworld. Without being euphoric, we can optimistically look ahead this year. The show is and remains the place to meet for the watch and jewellery industry."
François Thiebaud, President of the Swiss Exhibitors' Committee, explained how Baselworld 2010 wholeheartedly endorsed the positive signs during January and February for the Swiss watch industry: "Exhibitors and visitors can smile again. More than ever before, Basel is indispensable for us and 'the place to be'."
Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard, was also extremely pleased: "In comparison to last year, this year's show went much better. We welcomed more customers - especially from the USA - and received many more orders."
Françoise Bezzola, Vice President Communication of TAG Heuer, commented: "This was an exceptional year. After a tense period, we experienced a festive and optimistic atmosphere at the show. Everyone looks much more relaxed again here in Basel."
Roberto Passariello, Communication Director of Bell & Ross, is also delighted with the way the show went: "It was a highlight of the year. At this year's Baselworld, we welcomed significantly more trade buyers and journalists."
CEO and President of Raymond Weil, Olivier Bernheim, describes Baselworld's strength as follows: "All market participants in the world watch and jewellery industry were present at this ideal event. This is where we launch our products to our customers annually and update the media about our latest news. Baselworld 2010 enables me to look ahead with optimism."
"We are also very pleased", comments Michaela Hasieber, PR manager of Festina Group. "Baselworld is a crucial industry hub - our new product launches were well received and we were all able to present our brands in the best light."
The world show is also eminently important for smaller brands. Mike Vogt, Vogard's Createur commented on the show: "It continues to be the top international event. If you miss out, you clearly have problems. This show secures stability even in challenging times and facilitates fantastic networking. We have achieved excellent sales especially in the Middle East".
Jewellery exhibitors also delighted
At the close of the show, Christoph Wellendorff, CEO of Wellendorff was also very satisfied: "Winners from the crisis are the authentic manufacturers and established brands. Wellendorff is profiting from this: we were able to improve again on the results of recent years. The buyers' trust and confidence is back in all markets. Baselworld continues to be the only show that Wellendorff participates in."
According to Umberto Picchiotti, Vice President of Picchiotti, Baselworld is immensely important for jewellery producers: "Our expectations were far greater at this show than last year. And we are totally satisfied - this week we did exceptional business."
Finally, suppliers of precious gemstones gave numerous positive reports. For example, Bernd-Willy Ripp, Managing Director of Groh + Ripp, described Baselworld 2010 as follows: "We are delighted with this year's result. We are surprised about the number of new customers from the UK and central Europe - with buyers from over-seas continuing to arrive in Basel. All the regions of the world are present here."
Representing the national pavilions in the Hall of Universe, Winchell Cheung, Director HKTDC, commented on last year's show: "Business was better than last year. We achieved higher sales again especially with buyers from the USA. We see this as the ideal platform for busi-ness from overseas and Europe."
Sylvie Ritter, Managing Director of Baselworld, gave a final summary: "We have received a great deal of excellent feedback from our guests. The upturn is evident in all areas - both in the watch and jewellery sectors and in the related brands - and we can look back at a successful show. Approximately 3,000 media representatives will now report around the world on the new products showcased here."
Baselworld 2011: March 24 to 31, 2011
The World Watch and Jewellery Show, Baselworld 2011, will take place in Basel from March 24 to 31, 2011.
[Rating: 5 / 5 stars]
Sale Price:US$238.00
Sale Price:US$279.00
Sale Price:US$269.00
Sale Price:US$279.00
Sale Price:US$289.00
Sale Price:US$299.00
Sale Price:US$249.00
Sale Price:US$298.00
Sale Price:US$289.00
Sale Price:US$258.00
Sale Price:US$269.00
Sale Price:US$279.00
Sale Price:US$299.00
Sale Price:US$268.00
Sale Price:US$299.00
Sale Price:US$249.00
