Interview with Jean-Claude Biver

Any questions that you'd like to ask JC Biver? I'm speaking with him in 90 minutes times, so you'll have to be quick

Any plans for CH80 movement?

Any plans for more trade-in options for the Connected watch? Can early adopters trade-in for the next Connected model by paying an "upgrade" fee? Or can we have more options to choose the mechanical model of our choice while paying the difference?

When can we expected more "official" TAG Heuer or Heuer watch faces for the Connected watch? Or can we have the option to buy some online?

Any plans to resurrect the Camaro or Autavia lines as a Vintage themed models? Or can we have another Siffert edition, but this time with the Heuer logo?

Any more planned collaborations or more "birthday homages" for recently retired Jack Heuer?

Any plans for a Vintage themed Carrera that looks like either of these?


And finally, when will @D.C get his courtesy Connected watch for running such an awesome site, forum, and social media outlets that inspire and delight Heuer & TAG Heuer fans alike? 😉

Thanks @Hubert 😉

As you would expect, a fascinating call! The call was to discuss that it has been 12 months since M. Biver announced his new plans for TAG Heuer on 16 December 2014

I will put this together over the next week or so, but the two big pieces of new concern two favorites that are coming back, most likely in 2017:
1. The Autavia, as part of a heritage collection (1960s model not 1970s)
2. CH80... 😀

Oh, and you'll be pleased to know that JCB does regularly read the forum, so the feedback and opinions do get through.

More detail soon!

That's great news about the heritage collection, I love the new direction with connected/Heuer-01/02, but there is such a wealth of beautiful watches it would be great to celebrate that heritage. Time to start saving 😀

Any word on upgrading the connected for new connected?

looking forward to reading your report. I'm keen to understand what the trade-in policy is on the Connected watch; how distinctions will work between heritage ranges & new contemporary ranges (particularly in relation to the Monaco range)... The strategy around the 01 is quite easy for me to understand & I like it, I'm just looking forward to seeing more iterations and price points.

😁 Fantastic news!! Can't wait for your full report. Thanks David; good work!

The Force is strong with David.

Interview is live...enjoy!

http://www.calibre11.com/jc-biver-a-year-at-tag-heuer/

Great interview with some interesting messages. i particularly like the commentary on the watches needing to look and perform as if they were twice their price.

Really looking forward to seeing where the Heuer-01 goes, I could see myself reaching for my wallet if they release that as an aquaracer. A heritage tourbillion would be fantastic too, how about a JH-80/81 or glassbox tourbillion?

Thanks for posting the entire interview so quickly David; great job on hitting all the key points!

Will be very interesting to see the new 2016/2017 collections, especially the Heritage models, the future incarnations of the CH80, and the next Connected line.

JCB was very candid and we are certainly very appreciative to learn the details about the state of the business and how the strategy is working out.

Good work!

Some good business insights there that demonstrate there is a clear strategy, and one which will help the company be profitable. It may not be the direction everybody wants it to go, but at least it gives confidence that Tag Heuer will remain a dominant force in the market. My biggest interest is obviously in the heritage line. Autavia sounds great. Didn't see much there in terms of plans for the Carrera apart from the skeletonised models. I too would love to see something more close to the original 60s designs, perhaps in a Panda dial.

Respect. The Force Awakens.

This, on the other hand, is a magnificent modern-looking Tourbillon

Insightful read. Like all of the Heritage line, of course knowing that the Cal. 12 Monaco will be no more, love the CH80 will be made into production models outside the Heuer-02. And as expected the El-Primero will be no more, which means my Carrera 36 Flyback will become more elusive. Biver, just like in the TAG Heuer collections, wants a clear delineation of the LVMH brands from each other. TAG will not have anything Zenith, Zenith will not have anything Hublot, etc..

It's very smart of Biver to give a tourbillon in the sub $15k range. This may "shake" the rest of the swiss manufactures a bit but not much, however to be brutally honest, I see no value in tourbillon in general. It's just the latest fad that tourbillon = haute.

I tried on the Heuer-01 last week and was not all that impressed. I think it's over designed and quite illegible. The Heuer-02 is more of the same. Again, I'm probably not the demographic they are trying to attract. While I understand the marketing of trying to create clear lines and trying to attract fresh clientele, for those who really know Heuer, know the real Heuer is no more.

One thing that was very, very surprised at, was that while other manufactures such as Omega are increasing their warranties to 4 year, Rolex to 5 years, TAG still has only a two year warranty. What does that say about the quality of your product? I guess you need to buy a "higher" class of product from Zenith for that?

Very cool.

I had always assumed the tourbillon was based on the mikro formats.
It never occured to me the the CH80 could accommodate it.

I missed the chance to get some official word about a three hand movement; that would really rock the boat and anger a lot of anti-fanboys.
The last I heard was that there was one....


Any chance of some technical talks with Guy Semon in the future?

You bring up a great point. What will happen with the Mikro line? I realize it was purely a R&D line that had limited release, but a lot of money was spent on all the R&D. CH80 was the first movement out of all the R&D. I wonder what Biver will do with all the Mikro intellectual property?

I realize I sound like an pessimist, and humbugy. Sorry. But I don't like Biver. Most likely he's already given it to Hublot. Puke.

Guy, I bet, had the connected watch crammed down his throat.

My understanding is that the Mikro line won't be developed any further. Despite its technical excellence, it's hard to justify those watches that start around $25,000 (and most are double that) with an in-house Tourbillon for less than $20k.

The three-hand movement that Stephane Linder spoke of died as an idea when he left the business- have never heard it discussed since. Again, I don't an in-house 3-hand movement makes sense at the new strategy.

I like the Heuer-01 as a design, but wouldn't buy one for myself as it's too big for me and I prefer normal dials to Skeleton- let's see what they bring to Basel.

Finally, the split between "Heuer" and "TAG Heuer" is something that has been talked about for a long time- Heuer logo for the heritage style watches and then TAG Heuer for the modern collection. This of course was the pre-LVMH strategy but then when JC Babin arrived, he began to use the TAG Heuer logo on the Carrera, Monaco, Autavia and Targa Florio. When I asked him why he pointed out the cost of marketing two brands, especially an issue in China where TAG Heuer is not a well-known brand. How do you explain to that market that there are two brands? To those of us who know Heuer, it feels quite natural.

I expect that the Heritage Collection will have a retro Carrera, a Monaco, Autavia, Monza and wouldn't be surprised to see the Silverstone revived every couple of years given that there is already a case.

I could have sworn that I read somewhere that TAG Heuer was extending its warranties to three years...but can't find the article that I was reading. Maybe it's boutiques only?

The most important things I saw in the interview were Mr. Biver's comments on more sizes for the Carrera Heuer 01 and the Connected. Both are currently too big in my opinion (45mm for the Heuer 01 and 46mm for the Connected).

I would say 2016 will be marked at the Basel fair by the Connected watch, which really developed in other materials, and become a collection not just one watch. It is due to grow and it is due to get evolutions and it is due to become a real collection with different colours, with different sizes, with different functions, with different materials.

The Heuer-01 was the first shot in Basel, but the Heuer-01 has legs too. It will be some additional materials. There will be some additional bracelets. There will be some additional sizes, and there will be some additional colors.


Good also to see the Link line mentioned by Mr. Biver. But what about the Grand Carrera? I guess the Heuer 01 is now the "grand" Carrera.

Great work, DC. I can't wait to see the 1960's inspired Autavia.