Tag Heuer Watches Review – Innovation, Luxury, and Sports

Tag Heuer Watches – Historic Innovation

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Tag Heuer watches - men's silver dial brown alligatorIf you like sports models, you’ll love Tag Heuer watches.  The company was founded in Switzerland in 1860 and has a long history of making luxury watches that feature good build quality, innovation and precision.  While they specialize in sports models and chronographs in particular, they also make a number of attractive designs for both men and women in traditional business and evening wear styles.

With nearly 400 models to choose from, Tag Heuer watches should have something to offer nearly everyone, regardless of taste.  Their product line includes mechanical, automatic, quartz and hybrid movements.

Founded originally as simply “Heuer”, the company joined forces with the TAG group in 1985 and is now part of the Louis Vuitton family.

Read on for the full Tag Heuer watches review.


Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary

Tag Heuer Watches Build Quality

With more than 150 years of watchmaking behind them, this company knows how to make a quality timepiece, and these watches do not disappoint in the build quality area.  With cases of stainless steel and gold, their models offer water resistance to 500 meters or more.

They use rugged sapphire crystal, and well-made Swiss movements.  Bands are gold and stainless steel, and straps are either leather or rubber, as appropriate for the model.  These watches should last for decades with proper handling and care.

Movements

When it comes to movements, you’ll find that Tag Heuer watches have pretty much every possible combination covered.  They offer traditional, manually wound mechanical movements, along with automatic mechanical movements for those active sorts who can’t be bothered to wind on a daily basis.  They offer highly accurate quartz electronic movements for those who require extra precise time.

They also offer several hybrid models that use both mechanical and quartz movements within the same timepiece.  All of these internal workings are made in Switzerland, and are quite durable and keep accurate time.

Innovation

The company has long featured innovation; the company has specialized in sports chronometers and chronographs for nearly a century.  They’ve created timepieces with reversible dual faces and timepieces with dual displays and timepieces with dual movements, combining both mechanical and quartz within the same watch.

Their innovation continues today; they recently introduced their “pendulum concept” which features the first watch with a magnetic oscillator to not use a hairspring.

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Styling and Features

Tag Heuer watches - men's aquaracerAs you might expect for a company with a long history of making timers for automobiles, the company specializes in sports models and timepieces with chronograph features.

Currently, all of their displays are analog, though they have made models with digital displays in the past.  Styling is rather traditional, with colors favoring silver and gold, with the occasional black, blue or white face.  You’re not going to find reds, greens, or hot pinks with this product line; for that, you’ll need to find a company with more of a trend-oriented product line.

That said, these watches are stylish, elegant and attractive, and they make models that are suitable for business wear and evening wear, including a number of models that have gold cases, which are great if watches with multiple dials and buttons aren’t your thing.  They currently offer more than 350 different models, with occasional limited edition products, as well.

Care and Maintenance

As these are precision timepieces that mostly feature mechanical movements, you’ll have some extra maintenance that other luxury watches do not.  The company recommends that their watches be serviced by an authorized dealer every 1-2 years, depending on use.  This service includes disassembly, ultrasonic cleaning, replacement of worn parts and gaskets, lubrication and 48 hours of rigorous testing.

Your watch should be checked once a year to make sure that they are maintaining water resistance.  Aside from this, manual movement models need to be wound daily and automatic movement models should be worn regularly or stored in a watch winder.  Models with quartz movements will need to have their battery replaced regularly.  You should keep your watch away from extremes of temperature and caustic chemicals and it should be stored in a cool, dry place.

Tag Heuer Watches Warranty

All watches are sold with a two year warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship.  We’ve found this to be about an average warranty as luxury watches go; while some companies offer longer warranties, most seem to offer two years.  This should be more than adequate; these are well-built watches and any factory problems, while rare, should become apparent relatively soon after purchase.

Prices

Tag Heuer watches - women's diamond pinkCompared with other luxury brands, this brand is moderately to fairly expensive.  The bulk of their product line falls in the four figures; prices start at about $1500 and go up to close to $10,000.

Some limited edition models may cost more.  The company keeps a fairly tight grip on pricing; it can be a bit difficult, though not impossible, to buy at a discount.

Collectors love Tag Heuer watches, and models that are out of production, limited edition models and particularly vintage models can all sell for a substantial premium over their price when new.

While we’re not suggesting that you buy for investment purposes, it’s not uncommon to see some of their models appreciate in value over time.  If it happens, just consider it a nice bonus.

Where to Buy

As with most luxury brands, this brand sold through select dealers, which are usually fine jewelry stores and high end department stores.  You can also occasionally find them for sale online.  Keep in mind that the product line is fairly large, and as a result, it’s unlikely that you’ll find any single dealer that carries everything the company offers for sale.

You may have to shop around a bit if you’re looking for something in particular.  That said, they’re easier to find than a lot of luxury brands, such as Rolex.

Tag Heuer Watches Summary

Tag Heuer watches offer a rich history of fine Swiss watchmaking, offering features, innovation and high precision.  Their models are quite diverse, with nearly 400 different models.  While they tend to favor sports models, they also offer plenty of wristwatches that are suitable for business and evening wear and they offer good build quality, good service and accurate timekeeping.  If you like looks and precision, you’ll love Tag Heuer watches.

Click here to shop for Tag Heuer watches at Amazon.com