The brand held events in San Francisco and Switzerland to introduce its Modular 45 collection of smartwatches

TAG Heuer is doubling down on smartwatches.

On Tuesday, at concurrent events in San Francisco and Switzerland, the Swiss brand unveiled a collection of smartwatches, dubbed Modular 45, that builds upon the October 2015 release of the TAG Heuer Connected watch.

“A mechanical watch will work in 1,000 years,” said Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer and president of the LVMH Group Watch Division. “But we also need to be connected to the future, and what’s the future? The connected watch.”

With hardware engineered by Intel and software powered by Google’s Android Wear 2.0, the water-resistant timepiece is designed so that the 45 mm Carrera case, lugs, straps, and buckle are all interchangeable. The core range comprises 11 different designs in either brushed titanium or black PVD, with 45 additional designs available on request, for a total of 56 design options.

“Modularity offers two things,” said Tom Foldesi, vice president of connected products and technology at TAG Heuer. “The first is choice. It allows customers flexibility. The second benefit: It provides a seamless bridge to our traditional timepieces.”

​Foldesi said the Modular 45 collection includes two mechanical modules: Calibre 5, a three-hand chronograph, and the Tourbillon Heuer 02-T, both fully compatible with any element of the collection. He also emphasized the watch’s Swiss-made pedigree: The final assembly of the timepiece takes place at TAG Heuer’s manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The retail entry price for the Modular 45 collection—which features NFC, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi connectivity and comes with a companion app as well as a wide selection of unlimited customizable TAG Heuer dials—is $1,650 for a watch encased in titanium; the most expensive piece contains diamonds on the bezel and lugs and retails for $6,750. The watches are now available for purchase at TAG Heuer boutiques, through select retailers, and on the brand’s web store.

(Pictured: timepieces from TAG Heuer’s Modular 45 collection)

Victoria Gomelsky

JCK Editor-in-Chief