First Look: TAG Heuer at LVMH Watch Week 2023 with Frédéric Arnault

What's going on guys? Wei Koh from Revolution here with Frédéric Arnault, CEO of TAG Heuer, in sunny scenic Singapore for LVMH Watch Week. First of all, thank you for coming to our country, it's a pleasure to have you here.

Thank you. Well, it's a pleasure to have you here. Before we get started on talking about the new watches for 2023, however, I have to give you an award for a watch created last year in 2022. It is for the Aquaracer Super Diver 1000, and that watch was our best diving watch of the year. So congratulations, sir, and here you go.

Thank you. It's an absolute pleasure. You know, so the first watch I want to talk about is the watch on your wrist, the new Monza with flat skeletonized style. And you know, but what I love about this watch is I feel it's almost an extrapolation of this incredible historic carbon fiber Monaco that you did for Only Watch a couple years ago, right? Like I remember when that watch really kind of broke the internet because it demonstrated how you could take the iconography of one of the most famous, you know, most legendary watches of all time but push the story forward with incredible, groundbreaking technology. I mean, tell me first about that watch and then tell me how you feel some of that spirit is imparted in the timepiece on your wrist.

You know, I absolutely love the details of this watch. I love the skeletonization. I love the sort of tinted sapphire that you have for the two counters, the chronograph minute counter and of course the continuous seconds counter. I love the fact that the date is luminous as well, which is such a cool detail. But the overall look of the watch is phenomenal because I feel that this is going to be a super important timepiece when people look back in history. It's going to be the watch that really pushes the story forward and gives you the confidence to create watches that are wholly of the new world, wholly technology-based, wholly innovation-based, even though you're paying tribute to things that are historic. You know, tell me a little bit about that and how it represents the future of TAG Heuer.

Phenomenal. So let's go from that, which I think is a wonderful sort of glimpse into the future of the brand, to a watch that in some ways is the final chapter of another era. And that is, of course, the 60th anniversary Carrera. Now, if I'm not mistaken, this watch first of all, it is the famous Panda, it's one of the most famous references from the vintage watches. And it's such a wonderful expression of the history of the brand, but it also kind of cements a last era of this specific case. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yes.

But, uh, I won't talk about it either because I know it's under embargo. But I have the opportunity to just look at that family. And I would say, in terms of the spirit of what you've done with the Monza, there is a similarity in terms of that spirit that it just moves the story forward with incredible confidence. And it's so cool looking. So guys, that's something to look forward to as well. And let's go from that to a watch that in fact kind of combines two of my favorite things. So I remember when you launched the Aquaracer, my favorite version of it was the sandblasted titanium version, yeah, which of course I have one of those watches and I absolutely love it, with the green bezel, 43 millimeters, exactly, with the lume in two different colors to give you the diving indications and the time indications, right? And then I also love the Solargraph which you launched last year as well, which uses, enhances the power of the sun to drive this watch forward, and with this carbon bezel, absolutely. And what I really love about this is, you know, you were talking about how people have in some ways forgotten that there can be innovation related to quartz as well, right? They're to also the ethics of the future as well, which is to consume as little as possible. And when I heard that two minutes in the sun gives you enough power for one day of this watch, I find that to be remarkable. And I find that it's 15 years for a change in the battery, that I find that's remarkable as well. Tell me how this watch represents the future and kind of the best of what TAG Heuer is able to offer.

That's amazing, you know. And what I also love is how slim this watch is as well. Yeah, I mean, you're able to use the quartz technology to create a watch that is so wearable. I was just in Hawaii, you know, hiking up mountains, and I was like, I wish I had one of these on my wrist. It's absolutely perfect. I was mentioning the benefits of quartz, that's another one. Yeah, it doesn't take as much space as a mechanical watch, right, with an amazing level of quality. And so when we design, I thought, well, let's make it thinner. We can, there's no constraint on the movement like we would have on a mechanical, you know. Frederick, you gave me a hint when we were in Monaco last year. Your next Only Watch, the Only Watch submission is coming for this year. And I've had a few discussions with you, and my mind is blown. Like, I think it's going to be one of the coolest things of all time. It's going to be a type of chronograph that, you know, when I think about it, TAG Heuer should have always made and yet has never made. And that's going to be the watch that's offered for this year. Are you excited about that?

Amazing. Last thing I want to talk about is, you know, record year for TAG Heuer. Congratulations. You can feel the energy and the dynamism from this team. You have an amazing group of guys and ladies, of course. What's the secret? And you seem also to be really enjoying yourself, and maybe it's also the capacity to enjoy yourself and have fun that is resulting in such fantastic watches. Tell me, what's going on team-wise at TAG Heuer? Why are you doing so well?

No, you guys are just absolutely killing it. So bravo. Thank you for joining us here in Singapore. Congratulations on the new watches, and we can't wait to see what you have in store for us for the rest of the year, although this is already impressive.