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Revolution Awards 2017: Lifetime Achievement — Jack Heuer, Watch Entrepreneur
News
Revolution Awards 2017: Lifetime Achievement — Jack Heuer, Watch Entrepreneur
Trained as an engineer, Jack Heuer was one of the few of that profession to join the Swiss watch industry. When he joined his family’s company in 1958, he immediately started to look for ways to make Heuer grow. In 1962, Heuer released the first product developed by Jack — the Autavia — a chronograph inspired by racing and aviation, which was a great success. Later that year, he went to the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida, where he met internationally famous Mexican race drivers Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez (AKA the Rodriguez Brothers), who at the time were racing for Ferrari. In their meeting, they told him about a legendary road race across Mexico that happened in the ’50s — the Carrera Panamericana. By the way, it is after the same race that some Porsche cars are also called Carrera. The following year, Heuer released a very honest motorsport-inspired chronograph called the Carrera, which was another great success and that marked the start of a line of great chronographs and time-only watches. Later came the now-iconic Monaco square-cased automatic and water-resistant chronograph — a first in watchmaking history. Jack Heuer was the mind behind the product placement that made the Monaco the great success it is up to this day, in the movie 24 Hours of Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen.
The great passion of Jack Heuer for racing has always been an integral part of his work and it has helped shaped TAG Heuer into what it is today. For his unremitting dedication, vision and ability to create timepieces that continue to influence and inspire even today, Revolution presents Jack Heuer with this well-deserved Lifetime Achievement award.