SAVOIR FAIRE The Many Faces of the Connected Calibre E4

They say that true beauty is on the inside. Here at our TAG Heuer, we know that beauty exists both inside and out. From the very first glow of an idea to its final, perfected form, our expert teams consider every single detail. And when it comes to our Connected watches, the required savoir-faire spans watchmaking, digital technology, UX design and more. We sat down with our mastermind designers to discover the magic behind the watch faces of the new TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4. Join us as we dive in.

Our 4th generation of smart watches, the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 incarnates our Maison’s spirit of innovation, of pushing past what’s possible. And the watch faces available for this edition are more advanced than ever before, ranging from static options like a more traditional chronograph to a “Wellness” face that monitors your personal stats. The digitally animated “Riverside” option, with a dynamic design that morphs in real time, provides an immersive, avant-garde experience that’s like wearing a digital artwork on your wrist.

From an initial idea to a finished design, we’re talking about 150 hours of work to create a single watch face. Of course, this number depends upon the watch face’s level of interactivity (including customization, complications, animation etc.) and aesthetic complexity. During the process, our designers and developers may go through over 100 iterations of each watch face. Thanks to our advanced tools, integrating variations into designs can happen quickly. Although, since most of our watch faces feature various options for customization, the design phase, especially when taking into account a smooth user experience, can also add complexity.

Behind each watch face is a small group. It all begins with some artistic direction and then opens up to our developers, each one contributing their own expertise. The collaboration brings together skilled specialists from our creative direction, UX design, development, and QA analysis teams.

The specific creative process depends on the specific watch face and the original concept. A research phase generally kicks off the process, to understand and deepen the brand’s history and aesthetic codes. And then? A simple sketch on paper before getting more technical on a computer. Studies of color and materials are essential in the creation of rich, textured watch faces that match our cases and straps.

For the launch of the Calibre E4, our teams aimed to bring a certain level of elegance to a design that had previously been sporty and high tech. Most people wear these timepieces to work, while they’re out spending time with friends, or enjoying a leisurely weekend. That’s why it was important to consider those situations as we designed a new set of watch faces. That’s how our teams came up with more sophisticated, minimalist designs, like the dynamic “Riverside” watch face.

Of course, no design process is perfectly smooth, even if the end result is, especially when you’re entering uncharted territory. Here at TAG Heuer, this design process required some extra activation energy to make sure the whole team was united in the new approach. That included involving some beta testers to ensure that we were headed in the right direction.  Always in service of our users, the Maison’s teams were able to find a new design universe—one that is more elegant, more mature—that delights Connected watch wearers around the world.

With these Calibre E4 watch faces, our expert design and development teams have not only given us totally new looks, they have also given us optimized functionalities and advanced complications. The watch face functions are richer, more coherent and precise.

Wearers will not only enjoy the new designs, they will appreciate new features that track Wellness, Steps, Live Weather and Heart Rate. They will also benefit from a range of customizable modular workouts—complete with impressive animation on the watch face. And this is only the beginning. Updates and enrichments are already planned.

As for what’s coming next, well, visit tagheuer.com to stay up to date.

To learn more about the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4, visit magazine.tagheuer.com