Ahead of the Baselworld kick-off later this week, TAG Heuer kindly invited me to La Chaux de Fonds to spend two days visiting their factory and head office. I last visited TAG Heuer in summer 2008, and so was curious to see whether much had changed. Certainly the weather had changed with postcard-perfect snow blanketing much of the Jura Valley.

What was immediately obvious was how much time and effort TAG Heuer has dedicated to this week’s Baselworld show- everyone was putting the finishing touches to different aspects of the exhibition. Of course, this would be the same for everyone in the watch industry, but there is a special focus at TAG Heuer to make the 150th anniversary something special.

To illustrate the scale of the effort, how many watches do you think that TAG Heuer will bring to Basel? 20? Maybe 100?

Actually, its 2,000- more than the annual production run of many boutique brands.

This number is so high because each country team selects its own national catalogue from the available watches, and so there is a complete set for each country team to review and show to its Authorised Dealers.

Tesla Roadster

The first thing that I saw on arrival was the TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster, which had just arrived from the Geneva Motor show en route to Basel. There were two Roadsters- a standard red model accompanying the TAG Heuer-branded version.

Apart from the special paint job, the TAG Heuer version differed from the standard model in its use of carbon fibre (or at a minimum, a carbon-fibre-look material) parts, including the roof, rear spoiler and throughout the interior. The Tesla is a small car- built very low to the ground and it looked better in person than in the photos (although the panel gaps would give a Volkswagen engineer a heart attack).

Design, Prototyping and Quality Control

The focus of today’s visit was on the design, prototyping and quality control processes that TAG Heuer have in place for new watches. A new watch begins its life on a CAD (Computer Aided Design) screen, before being turned into a wax mould and then sent through to the prototyping area to be turned into a platinum/ steel/ titanium prototype case.

The prototype area was especially interesting, as it didn’t exist on this scale- if at all- in 2008. This new capability not only allows TAG Heuer to develop the first prototypes in-house, but can also be used for limited scale production of watches, such as the Monaco V4 which has its case and movement made right here.

The Quality control area is also significantly larger than when I last visited, with each new model undergoing between 60-100 tests over a one month period before it is approved for production. Once the model is in production, random samples are then put  through the same tests to ensure consistency on quality is maintained throughout a model’s life..

The photo on the left shows a watch being shock tested, as it is dropped from various heights marked on the vertical metal beams.

These tests simulate both normal use, and also how the watch responds to being accidentally dropped from a height of one metre.

TAG Heuer not only test their own watches here, but also test for other parts of the LVMH group, not just on watches, but also on items of jewellery, such as bracelets.

There are a variety of tests designed to simulate several years of normal use of each watch in a variety of conditions, including torsion testing of bracelets, exposure of dials, cases and straps to high levels of UV light and corrosive materials and testing the various chrono. pushers, crown, bezel and deployment clasp buttons to make sure that they will stand up to years of use.

The photo below shows the bezel on an Aquaracer 500m, being tested, with this particular test simulating the repeated turning of the bezel.

In the photo below, the watch case is combined in a hopper with ceramic pellets and then shaken to test wear-and-tear on the case, crystal and bezel.

The type of testing has extended recently beyond cosmetic testing and into testing the chemical compounds used in watch cases, batteries and straps. New EU regulations state that any consumer can demand the full chemical composition of a new watch and must receive that information within 45 days- a huge information burden for watch companies.

The tests described above are only a few examples of the testing that each watch undergoes before being signed off for production, and with new watch prices continually pushing up, so to do our expectations of the quality of what we buy and the way that the watch looks not just when new, but five and ten years into its life.

New TAG Heuer Website

TAG Heuer’s website is getting a major revamp over the next few months, with a preview released in the coming days. Having looked through the site, it is clear that this is not just a minor upgrade- it is generations better than the current website, both in terms of the quality and amount of information and the ability to share the content across social networks.

Key features include:

• Highly detailed specifications of each new model
• Highly detailed description of every movement used by TAG Heuer
• Recommend Retail Price of each watch, based on your location
• Greater use of video
• The history of each model
• Articles on TAG Heuer and Heuer history and milestones
• Enhanced integration of mapping features to direct you to the nearest dealer
• New customer service and customer care section

There is an almost overwhelming amount of new content available and the new design is several steps ahead of the current website- the only challenge now is to make sure that the website is regularly updated with new models, a frustration that many have noted with the current site.

Baselworld Watches

Last but not least, I did my best to try to track down any of the new Basel watches, but without much luck. I did however see a few images of some of the new models- although nothing of the Pendulum watch. Here are a few notes based on what I did see:

• There is a definite trend towards much simpler dial designs- at last. The Carrera Calibre 1887 is a perfect example of the cleaner, more elegant look (see below)
• Also a trend towards the use of patterning and textures on the dials- whether it be horizontal or vertical lines (as with the current Aquaracer 500m) or the use of repeated, thin circular lines (like the surface of a record, as seen on the Grand Carrera) on the outer edge of the dial or within the sub-dial
• Size: No sign of TAG Heuer reducing the diameter of its watches yet- in fact, there may be some larger models on show at Basel

Finally, for a sneak-look at the Carrera Calibre 1887, take a look at this new Lewis Hamilton/ Jenson Button video that TAG Heuer has posted- you can see both the white and black dial versions of the watch from around the 10 second-mark.

Tomorrow’s visit focuses on the Calibre 1887 movement, so expect a new post on Wednesday morning with the news and photos of the new TAG Heuer Calibre.