Heuer has had a number of major successes throughout its history, including the development of the first mechanical stopwatch that could time to within 1/100th of a second. It didn’t take long for the name Heuer to become synonymous with precision and reliability. This led to Heuer serving as the official timekeepers of prestigious sporting events, including the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Olympic Games. A few years later, Heuer found themselves in a different kind of race: the race to develop the first automatic chronograph. They were up against competitors Seiko and Zenith. Curious to find out who won? Head over to our article celebrating the 50th anniversary of the automatic chronograph to find out.

The era that followed continues to shape the Heuer catalog to this day. Models such as the Heuer Autavia, Carrera, and Monaco began finding their ways onto the wrists of famous race car drivers, athletes, and other prominent individuals. All three are considered icons of watchmaking history. That said, this Swiss powerhouse was not immune to the quartz crisis in the 1970s and 80s. The changing industry paired with other economic factors forced the Heuer family, who had run the business for four generations, to sell to the TAG Group (Techniques d’Avant Garde) in 1985. The last Heuer family member at the helm was Edouard’s great-grandson Jack Heuer. The new owners renamed the brand TAG Heuer. The firm went public in the 1990s before being taken over by the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH in 1999. Today, the brand is run by CEO Jean-Claude Biver.