TAG Heuer

In 2012, the Heuer Monaco that Steve McQueen wore in the 1971 film Le Mans sold at an auction put on by Profiles in History, an auction house that specializes in Hollywood memorabilia. This square chronograph reached a record sum of 799,500 USD, making it one of the most expensive Heuer watches of all time.

The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer maintains a strong connection to motorsport to this day and serves as the official timekeeper of various sporting events. While the brand's two top models, the Carrera and Autavia, cost far less than McQueen's watch, they are just as highly coveted. This is also true of TAG Heuer's most recent innovations: carbon watches made of the same high-tech material as Formula 1 race cars and smartwatches that resemble the Carrera, but house state-of-the-art technology. In fact, TAG Heuer was the first Swiss luxury watch brand to venture into the world of smartwatches.

The Carrera is one of TAG Heuer's most famous and successful collections. Jack Heuer, great-grandson of company founder Edouard Heuer, named this collection after the Mexican Carrera Panamericana rally. The first watches debuted in 1963 and were powered by the manual caliber Valjoux 72. Early timepieces with three subdials and the reference number 2447 sell for around 8,900 USD today.

Models with two subdials were also available in the 1960s. These chronographs bear the reference number 3647 and use the manual caliber Valjoux 92. If you're interested in this Carrera, be prepared to spend about 8,600 USD.

The 60s also saw Heuer team up with Breitling, Büren, and Dubois Dépraz to develop the modular caliber 11 with a micro-rotor. This mechanical movement sets itself apart by placing its crown on the left-hand side at 9 o'clock. There's also a date display at 6 and subdials at 3 and 9 o'clock. Prices for this early automatic Carrera sit around 5,300 USD.

Heuer released the first automatic Carreras in the 1970s. They were among the world's first automatic chronographs, alongside the Zenith El Primero and Breitling Chrono-Matic.

TAG Heuer has been outfitting certain Carrera models with in-house calibers since 2010. Their very first in-house movement, the Calibre 1887, is actually based on the design of the Seiko 6S78. The more recent Calibre Heuer 01 is very similar and appears in their sporty modern chronographs. A skeletonized dial lends these timepieces a particularly futuristic look. The Carrera Calibre 1887, on the other hand, has a more classically elegant design. Both watches sell for anywhere from 2,900 pre-owned to 3,400 USD new.

The Carrera Calibre Heuer 02 also features an in-house chronograph caliber. Its movement boasts an impressive 80-hour power reserve and displays the date between 4 and 5 o'clock. Unlike the calibers 16, 1887, and 01, the Calibre 02 has its 12-hour counter at 9, 30-minute counter at 3, and small seconds dial at 6 o'clock. The stainless steel model has a list price of 6,350 USD. The version with an additional GMT function costs about 110 USD more and can be purchased in mint condition on Chrono24 for as little as 4,500 USD.

The Connected was the first smartwatch ever made by a Swiss luxury watch company. Its design resembles that of the Carrera, and its different virtual dials – known as watch faces – take their cues from various historic models. Unlike its predecessor, the Connected lacks a mechanical movement. Instead, it uses an Intel processor and the Android Wear operating system. You can even pair it with your iOS or Android device and download thousands of apps. For example, you can use the Connected to navigate, pay for items via Google Pay, listen to music, translate phrases, or track your exercise.

The TAG Heuer Connected has a 41 or 45-mm case and is largely made of lightweight titanium. However, there are also models with rose gold-plated or ceramic bezels and lugs. Watches with diamond-studded bezels and lugs are particularly luxurious and are geared mainly toward women. When it comes to the band, you can choose from a leather or rubber strap or a ceramic or titanium bracelet.

A 45-mm titanium Connected with a black ceramic bezel costs roughly 1,700 USD new and 1,400 USD pre-owned. Those with a ceramic bezel and bracelet demand between 2,300 and 3,100 USD. The gold-plated edition is the most expensive: It sells for around 3,900 USD new. However, you can find used watches for about 3,100 USD. If you prefer the version with a 41-mm case in solid titanium, expect to pay almost 1,500 USD for a never-worn timepiece and 1,100 USD for a pre-owned example.

The Autavia completes the trilogy of legendary TAG Heuer chronographs. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "automobile" and "aviation." It originally debuted in 1933 as a dashboard clock for race cars and aircraft. Heuer would later transform it into a wristwatch, which they then released in 1962. Vintage Autavias from the 60s are extremely highly coveted today and can demand prices over 28,000 USD. However, depending on the watch's condition, some models sell for as little as 11,000 USD.

Vintage Autavias from the 1970s and 80s are much more affordable. Their prices begin around 4,500 USD. That being said, some watches cost upward of 11,000 USD. Heuer first equipped the Autavia with the automatic chronograph caliber 11 in 1969. You can recognize this movement by the position of its crown at 9 o'clock. These timepieces have oval cases, thus setting themselves apart from the manually-wound watches from the 1960s.

In 2017, TAG Heuer reintroduced the Autavia with an in-house caliber. Its design bears strong resemblance to chronographs from the 1960s. A bidirectional bezel with a 12-hour scale, a reverse panda dial, and a 42-mm case define this retro timepiece. The three white subdials at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock serve as a 30-minute counter, small seconds dial, and 12-hour counter, respectively. The date display sits within the small seconds dial at 6. What's more, the automatic caliber Heuer 02 provides this watch with a 80-hour power reserve, stop-seconds mechanism, and quick-set date. You can purchase the version on a leather strap for about 3,900 USD in mint condition. The edition on a stainless steel bracelet costs about 110 USD more.

TAG Heuer released a special edition Autavia in celebration of Jack Heuer's 85th birthday in 2017. Since Heuer was born in 1932, this timepiece is limited to a run of 1,932 pieces. Features include a silver dial with black subdials, a bidirectional bezel with a 60-minute scale, and a polished case back with an engraving of Jack Heuer's signature below the Heuer family crest. If you're interested in this limited edition, be sure to have between 4,300 and 5,000 USD on hand.

TAG Heuer's story began in 1860, when 20-year-old Edouard Heuer founded his then-tiny business in the Swiss town of Saint-Imier. Four years later, Heuer was so successful that he moved his company to an impressive building in Biel. In 1882, Heuer patented his first stopwatch and production began that same year. He developed the so-called oscillating pinion, a revolution in chronograph production, five years later. The mechanism is comprised of a movable stem and two pinions, with one pinion constantly engaged with the second wheel.

In 1902, Charles and Jules Heuer took over the family business. Under their leadership, the company focused on producing specialty watches, such as the dashboard chronograph Time of Trip in 1911. This chronograph measured in at 11 cm in diameter and was perfectly suited for installation on car and airplane dashboards. The large central hand told the time while the small pair of hands at 12 o'clock timed periods up to 12 hours.

Heuer achieved another milestone in 1916 with the Mikrograph, a chronograph able to measure time in increments of 1/100th of a second . The delicate second hand only required three seconds to make a full revolution, and its balance wheel vibrated at an unbelievable frequency of 360,000 alternations per hour (A/h), or 50 Hz. This "super timer," as Heuer called it, was perfect for measuring the flight time of artillery projectiles.

In the early 1930s, Heuer introduced the Time of Trip's successor, the Autavia, a dashboard clock for cars and aircraft. It has a central second hand and two subdials for the 60-minute and 12-hour counters. The stopwatch was often paired with its counterpart, the Hervue dashboard, on a solid base plate. The Hervue had a power reserve of eight days and a movement from Revue Thommen. In 1962, exactly 30 years after the Autavia premiered, Heuer debuted a wristwatch chronograph under the same name.

TAG Heuer set a record with the Carrera Calibre 360 in 2006. This timepiece pays tribute to the Mikrograph pocket watch from 1916. The Carrera Calibre 360 has two movements: one for the time display and another for the chronograph. Like the Mikrograph, the chronograph module with a flyback function and 30-minute counter ticks at a staggering 360,000 A/h. This was the highest rate ever achieved by a wristwatch until 2012. The main movement for the time display is the chronometer-certified ETA 2892.

The company outdid themselves only six years later. The Mikrotimer Flying 1000, a prototype, can measure times to within a thousandth of a second. By comparison, the Carrera Calibre 360 is "only" accurate to within a hundredth of a second. The Mikrotimer's automatic caliber features two separate gear systems, each with their own escapement and oscillation system. The average time display ticks at 28,800 A/h (4 Hz). However, this chronograph system ticks at a jaw-dropping 500 Hz, or the equivalent of 3.6 million A/h. Only the Carrera Mikrogirder, also from TAG Heuer, offers more accuracy: It can measure in increments of 5/10,000ths of a second.