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スイス · 創業 1860

TAG Heuer

A Heuer stopwatch flew with John Glenn in 1962 as the backup clock on Friendship 7.

編集記事は英語です。

TAG Heuer is LVMH's watch brand for sports chronographs, founded as Heuer in Saint-Imier in 1860 and based in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is known for motorsport chronographs such as the Carrera, Monaco and Autavia, the 1969 automatic Calibre 11 and stopwatches accurate to 1/100 of a second from 1916. Most new mechanical watches list between about €3,000 and €8,000.

歴史

Edouard Heuer opened a watchmaking workshop on the family farm at Saint-Imier in 1860, aged 20, producing mostly silver pocket watches. He moved to Brugg in 1864 and in 1867 to Bienne, where the company remained for more than a century. Heuer patented a crown-operated keyless winding system in 1869, began producing pocket chronographs in quantity for timing sport in 1882 and in 1887 patented an improved oscillating pinion, a simple coupling for starting and stopping a chronograph that is still used by makers of mechanical chronographs.

The following generations made timing the core business. Heuer patented the Time of Trip dashboard chronograph for cars and aircraft in 1911, introduced a wrist chronograph in 1914 and in 1916 launched the Mikrograph, the first stopwatch accurate to 1/100 of a second. The company was official timekeeper of the three Summer Olympic Games of the 1920s. In 1933 the name Autavia, from automobile and aviation, appeared on a dashboard timer, and from 1935 Heuer supplied pilot's chronographs to the Luftwaffe.

Jack Heuer, the founder's great-grandson, joined in 1958 and ran the company from 1961 to 1982. He gave the wrist chronographs model names, starting with the Autavia in 1962 and the Carrera in 1963. On 3 March 1969 Heuer, Breitling, Hamilton and Dubois-Dépraz presented the automatic Calibre 11, whose crown sits on the left. It powered the square Monaco, worn by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans. In the 1970s Heuer was the official timepiece of Scuderia Ferrari, and its electronics division developed the Centigraph timing system for the team.

The quartz crisis weakened the family firm. In 1985 Techniques d'Avant Garde, the TAG group of Akram Ojjeh, took a majority stake and the company became TAG Heuer, launching the Formula 1 collection in 1986 and the slogan "Don't crack under pressure" in 1991. LVMH acquired TAG Heuer in 1999. The company presented its first in-house chronograph movement, the Calibre 1887, in 2010 and the Connected smartwatch in 2015. It became Formula One's official timekeeper again from 2025.

創業者

Edouard Heuer
Founder · 1840–1892
Opened his workshop in Saint-Imier in 1860 at the age of 20 and moved the firm to Bienne in 1867. He patented a keyless crown-winding system in 1869 and the improved oscillating pinion for chronographs in 1887.

主要な出来事

  1. 1860

    Heuer founded in Saint-Imier

    Edouard Heuer, 20, opens a workshop producing mostly silver pocket watches.

  2. 1869

    Keyless winding patent

    Heuer's first patent covers a crown-operated winding system that does away with a separate key.

  3. 1887

    Oscillating pinion

    Heuer patents an improved oscillating pinion that lets a push-button start and stop the chronograph instantly.

  4. 1911

    Time of Trip

    Heuer patents the first dashboard chronograph for automobiles and aircraft.

  5. 1916

    Mikrograph

    The Mikrograph is the first stopwatch accurate to 1/100 of a second.

  6. 1962

    Autavia and a stopwatch in orbit

    The Autavia becomes Heuer's first named wrist chronograph, and a Heuer stopwatch flies on John Glenn's Friendship 7.

  7. 1963

    Carrera

    Jack Heuer's Carrera chronograph is introduced with a clean dial and a fixed inner scale.

  8. 1969

    Calibre 11 and Monaco

    Heuer co-presents one of the first automatic chronograph movements and uses it in the square Monaco.

  9. 1985

    TAG Heuer is formed

    Techniques d'Avant Garde acquires a majority stake and the company takes the name TAG Heuer.

  10. 1999

    LVMH acquisition

    LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton acquires TAG Heuer.

コレクターが知る3つのこと

First Swiss watch in space

John Glenn started a Heuer stopwatch 20 seconds into his Friendship 7 orbital flight on 20 February 1962, as a backup clock. It is displayed at the San Diego Air and Space Museum.

An Autavia for US$88

In 1974 Heuer offered a special black-dial Autavia through a promotion by the Viceroy cigarette brand for US$88, advertised with racing driver Parnelli Jones. Collectors now call it the Viceroy Autavia.

Crown on the left

The 1969 Calibre 11 placed the winding crown on the left and the pushers on the right. Heuer fitted it to the Autavia, Carrera and Monaco, and the earliest versions were labelled Chrono-Matic.

代表モデル

  • Racing chronograph designed by Jack Heuer; since 2010 many versions use the in-house Calibre 1887 or its successors.

  • Monaco1969

    Square automatic chronograph with Calibre 11; Steve McQueen wore a blue-dial Monaco in Le Mans (1971).

  • Heuer's first named wrist chronograph, with a rotating bezel; the name comes from automobile and aviation.

  • Sports collection launched in 1986, the year after the TAG takeover.

  • Dive line renamed from the 2000 Series, itself descended from the Heuer 1000 divers of 1978.

よくある質問

What does TAG stand for in TAG Heuer?
Techniques d'Avant Garde, the holding company of Akram Ojjeh that bought a majority of Heuer in 1985. The name combines TAG with the surname of founder Edouard Heuer.
Who owns TAG Heuer?
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which acquired TAG Heuer in 1999. Its sister watch brands include Hublot and Zenith.
How do you pronounce TAG Heuer?
TAG, as in the English word, followed by HOY-er. The brand itself gives this pronunciation.
Does TAG Heuer make in-house movements?
Yes, for part of the range. Its first in-house chronograph movement, the Calibre 1887, appeared in 2010, and later in-house chronograph calibres power many Carrera and Monaco models. Many other models use movements from outside suppliers.

出典

  1. Our history, our legacy – from 1860 to now (TAG Heuer)
  2. TAG Heuer from 1860 to 1887: strong foundations (TAG Heuer)
  3. Everything you've always wanted to know about TAG Heuer (TAG Heuer Magazine)
  4. The ultimate collector's guide: TAG Heuer Aquaracer (TAG Heuer Magazine)
  5. TAG Heuer – Wikipedia
  6. Edouard Heuer – Wikidata

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