Luxury Swiss watch makers were originally dismissive of Apple Watch, but now that its launch is inching closer, their tone is changing. TAG Heur’s chief squirmed in front of the press today and announced that his brand is working on something that might be totally amazing. They’re just still looking for partners to make it happen.
Jony Ive prophesied in September that Swiss watchmakers were in “trouble” thanks to his new creations, and it’s looking like he was right. TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said his company is creating a product to take on Apple Watch, but only if it “can be first, different and unique.”
Biver told reporters that TAG has already struck several partnerships for the watch, and they’re also considering acquiring a few companies to speed up the process.
“We started on the project about four months ago. We have done several partnerships and might also do acquisitions,” Biver, head of LVMH watches and TAG Heuer interim chief executive, told journalists at the brand’s headquarters at La Chaux-de-Fonds in western Switzerland.
Partners are rumored to include Intel and Google. TAG Heuer general manager Guy Semon wouldn’t comment on possible functionality of his brand’s smartwatch, but did admit that Apple Watch is the biggest challenge facing the Swiss watch industry since the introduction of quartz technology.
“We cannot ignore this tsunami that is coming closer,” Semon told Reuters. Some rumors have claimed TAG Heuer will use an Intel micro-processor to power the timepiece that features a mechanical action supplemented by electronic sensors that monitor your vitals, like calories burnt. You know, just like an Apple Watch, only probably worse.
Jean-Claude Biver didn’t give a launch date for his company’s watch, but said they might be ready to announce something in late-2015 at the earliest.
Source: Reuters
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
13 responses to “Swiss watchmaker’s squirming makes Jony Ive sound like a prophet”
Perhaps interesting to note that the new Tag Heuer strategy tagline is: DON’T CRACK UNDER PRESSURE.
I like how the article claims that TAG Heuer’s unreleased watch is going to be worse than Apple’s unreleased watch lol
the Apple watch is soft-launched already, as the matter of fact.
But it’s not out in the hands of consumers/reviewers to make that assumption.
Reviewers were given the opportunity to handle and operate the Apple Watch when it was announced. So while limited in scope of apps for it, there has been some hands-on time with it, unlike TAG Heuer’s.
If any of these watchmakers use Android Wear they might as well not even bother.
I suppose crow is a dish best served on stainless steel.
What caught my eye was the statement that they started four months ago, I would have thought that they would have assumed something was coming years ago
They hear that old bullet train heading their way! LOL
The kinds of people who buy high end luxury watches, Tag, Breitling, Rolex, Omega are certainly NOT going to ditch them for an iWatch let alone rush to a $5k one unless they are plain stupid. In less than a year it will be outdated, battery won’t hold a charge (let alone get you through a day). High end watches are typically automatic and if you have ever owned one, I have Tag and Breitling there IS a difference. Think Casio vs Tag.
You wrote: “The kinds of people who buy high end luxury watches, Tag, Breitling, Rolex, Omega are certainly NOT going to ditch them for an iWatch…”
The concern is not keeping the demographic that currently buy “high end luxury watches.” It’s attracting new buyers to replace the existing buyers as they die off. We are no longer in the “greed is good” 1980s where conspicuous consumption rules and people like Donald Trump are considered role models. 41% of iPhone owners have six figure annual incomes. That’s where the fear comes from. If those people buy a $500 iWatch now and grow to love access to email, text messages, apps, and fitness features, it’s going to be damned hard to convince them that their next watch should do nothing but tell time and should cost ten times as much.
There was a time when pocket watch carrying gentlemen would say they would “sooner wear a skirt as wear a wristwatch.” And I’m sure that the smug makers of pocket watches thought that those tastes would never change, either.
You wrote: “In less than a year it will be outdated, battery won’t hold a charge (let alone get you through a day).”
Considering that iPhone and iPad batteries remain useful for years, and are easily and inexpensively replaced, I have no idea where your ideas about battery life come from. With regards to being “dated,” you’re arguing in favor of continuing to wear watches run by gears, springs, and balance wheels — watch technology from the 1800s (and earlier).
You wrote: “Think Casio vs Tag.”
Think telling the time vs. getting mugged.
What a strange discussion. This is like debating evolution or the existence of Canada. One is an electronic device and one is a luxury good. I suppose living in a bizarre cultural vacuum could make one think there is no difference between wearing a miniature smart phone or a finely designed mechanical device on one’s wrist. Maybe it’s confusing that they both tell the time? Why not just argue smart phones have a clock on them, so you don’t need to wear ANYTHING on your wrist?
Your post reminds me of the smug sense of superiority that the Swiss watch industry had when the Japanese quartz movement watches first made the scene. In the end, the Swiss watch industry was almost destroyed by the onslaught of watches that were more accurate, never needed winding, and could be bought and replaced for a modest cost. The only way the Swiss watch industry survived was to move into making very expensive jewelry that also told time.
You wrote: “One is an electronic device and one is a luxury good. I suppose living in a bizarre cultural vacuum could make one think there is no difference between wearing a miniature smart phone or a finely designed mechanical device on one’s wrist.”
They are both finely designed luxury goods. Both are designed to appeal to the fashion-conscious. Patrick Pruniaux, formerly Tag Heuer’s vice president of sales and retail, was hired away by Apple where he is now a VP level executive. Paul Deneve, former CEO of fashion giant Yves Saint Laurent joined Apple — also in a VP role. Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is at the head of the retail team for Apple Watch. The unveiling of the Apple Watch took place in the middle of New York fashion week, attracting the attention of style bloggers and journalists alike. It was featured on the cover of Vogue China and in a picture spread with a model sporting various versions of the Apple Watch.
I could understand how one could call wearing an anachronistic mechanical watch an “affectation,” but I hardly see how it’s somehow more ‘luxurious’ to have something on your wrist which simply does less because it is mechanical. It’s like feeling smugly superior because you use an abacus instead of a calculator.
You wrote: “Why not just argue smart phones have a clock on them, so you don’t need to wear ANYTHING on your wrist?”
My iPhone is in a carrying case. I’ve got unzip the carrying case, take the phone out, turn it on, read the time, turn it off, put it back in the case, and then zip the case up. That’s hardly as practical. Perhaps you are living in a bizarre cultural vacuum where you think that you can, in the middle of a meeting, take out your smartphone to see a text message that just arrived. You can certainly glance at an Apple Watch, though.