The Swiss aren’t taking the Apple Watch threat lying down. After Swatch, it is now TAG Heuer’s turn to unveil their take on the 21st century timepiece—one that is smart while still retaining the timeless charm of the classic Swiss luxury watches. TAG, part of the LVMH Moet Hennessy luxury juggernaut, will be unveiling its smartwatch at BaselWorld, the world’s most important watch and jewelry show, held, obviously, in Switzerland.
It is not all a Swiss affair though. TAG Heuer has roped in some help from Intel who helped with the know-how that is necessary for a luxury watchmaker to create a smartwatch that can take on Apple. There are also unconfirmed reports that Google might be supplying the OS for the new TAG. According to Pocket Lint, the watch itself will be made in Switzerland, while the chips, apps and other components that make it digital will be manufactured in Silicon Valley.
TAG has chosen to shoehorn all these technology into one of its renowned Carrera models. Now, almost all the Carreras are complicated mechanical chronographs, which raises the question: how much of the characteristic Swiss craftsmanship will TAG Heuer jettison to make way for the electronics? According to reports, the new Carrera will offer many of the same functions as the Apple watch such as geolocation, distance walked and altitude, and will look like a digital replica of its older siblings.
TAG Heuer Chief Executive Office Jean-Claude Biver told Reuters that, when wearing the upcoming smartwatch, “people will have the impression that they are wearing a normal watch.”
Expect to learn more tomorrow when the new smartwatch is officially unveiled.
