Heuer may have been young but he was a keen and immensely talented watchmaker. At age 29, he secured his first patent for a crown-operated winding system. The crown replaced a separate key required until then to wind watches, and proved to be a popular innovation. His next patented innovation improved the oscillating pinion by allowing chronographs to start and stop instantly with the use of a push-button, a concept that is still in use today.
Frédéric Arnault continues TAG Heuer’s tradition of youthful leadership in time for its 160th anniversary
Entrepreneurship may be a genetic predisposition. At TAG Heuer, it is certainly a trait inherent in the company’s DNA, stretching all the way back to founder Edouard Heuer. He was just 20 years old when he opened a watchmaking shop in 1860 at his family’s farm in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, producing mostly silver pocket watches. The business would move to Brugg under the name Edouard Heuer & Compagnie before finally settling in Bienne for over 100 years.
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