All in Good Time

During the filming of Le Mans, Steve McQueen’s pet project of 1971, the thrill-seeking star obsessed over every detail, from the amount of dirt on the tires of his Porsche 917K to the cut and fit of his racing gear. His exacting standards were reflected in his choice of wristwatch, the unmistakably square Monaco Chronograph from Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer. The Monaco pretty much sums up the pioneering spirit of TAG Heuer—launched in 1969, the watch was the first-ever automatic chronograph, just one in a long series of innovations from the company that was founded in the Swiss Mountains in 1860 and has been at the forefront of horologic technology ever since. Today, TAG Heuer is a globally revered luxury brand, offering Silmo d’Or award-winning eyewear and sleek cell phones alongside its collection of watches. Synonymous with major sporting events, its flawless timing devices and speed traps won it timekeeping authority in numerous Olympic games, the Indianapolis 500 and its 25-year strong partnership with the McLaren team at Formula One. To celebrate TAG Heuer’s 150 years of innovation, we present a series of era-defining pictures from the watchmaker’s extensive archives, a selection of which have been compiled in a new book from Assouline.