Air Canada x TAG Heuer

A Luxury Timepiece Designed for Travel —

Plus work, sport and leisure.

Over TAG Heuer’s 160–year history, its watchmaking innovation has travelled far and wide, from timing the Olympic Games in 1920 to producing the original dashboard stopwatch for automobile racing in 1933 and being the first Swiss watch in outer space – when American John Glenn orbited the Earth three times in 1962 wearing a TAG Heuer timepiece on top of his spacesuit. It’s no surprise that the brand’s latest smartwatch can track, time and analyze your personal athletic endeavours with ease and precision. “Sport is at the heart of TAG Heuer’s DNA,” says Frédéric Arnault, the company’s strategy and digital director. “Heuer made the first wrist chronographs to measure performance, and we’re able to honour our heritage in this way.”

The recently released third–generation TAG Heuer Connected is designed for work, leisure, sport – and, of course, travel. The stopwatch–inspired timepiece, reminiscent of the TAG Heuer Carrera, comes in 45–mm stainless steel or titanium and offers a range of per–sonalization options: five different watch faces, as well as dial preferences and colours and interchangeable bracelets. All of your daily work and travel scheduling can be handled by Google’s Wear OS, and the watch features detailed tracking tools for golf, running and cycling with its built–in GPS, heart–rate mon–itor, accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors – all connected to the company’s own proprietary apps.
 

Design
July 1, 2020
A bicyclist riding on a mountain road.
Two TAG Heuer Connected smart watches on a red background.

“Who knew a few years ago that a Swiss watch brand would be building apps entirely in–house?” says Arnault. “No other luxury watch brand has the ability to customize the digital side to match their DNA as we do.” But getting it right wasn’t an easy task, admits Arnault, who notes it was challenging to get the Paris–based team of engineers, software developers and tech specialists in sync with the watchmaking teams in Switzerland. “Both worlds had two very different ways of working – but they ultimately created this beautiful product together.”

The idea of two distinct realms coming together in a single timepiece is what appeals to Benjamin Beaufils, president of TAG Heuer North America. “Prior to having the Connected, I was always switching watches for running and for day–to–day,” he says. “Now I can transition seamlessly from monitoring my fitness and performance to utilizing the timepiece as a companion for business, travel and my daily life – all while having a true luxury watch on my wrist.” And the greatest benefit, he says, is how it helps him look at his phone less. “This is a habit I’m sure many people can take a break from.”

The hope is that all this connectivity actually gives the wearer access to a very precious resource. “Time is truly our only luxury, and one of the most complex to manage,” says Beaufils. “There are so many demands placed on our time nowadays – so, managing your schedule effectively and dedicating enough time to the activities you are passionate about is crucial. Life is about finding the right balance and making the most of every hour.”