Icons, Renewed

In celebration of its 160th anniversary, TAG Heuer revisits its classic Carrera

- CAROLINE SUGANDA

The appeal of a TAG Heuer watch is founded on the idea of straightforward effortlessness — a timepiece packed with technical innovation not only appreciated by watch enthusiasts, but also the general masses. The Swiss watchmaker, however, like Rome, was not built in a day, and spent time building up its impressive reputation and playing an integral part in the changing landscape of the luxury Swiss watch industry for 160 years — and counting.

Say the name TAG Heuer, and what springs to mind is a plethora of other non-watch related things: a long partnership with the world’s number one motor racing Formula 1, celebrities like Chris Hemsworth and Patrick Demsey (both of them are TAG Heuer ambassadors) and most importantly, its famous tagline “Don’t Crack Under Pressure”.

But if there is one thing that could single-handedly represent what TAG Heuer is today, it would be the Carrera, a chronograph timepiece inspired by racing. The chronograph has been the solid foundation for TAG Heuer all these years, the cornerstone of the business which Edouard Heuer founded in 1860, to fix and build chronographs in a small town called Saint-Imier in the Swiss Jura. He developed his first chronographs there, timepieces which made it possible to set the time and wind the watch on the same crown without using a key, meeting the demand for accurate timing instruments for sporting events.