The Business of Watches PodcastTag Heuer CEO Antoine Pin On Carbon Hairspring Setbacks, Pricing, Tariffs, And Formula One

On this episode of The Business Of Watches Podcast, we catch up with Antoine Pin, the Chief Executive Officer of Tag Heuer, who is having quite a year. The brand is in the first season of a new decade-long deal to be the official timekeeping sponsor of Formula 1. It's a high-profile, multi-brand agreement that, if executed correctly, could launch Tag Heuer to a whole new level of visibility. But it also comes at a challenging time for the global economy and the watch industry in general, as soaring input costs, a strong Swiss franc, and U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods take a toll on margins and confidence. 

Pin tells us Tag Heuer has plenty of experience overcoming tough challenges. When the brand launched the first version of its carbon hairspring technology in 2019, there were issues. But the Tag Heuer laboratory didn't give up, and now it's back with a new version, which it says has overcome the problems. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Antoine Pin. Be sure to leave any thoughts or questions in the comments section, and we'll do our best to respond.

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Show Notes

4:10 Tag Heuer at Geneva Watch Days 

6:48 Previous issues with carbon 

9:00 New carbon spring oscillator solution

11:10 Silicon hairspring

13:00 Tag Heuer Formula 1 

15:15 Cautious production

20:00 Tag Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph (CHF 155,000) 

25:30 Tariffs and price increases