Founded: 1860
Founding place: Saint Imier, Switzerland
Founded by: Edouard Heuer
Current headquarters: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Owned by: LVMH
Official name: TAG Heuer S.A.
Table of contents
Edouard Heuer
The history of TAG Heuer starts in the 19th century. TAG Heuer SA starts in 1860 under the name Uhrenmanufaktur Heuer AG. In that year Edouard Heuer (1840 – 30 April 1892) opens a small watchmaking workshop in the remote mountain village of Saint Imier, Switzerland.
In 1869 he patents a keyless, crown-operated winding system for pocket watches. After that he patents more techniques and in 1911 he starts manufacturing timepieces to be mounted on the dashboards of automobiles, aircraft, and boats.
TAG Group purchases the brand
The current name TAG Heuer came as late as 1985 when they were purchased by the TAG Group. TAG stands for “Techniques d’Avant Garde”. Jack Heuer, the great grandson of the founder, is the honorary chairman.
The history of TAG Heuer in a timeline
1860 – Edouard Heuer opens a watchmaking workshop in Saint Imier
1869 – Heuer patents a keyless, crown-operated winding system
1882 – Heuer patents his first chronograph
1887 – Heuer patents an “oscillating pinion”
1892 – (30th April) Founder Edouard Heuer dies
1895 – Patent of the water-resistant case
1911 – Starts producing timepieces for cars, aircrafts, and boats
1916 – Heuer introduces a stopwatch capable of timing to 1/100th of a second
1985 – The TAG Group buys a majority stake and forms TAG Heuer
1999 – LVMH buys nearly 100% of TAG Heuer
2001 – Jack William Heuer (1932) becomes Honorary President
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Watches from TAG Heuer
Watches from the brand can be found in the TAG Heuer section of this website.