And Action!

Let’s start by focusing in on the theme of our magazine: “Wild Things”. What is TAG Heuer’s wild side?

Wild is part of our trademark. Action is our passion. We are committed to motorsport and love the thrill of it. There’s a good reason big wave surfers Kai Lenny and Maya Gabeira are among our brand ambassadors. Both are legends in their sport. We also work closely with Thierry Donard, who pushes the limits of extreme sports with his film series La Nuit de la Glisse. One of the key figures in our company history, Jack Heuer, is a passionate racer and skier. We still live that passion today.

Jack Heuer introduced the Heuer Carrera sixty years ago, as a reference to the Carrera Panamericana road race. What makes this collection so special?

When Heuer first heard about the Carrera Panamericana, he was fascinated. “Carrera” sounded mysterious and fast-paced to him, perfect for a racing watch. It had to be a chronograph that could be read even at 150 km/h with both hands on the steering wheel shaking from the vibrations of the car. What makes the Heuer Carrera so special is its timeless design. To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of this watch, we presented an anniversary model that was strictly based on the first version of the Carrera. And people loved it. That shows that these design codes are still relevant. I call that Swiss avant-garde. The watch captures the essence of who we are. Because there’s a lot of passion in it.

Do you wear them yourself?

I bought my first Carrera in 2012, a limited edition for Jack Heuer’s eightieth birthday. I just loved it. It felt like I was wearing a piece of history. That’s what I love about the Carrera: its history with these many amazing chapters. That’s what made it an icon.

Is that what makes design timeless: the story it tells?

Timeless design itself is part of the story: the perfect lines, the way we designed the thickness of the watch, the push buttons, the crown, the legibility of the dial and the overall elegant simplicity. If it hadn’t been so avant-garde at the time, the story of this watch would also be a different one. But this Swiss avant-garde design, together with its sixty-year history, that’s what makes this watch so unique.

How do you find the right brand ambassadors? You have Patrick Dempsey and Ryan Gosling under contract, among others.

We go about this very carefully so we find the ambassadors who perfectly embody our values. And we’ve succeeded in doing that with the people who currently represent our brand. Ryan Gosling is enjoying tremendous success right now with Barbie, and Patrick Dempsey is not only a Hollywood celebrity but is also personally committed to racing. The fact that he’s an ambassador for Porsche as well is a wonderful coincidence, because that’s a fantastic link to bring our two brands together.

You’ve had an official partnership with Porsche since 2021, though your mutual history goes back even longer. Why did it take so long for you to officially join forces?

There are in fact many overlaps between the two brands: We both value innovation, the founding families play a big role, and neither brand was established with the aim of creating a luxury product, but with a focus on performance. We also share a passion for sport and competition, not to mention precision and perfection. And both brands have been inspired by the Carrera name. Sometimes it just takes a little while longer for the stars to align perfectly. And that makes us even happier to be able to celebrate this anniversary together. Porsche presented its first 911 in 1963, the same year that we presented our Carrera Collection.

Porsche and TAG Heuer are both classic brands that are aggressively embracing digitization. How does a watch like the Carrera fit into this context?

That goes hand in hand. We live in an increasingly connected world. And TAG Heuer has always stood for innovation and avant-garde. We were the first luxury brand to introduce a connected watch. That was pioneering work. We have a team of more than sixty software developers and engineers in Paris working on this product. It’s an important business area for us.

How would you describe the typical TAG Heuer customer?

You’re talking to one right now. I’ve been a fan of the brand ever since I saw the lettering and the logo on the racetracks as a little kid. Many of our customers feel the same way: they love ( … )

→ You can read the full interview in the new ramp #62 "Wild Things".