A Swiss tourbillon chronograph for 14,900 Swiss francs! Who would dare?

Photos of the watch had pride of place at the TAG Heuer stand yet, somewhat surprisingly, the object has gone unnoticed until now. Of course, Jean-Claude Biver had other priorities in his Baselworld announcement schedule, but this is a real grenade that TAG Heuer is preparing to launch at the end of the year. The forthcoming TAG Heuer tourbillon chronograph (COSC Caliber Heuer 02) featuring a modular case will be put on sale before the end of 2015 at a price of just CHF 14,900! And what’s more, this automatic movement will be produced in Chevenez, Switzerland. Jean-Claude Biver envisages selling between 500 and 1,000 models per year in around 500 of the brand’s points of sale.

To get an idea of the scale of this explosion, just remember that the majority of tourbillons (sold mostly by Fine Watchmaking brands) are put on sale at prices easily exceeding CHF 100,000 (USD 103,’600 – EUR 95,500). Nonetheless, over the past few months, several tourbillons have been sold for between CHF 60,000 and CHF 85,000 (USD 62,200/88,150 – EUR 57,300/81,200), and Baselworld 2015 is confirming this trend. However, let’s remember that it was Jaeger-LeCoultre who first made waves some 10 years ago by offering a finely manufactured tourbillon for under CHF 50,000 (USD 51,800 – EUR 47,750), which enabled the Joux Valley Manufacture to sell hundreds of them.

With this incredible exploit scheduled for October or November-the watch has not yet been produced on a large scale by TAG Heuer-the tourbillon complication is certain to take another hit. Although the finishes adorning fine watchmaking tourbillons are often what makes the difference-Chinese tourbillons have long been available for just several thousand francs-explanations and justifications in points of sale now run the risk of becoming rather convoluted. This will be a definitive downgrade for the tourbillon in the hierarchy of complications. As although the tourbillon complication is iconic-it is not an additional function, but has the advantage of being constantly visible and moving-it is no more complex than a chronograph, which is itself largely underestimated.

The reality of the market

TAG Heuer will be the first renowned Swiss brand to offer its own COSC tourbillon chronograph movement for under CHF 15,000. This inevitably raises questions in the watchmaking world, which doesn’t seem to understand the move. Jean-Claude Biver refutes any notions of provocation, and highlights the need to continue operations at the Chevenez factory and protect the jobs of the qualified watchmakers working in Fine Watchmaking. He also intends to demonstrate TAG Heuer’s expertise and mastery in chronometry, as this tourbillon chronograph will be a COSC-certified chronometer. As for the price, Jean-Claude Biver maintains that it corresponds “to the current market reality and not to the dreams of watchmakers 20 years ago.” To support his demonstration, he alludes to the work of Montblanc, who also has no prior experience in certain types of complications, and who is entering the market with extremely aggressive prices.

As far as TAG Heuer is concerned, between 500 and 1,000 tourbillon chronographs are supposed to leave Chevenez each year-enough to deliver the final blow to a long overestimated complication on which buyers of higher price ranges are now turning their backs. It’s also easy to imagine that in Jean-Claude Biver’s mind, this launch is a riposte to all those who claimed or envisaged that TAG Heuer would be leaving the Fine Watchmaking sector for good.

Article published in BIPH