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TAG Heuer to Combine Swiss Watch Expertise With Technology in 'Different Craftsmanship'

Tuesday January 20, 2015 6:30 am PST by Kelly Hodgkins
tag_heuer_logoLVMH luxury watch chief and TAG Heuer interim head Jean-Claude Biver spoke recently with Bloomberg, revealing some early details about the company's upcoming smartwatch product. Biver was a notable early critic of the Apple Watch, saying Apple's wearable effort looked like it was designed by "a student in their first trimester," although he appears to have shifted his perspective more recently.

In this week's Bloomberg interview, Biver recognizes the technological shortcomings of the Swiss watch industry, which lacks the communications and hardware background to produce a smartwatch. Instead, TAG Heuer will develop its smartwatch using a "different craftsmanship" that merges the mechanical know-how of the Swiss watch makers with the technology expertise of Silicon Valley.
For a smartwatch, "we can’t produce the engine, the chips, the applications, the hardware -- nobody can produce it in Switzerland," Biver said. "The hardware and the software will come from Silicon Valley. But the watch case, the dial, the design, the idea, the crown, that part of the watch will, of course, be Swiss."
Biver earlier confirmed TAG Heuer was looking to work with technology companies on its smartwatch device and told Bloomberg in his latest interview that the company will reveal these partnerships in the next six weeks. Google and Intel are among the companies rumored to be collaborating with the luxury watch maker.

Besides the typical smartwatch functions of GPS location tracking, step counting, and smartphone integration, TAG Heuer may also differentiate its product by offering exclusive apps that promote its brand and partnerships such as the sports teams that it sponsors.

Though he may be creating a competing product, Biver told Bloomberg he plans to buy an Apple Watch when it launches.
"It’s a fantastic product, an incredible achievement," he said. "I’m not just living in the tradition and culture and the past, I also want to be connected to the future. The Apple Watch connects me to the future. My watch connects me to history, to eternity."
Apple is expected to launch the Apple Watch as soon as March. The wearable band will be available in a variety of configurations designed for the average user, the sports enthusiast, and the luxury customer looking for a high-end smartwatch.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5, watchOS 6
Tags: TAG Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
[ 87 comments ]


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Jetfire
60 months ago

I don't know why these Swiss watch companies even care about developing smart watches. They don't need too. The product they produce is something completely different.


I think Nokia said the same thing about the iPhone.
Rating: 27 Votes
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kds1
60 months ago
I don't know why these Swiss watch companies even care about developing smart watches. They don't need too. The product they produce is something completely different.
Rating: 24 Votes
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cmChimera
60 months ago
Loving the panic.
Rating: 10 Votes
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Nyguy76
60 months ago

If you hang on to "history" that is mostly a sign that you are doomed.


That's true for technology, not for luxury goods.
Rating: 7 Votes
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TWSS37
60 months ago
My ex-wife connects me to history, to eternity
Rating: 7 Votes
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2bikes
60 months ago

I don't know why these Swiss watch companies even care about developing smart watches. They don't need too. The product they produce some something completely different.


Like most good companies, they have probably done their homework and concluded that either; they see smart watches as a treat or they want to be a part of a new segment in addition to what they produce now.
Rating: 6 Votes
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Keirasplace
60 months ago

Like most good companies, they have probably done their homework and concluded that either; they see smart watches as a treat or they want to be a part of a new segment in addition to what they produce now.


Even if this not a treat, if Apple makes it cool to wear a watch again, they can profit from that since well, they make watches (even if not smart watches).

So, either they profit directly, or profit through an expanded market for their main products.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Rogifan
60 months ago
Wait a minute, wasn't this the guy who said Watch was too feminine and looks like it was designed by a design student in their first semester? Now he says its a fantastic product and incredible achievement?

I thought Tag was supposed to be showing off a smartwatch at CES. Whatever happened to that?
Rating: 5 Votes
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HobeSoundDarryl
60 months ago

Love how he does a complete 180


Normal stuff. Apple does it too. From "who wants video on an iPod?" to many others. Here's a good summary of some...
http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/19/technology/steve-jobs-apple/index.html
and here's Tim Cook talking about how Jobs could completely flip flop in a single day...
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Tim-Cook-says-Steve-Jobs-taught-him-about-flip-flopping_id30702

Apple ridiculed bigger-screen iPhones before they rolled out their own. And they ridiculed tablets smaller than 9.7" as unusable without sandpaper for sanding down fingertips until they rolled out the Mini. Once Apple launched bigger-screen phones or smaller tablets, the ridiculing points were forgotten. Normal stuff by both competitors and Apple.
Rating: 5 Votes
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peteo
60 months ago
Love how he does a complete 180

early critic of the Apple Watch, saying Apple's wearable effort looked like it was designed by "a student in their first trimester"

Now he says:

"It’s a fantastic product, an incredible achievement"

and this is even before the product is released. Can't people just wait until its out, and try before they comment on it?
Rating: 5 Votes

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