What differentiates one brand from another? Why is it that the TAG Heuer range currently encompasses lines such as TAG Heuer F1, Monaco, Carrera, the SLR Chronograph or the Grand Carrera? How is it that TAG Heuer is the only watch brand to offer instruments that are accurate to 1/10^th, 1/100^th and 1/1000^th of a second in terms of wristwatches, and to 1/10,000^th of a second for timekeeping? The answer is simple: it is all a matter of DNA, just as human beings. The unique combination that makes each person different from another and implies that from our very birth we are endowed with certain characteristics inherited from our parents and from their combined DNA. Education and life in general will of course subsequently influence this fundamental structure of an individual and their personality, but will never significantly modify it. In this way, a born introvert may through experience and training become a good speaker, but probably never a charismatic and powerful orator. Those gifted with strong innate intuition will always retain this faculty, even though a good education will also enrich it with methodology and analytic skills.

The same is true of brands. TAG Heuer carries within it the visionary genes of its founders Edouard Heuer and his sons Jules-Edouard and Charles-Auguste; entrepreneurship, innovation, an obsession with precision, and a love of sports. From the oscillating pinion to the Mikrograph used at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, the foundations upon which TAG Heuer has built its current strength were already in place. Ever since, and therein lies doubtless one of the brand’s great assets, men such as Charles-Edouard, Hubert and Jack Heuer and more recently the contemporary management teams, have had the wisdom to reinforce the brand around these central characteristics and to concentrate efforts – in terms of both product development and communication – within the framework established by our founding fathers. Our DNA is unique; it was created in the late 19^th century and continues to guide a substantial proportion of our developments in this early 21^st century: Calibre 360 perpetuates the obsession with precision that resulted in the Mikrograph; while the Formula 1 embodies the ultimate blend of prestige and performance, sport and glamour, as did the Olympic Games and greyhound races held in the 1920s.

As the natural corollary and the fruit of this DNA, the brand’s distinctive signature features naturally evolve over time. Our historical red logo became red and green when we joined the TAG Group in 1985. The resulting emblem is now an even stronger code and makes a TAG Heuer timepiece immediately identifiable worldwide, from a distance of 50 yards, including for a child who can’t yet read! Born in 1969, the Monaco became a legend in the late 1990s, a status that also makes it an unmistakable token of our brand identity – just like its hero, Steve McQueen. The Link bracelet is also one of the visibly different elements that distinguish TAG Heuer. The red and green shield, Monaco, Link: these three entirely consistent codes vividly reflect our DNA. The twin values of tradition and tradition are expressed through the TAG letters pointing firmly to the future, and those of Heuer anchored in the past. Innovation, boldness and sport are enshrined in the Monaco and its large square case framing a blue dial in an era when all watches were round, small, thin and gold-plated. Not to mention the “engine”, the first mechanical automatic chronograph movement. Design and technology permeate the Link, the favorite watch of Ayrton Senna in the analog-digital version and that you can spot across a crowded room with the “S” motif steel bracelet that feels almost as comfortable as a rubber strap.

The DNA and the brand codes symbolized below are fundamental to understanding our brand, and every day, each in our given field, to focusing our energies on this framework shaped by our past, our myths and our legends. This indispensable frame of reference also provides a fantastic springboard for our future initiatives. It guarantees TAG Heuer’s success, because it enables the brand to develop in a manner consistent with its roots and to be recognized year after year, decade after decade and century after century for its unique character that makes it the most fascinating, appealing, intriguing and innovative brand in high-end watchmaking.