When someone talks about luxury watches, it is assumed that they will talk about Rolex. The Rolex brand has become the de facto name of luxury watches for people who use their smartphones to tell time. Within the luxury watch world, there are many brands with their qualities and cost points. It’s a vast enterprise of personal choice and priorities.
With hundreds of years behind some of the world’s top watchmakers, surely there is another to pick from for those who want to sport a luxurious watch in all opportunities. There is, though it is often overlooked by outside observers, the brand of TAG Heuer can stack up to Rolex in several ways.
TAG Heuer VS Rolex Which is Best?
When choosing a luxury watch to compare to the top watch brand in the world, one has to establish a baseline that they can share in common. The best comparisons come from a mutual beginning. First, both brands are Swiss in origin. TAG Heuer is older, being founded in 1860 whereas Rolex was founded in 1905 – in London, and was then moved to Switzerland in 1919.
Both companies pride themselves on quality, craftsmanship, and innovation. They are tradition-driven, heritage brands recognized by watch connoisseurs all over the world. However, there is no ignoring the significant lead Rolex holds in global regard. That’s where the similarities end. Everything from the design philosophy to the target enthusiasts for each brand diverges. You may know the watch you would prefer based on what qualities each has over the other.
TAG Heuer VS Rolex: Prices
To get it out of the way early, Rolex is more expensive. Even if the techniques in handling precision and design were the same, the cost of materials creates an imbalance. Rolex uses 904L steel, which is incredibly strong and resistant to all kinds of degradation and corrosion. TAG Heuer uses 316L steel, which is also very good quality, but nothing like the Rolex brand’s standalone standard. Rolex leaves no room for compromise, not even in its pricing, as it uses nothing but the highest quality materials available.
The most drastic comparison is this: the Rolex Daytona is upwards of $30,000. This is not their most expensive model, but one of a limited run with unique conditioning. The TAG Heuer Monaco is one of the most expensive watches of the brand at around $4,500. There is an entire decimal place of difference between the brands. If that were the sole factor then TAG Heuer is an easy pick because the majority of people can actually afford one. Maybe even two. Not everyone is capable of owning a Rolex, which is what keeps them special.
Tag Heuer – Most Popular Watches
The Carrera and Monaco are undoubtedly two of Tag Heuer’s most famous sports and racing chronographs. However, since the debut of these collections in the 1960s, the brand has produced several other iconic models, with the Silverstone and Monza following in the 1970s. Tag Heuer initially released the Silverstone to replace the Monaco, which nevertheless eventually returned to the brand’s catalog 20 years later (1998). Similarly, Tag Heuer first released the Monza as a limited edition of the Carrera. They continued to produce this model until 1985. After a brief hiatus, they relaunched it in the new millennium.
Into the 1980s, Tag Heuer launched the Professional, Formula 1 and Link collections, the Professional line being born during the quartz crisis. The collection was later renamed Aquaracer in 2005. 1980 was also the year that Tag Heuer established its longstanding partnership with Formula 1. Fast forward to 1986, the industry was recovering from the quartz boom and Techniques d’Avant Garde had just acquired TAG Heuer. They needed a new collection to re-establish the brand’s image, and that collection was Formula 1. A year later, they launched the Link series of watches.
The new millennium also brought the debut of three of Tag Heuer’s most popular timepieces. 2004 saw the release of the first model in their SLR collection. This was the first official watch designed by Tag Heuer in collaboration with the McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team. A year later, the Professional Collection made a comeback in the form of the Aquaracer. Then, in 2007, Tag Heuer debuted the Grand Carrera, based on the iconic Carrera collection.
Rolex – Most Popular Watches
1928 Cellini was born. This watch was a slight departure from the brand’s typical sports and tool watches. However, it helped diversify its catalog with formal watch options. A few years later, Rolex released the Bubbleback, one of the first fully functional automatic watches. Rolex eventually eliminated the model from its catalog as technology advanced. Nevertheless, it remains a collector’s favorite.
At the same time as the Datejust was released, Rolex also released the Air-King from the Air collection. Today, the Air-King is the only remaining model in the collection. 1953 saw Rolex launch the Submariner and Explorer, one of the first watches to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Three years later, Rolex introduced the Milgauss. To develop this unique anti-magnetic model, they collaborated with CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Then, in 1963, the same year Tag Heuer introduced the Carrera, Rolex launched the Daytona as its first official chronograph collection.
In the late 1960s, Rolex began to modernize and reinvent some of its most popular collections. They introduced the Sea-Dweller in 1967, which was based on the design of the Submariner but with greater functionality, and in 2008 the new Deepsea replaced the Sea-Dweller as the brand’s most rugged diver’s watch. Rolex continued the next decade with the Explorer II, which was sportier and more rugged than the original. In the late 1970s, Rolex added quartz versions of the Datejust and Day-Date to form the Oysterquartz collection. The brand’s newest model, the Oysterquartz, was released in 1983, and the Oysterquartz is now available in a variety of colors. Next, the brand re-imagined the GMT Master in 1983 with the GMT Master II. Most notably, the GMT Master II features a 24-hour GMT hand. Most notably, the GMT Master II featured a 24-hour GMT hand, which allowed you to read three different time zones.
In 1992, Rolex finally released a new line: the Yacht Master. Nearly two decades later, they continue to update the collection. The Yachtmaster II boasted two significant upgrades: it was larger and added a regatta timer. Entering the new millennium, Rolex redesigned the Datejust line in 2009, with the Datejust II being a more streamlined and modernized version of the classic model. Then, in 2012, Rolex ushered in another new collection: the Sky Dweller, which showcases the first new movement with a new complication in 20 years.
TAG Heuer VS Rolex: Precision
The essential quality of any good watch is its precision in keeping time. By now, one might assume that the science of timekeeping has been completed and there is nothing to consider when it comes to tracking the passing seconds. There is still an artistry to measuring precision.
Rolex takes extra measures to ensure the most accurate precision possible by opting for COSC certification, which is an unbiased third-party adjudicator to measures the overall accuracy of the instruments.
TAG Heuer opts out due to the increase in cost this would add to every watch, which Rolex does not need to consider.
TAG Heuer VS Rolex: Movements Calibers
The inner workings of a watch are known as “movements”, and among all the watchmakers, Rolex is the most obsessive with how they get things right. All work is done within the official, headquartered locations. Every part of every piece is made in Switzerland.
TAG Heuer is known to outsource and import specific parts that are needed to expedite the process of customization and integrating different designs. The advantage that Rolex takes from this is that their fastidious nature and traditionalism has led to many innovations such as the new standard of rotors that automatic watches continue to use, and electromagnetic interference shielding.
This historic reverence that Rolex builds its brand on means that it does not experiment with outside innovations. They don’t make digital watches, obviously, nor do they use any kind of battery. All Rolex watches are automatic – using the momentum of the wrist to power a rotor engine that winds the watch – or manual and require winding to stay precise.
Tag Heuer offers many non-mechanical watches, known as quartz watches, which are battery-powered and therefore do not run on springs like automatic and hand-wound watches. When it comes to traditional watchmaking, Rolex is superior because they are more traditional, whereas mechanical watches are considered more high-end because of the extra work required to make a mechanical movement.
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TAG Heuer VS Rolex: Prestige
Everyone thinks that all the most famous and affluent people will no doubt own a Rolex. That is not a far-out assumption. Rolex watches are indeed owned by many rich and influential people, including recording artists and billionaires. Rolex is akin to high-class jewelry, complimenting diamonds or gold bands located elsewhere in a high-cost outfit. The official ambassadors are tennis legend Roger Federer and golfing pro Tiger Woods.
TAG Heuer has a closer relationship with one particular crowd: the motorsports enthusiasts. Worn most famously by Steve McQueen while shooting the film Le Mans. This carries over in the design with watches like the Carrera matching the sleek and slick profile of the namesake car or the bright and technical Formula 1 with integrated stopwatch functions. Actors such as Ryan Gosling and Patrick Dempsey are also friends of the brand and are known for their roles behind the wheel.
TAG Heuer VS Rolex: Use Case
Owning a luxury watch is part of a pastime. It’s not just an easier and classier way to track the time while out on an excursion, it’s an entire statement about who you are. When you bring out a Rolex, it’s a talking piece. It is the beginning of a conversation, how you got it, how much and what it means to you, and what it’s for. That’s good once in a while but you may not want to have that conversation with everyone you meet. Rolex watches are durable and hardy but having that much money strapped to your wrist can feel out of place during activities like diving or socializing at a club. TAG Heuer is more of an everyday watch, with plenty of compatibility with sporting activities. You can use them both however you like, just know that people will likely talk about your driving skills rather than your watch if it’s a TAG Heuer.
TAG Heuer VS Rolex: Maintenance
TAG Heuer offers a 2-year warranty for their watches, while Rolex upped their standard two-year clause to a five-year offer. Higher value comes with a higher risk of loss or damage, so they give a greater grace period. The best way to avoid any warranty is to keep your watch maintained. TAG Heuer recommends warm water and a fine-toothed brush, without soap, for any daily cleaning. Rolex can be cleaned with soap and a microfibre cloth without issue. As good as the perpetual rotor is in a Rolex, if you don’t wear it regularly, it will tick down and you will need to wind it back up.
Automatic watch winders can keep your watch hermetically sealed and fully wound around the clock. These accessories will keep your watch precise to the very second even after weeks without wearing, without taking away from the aesthetic of the watch’s design itself. If you plan on wearing a Rolex intermittently, as a statement for special occasions but not as an everyday out-on-the-town, wear-it-to-work kind of watch, getting a winder is ideal. TAG Heuer watches that don’t use a battery also need winding. A Rolex can keep ticking for up to 3 days from being stored while a TAG Heuer can last up to 2.
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Is Rolex or Tag better?
Rolex is simply the best brand. It is the #1 most recognized brand owning as much as 50% of the global luxury watch market share. However, it is inaccessible for many folks. If price is the primary concern, Rolex is simply out of the running.
For those who have the means to get any watch at all, including a Rolex, is it worth owning a TAG Heuer? Perhaps. The image association makes the most difference.
Overall, with no limit to spending, Rolex will be the default objective in the minds of the masses. When people think rich, they think of specific brands, and Rolex is one of them. It is worth its price, historically the best watchmaker in the world. For everyone else, there’s always the Steve McQueen special.
