Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TIME AND SPACE
Tag Heuer changes tune, now looking at smartwatches
by Staff Writers
La Chaux-De-Fonds, Switzerland (AFP) Dec 16, 2014


Barely a few months after dismissing Apple's smartwatch, the new chief executive of luxury Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer conceded Tuesday that such a hi-tech gadget might after all have a place in his firm's line-up.

"Initially, we were all a bit reticent," Jean-Claude Biver told reporters in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Swiss city at the centre of the watchmaking industry.

But he insisted that any new technology would not dilute the company's reputation for making luxury goods that last.

"We will only make smartwatches if we are the best, different and unique," he said.

Biver, an industry legend who leads the watch division of Tag Heuer's owners LVMH, was appointed to head the Swiss brand on an interim basis last week following the departure of Stephane Linder.

He refused to divulge what Tag Heuer was planning, but said it would divide its research and development department so that one side could focus on technological innovation.

Any smartwatch would have to be developed through a partnership, perhaps with a university or a specialist firm.

Company vice-president Guy Semon would not be drawn on whether such a project might include a deal with a big US technology groups such as Google or Intel.

"We're casting a wide net and looking at very big companies," said Semon, who was formerly head of Tag Heuer's research and development.

He added that he viewed smartwatches as a bigger challenge than the introduction of quartz watches in the 1970s, a development which plunged Swiss watchmaking into a major crisis.

Tag Heuer is already undergoing changes. In September, the company laid off 46 Swiss employees and another 49 had their contracts suspended because of sluggish sales.

The firm said it wanted to concentrate on its core business, scrapping products such as telephones and accessories, although maintaining its line of sunglasses.

When the Apple Watch was unveiled in September, Biver insisted it would have no impact on the high end of the watch industry.

"Luxury is eternal, it is perennial. It is not something that becomes worthless after five years," he had said.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Understanding Time and Space






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





TIME AND SPACE
ESA and Omega: a watch for astronauts
Paris (ESA) Dec 15, 2014
Swiss watchmaker Omega has announced a new version of its historic space watch, tested and qualified with ESA's help and drawing on an invention of ESA astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy. Jean-Francois flew in space three times in the 1990s and began thinking how to improve the wristwatches he wore on his missions. ESA filed a patent based on his ideas for a timepiece that helps astronauts to ... read more


TIME AND SPACE
Moon Express testing compact lunar lander at Kennedy

UK Plans to Drill Into Moon, Explore Feasibility of Manned Base

Carnegie Mellon Unveils Lunar Rover "Andy"

Why we should mine the moon

TIME AND SPACE
Signs of Ancient Mars Lakes and Quakes Seen in New Map

Opportunity In No-Flash Mode: Kludge Ready To Radiate

Spike seen in methane on Mars, but source unknown

Mars Mountain was All Wet

TIME AND SPACE
NASA Voyager: 'Tsunami Wave' Still Flies Through Interstellar Space

Sarah Brightman to Begin Training in January for Flight to ISS

Russia, US to Cooperate on Orion Spacecraft Modernization

Estimated Cost of 3 NASA Exploration Programs to Exceed $21 Billion: GAO

TIME AND SPACE
China's Long March puts satellite in orbit on 200th launch

Countdown to China's new space programs begins

China develops new rocket for manned moon mission: media

Service module of China's returned lunar orbiter reaches L2 point

TIME AND SPACE
Boeing Covers Groundwork in Second Milestone For Commercial Crew

Orbital says it will complete ISS deliveries by end of 2016

OPALS: Light Beams Let Data Rates Soar

ATV views Space Station as never before

TIME AND SPACE
2015 to be a busy year, says ISRO chief

SpaceX Soon To Try Landing First Stage on Floating Platform

ILS Proton launches Yamal-401 satellite marking 400th Proton mission

Russia launches Yamal-401 communication satellite

TIME AND SPACE
Astronomers spot Pluto-size objects swarming about young sun

Observing Solar System Worlds as if They Were Distant Exoplanets

Finding infant earths and potential life just got easier

Queen's scientist leads study of 'Super-Earth'

TIME AND SPACE
GaN-based LEDs in harsh radiation environments

Squid supplies blueprint for printable thermoplastics

Exelis providing radar signal simulators to Air Force

Bioplastic -- greener than ever




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.