Time has always been a human obsession. We measure it, chase it, and try to trap it between routines and moments. But in watchmaking, it becomes something more: a gesture of beauty. Inside TAG Heuer’s workshops, beauty is translated into matter, precision, and emotion. It’s a different language—more technical, more artisanal—that reveals that the most beautiful thing about time is not its passing, but the way we inhabit it.
In an exclusive conversation with Laurent Kervyn de Meerendré, Group Product Manager at TAG Heuer, Topics That Transform explores how watchmaking can also be an expression of beauty. One that isn’t shown literally but built quietly, with precision and talent. In his words, technique becomes an aesthetic language, and time, the most artisanal gesture of luxury.
Author: aNDREA BAU
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
Beauty as a Measure of Time
In the world of watchmaking, every millimeter matters. But at TAG Heuer, precision goes beyond the mechanism, it becomes an aesthetic language. For Laurent Kervyn de Meerendré, watchmaking is a silent art, where beauty is built with precision and patience.
TTT: Watchmaking has always been synonymous with precision. However, when you talk about it, there’s an emotional undertone. Where does beauty lie within such a technical universe?
Laurent Kervyn de Meerendré: Beauty in watchmaking can be found in many ways. It exists in design, of course, but also in mechanics. At TAG Heuer, we work with different collections that express different values of time: strength, resilience, elegance, speed. For me, the most fascinating moment is when you turn a watch over and see its interior. Watching the movement in action—every detail, every engraving—makes you understand that true beauty lies in the savoir-faire, in the knowledge passed down through generations.
TTT: What would you say is the most beautiful gesture of time?
LKM: Probably, to dedicate it. Time is the most valuable thing we have; we can give it away, but never get it back. That’s its magic and its paradox. I think that’s why a watch holds such symbolic value: it measures moments but also emotions. There are people who buy a piece to commemorate something important, and in doing so, they transform an object into a memory.
TTT: Today, luxury is understood differently. It’s no longer just about materials, but about intention. How do you interpret that at TAG Heuer?
LKM: In the past, luxury was about status. Now it’s more about purpose. People want to understand what’s behind what they wear—who made it, how long it took, what story it carries. In that sense, watches have become more personal. They don’t shout “look at me”; they accompany you. The same goes for design: the finishes, the materials, the complexity of a movement… every detail is made to last. That’s true luxury.
The passage of time also transforms aesthetics. In contemporary watchmaking, perfection is no longer a static ideal but a dialogue between tradition and modernity. TAG Heuer embraces this evolution through livelier materials and designs that age with grace. In the end, it creates watches that become more beautiful with—pardon the lovely redundancy—the passage of time.
at TAG Heuer, precision goes beyond the mechanism, it becomes an aesthetic language.
The New Generation of Time
TAG Heuer’s return to the Salón Internacional Alta Relojería (SIAR) marks more than just a presentation—it symbolizes a new chapter in how the brand understands time. Ten years after its last participation, TAG Heuer returns to Mexico with a trilogy that merges precision, heritage, and contemporary audacity.
“They are all part of the Carrera Extreme Sport family, a line deeply connected to TAG Heuer’s automotive DNA. The name itself comes from the Carrera Panamericana, that legendary race from the 1950s. Each piece carries some of that adrenaline: the energy of movement, the speed, the emotion,” explains Kervyn as he introduces the brand’s new models: the Carrera Chronograph GMT Extreme Sport, the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport F1 75th Anniversary, and the Carrera Extreme Sport Lucha Libre Special Edition.
The first represents the duality of the modern traveler: rooted in one place yet living across several time zones. Its GMT complication allows the wearer to read two time zones simultaneously. “The upper half of the bezel, in black, represents night, and the lower half, in TAG Heuer’s signature green, represents day. It’s designed to accompany the contemporary traveler—someone constantly in motion. It turns the act of checking the time into a gesture of connection.” In Kervyn’s words, the GMT becomes a metaphor for modern life: a reminder that time doesn’t always move in one direction, but beauty lies in learning to follow its rhythm.
By contrast, the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport F1 75th Anniversary celebrates precision in its most competitive form. It commemorates both the 75th anniversary of Formula 1 and TAG Heuer’s return as the competition’s official timekeeper. “Each watch is numbered with a different year, from 1950 to 2025,” Kervyn explains. “That way, every piece becomes a time capsule: a tribute to the history of motorsport and those who have defined its speed.”
On the bezel, the F1 logo and the number 75 serve as a nod to the time shared between the brand and the sport. “TAG Heuer’s relationship with Formula 1 is almost sentimental,” says Kervyn. “We were there at the very beginning, with drivers who made history. Today we return not just to measure speed, but to celebrate it.” A comeback that also carries a certain beauty. “F1 is pure emotion—the sound, the tension, the adrenaline,” he adds. “Our work is to capture that energy in a silent object. That’s the fascinating part of watchmaking: turning movement into memory.”
TAG Heuer and Its Legacy in Mexico
Among the three new releases, one beats differently. With a black chronograph accented in vibrant pink and deep green, a bezel engraved with the country’s name, and a luchador mask on its dial, we find the Carrera Extreme Sport Lucha Libre Special Edition: a piece created exclusively for Mexico. Limited to just 25 pieces, it pays homage to the country’s culture through a mix of color, symbolism, and pride.
“We wanted it to be an authentic collaboration, not an outside interpretation,” says Kervyn. “We worked very closely with the local team to create something real and soulful. Lucha libre represents strength, energy, and theatricality—everything that makes Mexican culture unique. This watch doesn’t seek to copy but to converse: to combine Swiss precision with Mexican passion.”
Epilogue
In Kervyn’s words, time is the most valuable thing we have. We can give it away, but never get it back. Perhaps that’s why, at TAG Heuer, every watch seeks to capture it without stopping it. Because in the end, beauty doesn’t lie in freezing time, but in learning to live within it.
