There have been several high-end Swiss watchmakers who have been largely dismissive about smartwatches, like the upcoming Apple Watch, believing that there will always be a need for high-end classic timepieces. To a certain extent we can agree with that thinking, but given that the smartwatch industry is still fairly young, it’s hard to say if this is the way of the future or if it could eventually fall by the wayside as yet another trend (think glasses-free 3D smartphones).
That being said, it seems that TAG Heuer has had a change of heart regarding its stance on smartwatches and according to a recent report from Reuters, the company has announced that they will be producing a smartwatch of their own.
According to LVMH’s watch chief Jean-Claude Biver, “We started on the project about four months ago. We have done several partnerships and might also do acquisitions.” However when pressed to see if companies like Google or Intel might be involved or be one of LVMH’s partners, Biver declined to comment, simply stating that there were many partners involved.
However there is a small possibility that their plans could be scrapped. Biver stated that the company will only unveil the device if they believe that they have created a “first, difference, and unique” smartwatch, and that an announcement will only be made once they had a quality product on their hands which could only happen in late 2015.
Either way this is an exciting prospect especially for luxury watch fans. It will be interesting to see how these watchmakers are able to take their knowledge, expertise, and experience and apply to it a digital and modern product.
Filed in . Read more about Smartwatch, Tag Heuer and Wearable Tech.