Tag Heuer is a renowned Swiss watch brand that has come a long way. A brand that started off with timekeeping in motor races and now a luxury watch brand that people adore.
In our opinion, Tag Heuer would come close to middle level of the luxury Swiss watch brand, where Tissot belong to. Before you disagree, please hear what I have to say in the rest of this blog.
When it comes to timekeeping, Tag Heuer has always been the top of its game by being the official timekeepers of the Olympic games’ since 1920 and has numerous remarkable pieces of horology such as the Careera Mikrogirder 10000 which is able to tell time up to 5/10,000th of a second.
Tag Heuer not only manufactures watches, they are also a Swiss luxury company that design and manufactures fashion accessories, eyewear and even mobile phones.
The name Tag Heuer combines the initials of “Techniques d’Avant Garde” and the founder’s surname. “Techniques d’Avant Garde” from French means “advance guard” which refers to works that are innovative and advanced, where boundaries of the norm are pushed beyond imagination.
Tag Heuer was founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer in St-Imier, Switzerland. Tag Heuer is now 100% owned by LV (Louis Vuitton), a French fashion house and luxury retail company.
Are Tag Heuer watches worth it?
Complications
Tag Heuer is known to design and manufacture watches that are simple. Meaning, without much complications such as moon phase and day date complication.
A common misconception is that watches with more complications are more worth it and they may likely to appreciate over time. This is certainly not true when it comes to watch brand like Tag Heuer which has built its reputation and popularity since 1860s.
Reputation
Despite Tag Heuer’s lack of complications in its watches, the watch brand is able to establish itself as a desirable and luxury watch brand.
Tag Heuer has always been known to keep its image as a luxury brand with innovative spirit and has long-standing connection with the Olympics and celebrities’ endorsement.
Whether if Tag Heuer watches are worth it is still rather subjective because some may think that Tag Heuer is after all just a fashion brand that marks up the prices of its timepieces to support its marketing strategies.
Worth it?
In our honest opinion, Tag Heuer is not worth it because it uses movements that can be found in common watches. ETA movements are almost used in almost every of Tag Heuer watch and don’t get me wrong, ETA movements are reliable and modern but for the price point which you will be paying for a Tag Heuer watch, we just don’t find it reasonable.
Alternatives
We would recommend you Tissot watches if you like to get a watch of a similar quality and movement as Tag Heuer but at a fraction of the price.
Why Tag Heuer is sold at such high price point is because of its aggressive stance towards its marketing strategy. Tag Heuer’s marketing strategy is effective on people who have little to no knowledge of watches and buy a Tag Heuer watch thinking it is a high value watch.
However…
There are always two-sides of a coin, one may find Tag Heuer watch to be highly valued because of certain celebrity endorsement. For example, my brother got himself a CAZ1113.FC8189 Tag Heuer watch which was endorsed by Cristino Ronaldo.
Where are Tag Heuer watches made?
Tag Heuer watches are assembled in Switzerland. Even though Tag Heuer is Swiss made, the components of the watch comes from variety of sources – For example, its movement are mostly ETA and even one of its in-house movement is based on Seiko Caliber 1887.
Tag Heuer has even admitted that the deal to use parts from Seiko would not hurt its ‘Swiss made’ image but watch enthusiasts all around the world think otherwise. Even though Tag Heuer’s in-house movement do exist, it is not commonly used in its watches.
Watchmaking is complicated and the brand Swiss made is often highly regard as the benchmark of high horology craftsmanship. But with Swiss brands like Tag Heuer assembling watches with parts from Asian sources, wouldn’t it make sense to simply buy a Seiko watch as a fraction of the price instead?
Unless, the extra money is spent for the brand and to impress others. Watch for thoughts guys.
Are Tag Heuer watches good?
Tag Heuer typically uses simple and cheap ETA movements on their watches. Even though ETA movements are known to be reliable and modern, Tag Heuer watches often need regular servicing and repairs, especially on its quartz movement watch. Servicing and repairs on Tag Heuer watches don’t come cheap either. If you are thinking of getting one, do save aside money to maintain it.
As for the name Tag Heuer, people buy it because of the brand and status symbol, but it is something a watch enthusiast like me would avoid.
But there are a couple of Tag Heuer watches which I personally like because of its design, and one of them is the Monaco V4, it features the world’s first belt-driven tourbillion.
Do Tag Heuer watches hold their value?
Generally, Tag Heuer watches do not hold their value. However, there are exceptions on a few of the vintage timepieces like the Heuer Autavia or Monaco. These vintage timepieces in mint condition are not only rare but also highly sought for.
When it comes to Swiss watch brands, most of them do not hold their value and will lose value over time. There are however a few reliable exceptions such as brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe, which we have observed on some models, the prices appreciates over time and some rare models are even put up for auction.
A point to note is that Tag Heuer watches are often on huge discount and it can be tempting to get your hands on one – But, I wouldn’t pay $2,000 on a generic Tag Heuer watch that has a $200 ETA movement in it.
Is Tag Heuer considered a luxury watch?
With the aggressive and efficient marketing strategies, Tag Heuer aims to be a luxury watch brand. And nobody can deny that Tag Heuer has outdone its counterparts in the field of marketing. However, the root of horology as the centre of focus in the watchmaking industry can be said to be lost since French fashion house Louis Vuitton took over Tag Heuer.
Many would still consider Tag Heuer to be a luxury watch because of its expensive price tag and numerous media endorsement to boost its popularity.
Sadly, when it comes to reliability and value of Tag Heuer watches, it is a different story altogether.