Podcast Sounds of Time: a journey inside our swiss manufactures

The sonic shuffle of a watchmaker crafting a movement. The crushing sound of a dive watch being pressure tested. The crackle of two laser-cut feet being welded onto a dial. At TAG Heuer, we think of watchmaking as a multi-sensory experience. Sure, it’s about Swiss avant-garde craftsmanship, but it is also about how our watches look, sound and feel. That’s why we’ve created Sounds of Time, a new podcast by TAG Heuer. Recorded deep inside the hallowed halls of our manufactures, the podcast takes you on an audio odyssey, through more than 160 years of savoir-faire history. It lets you experience the sounds of a TAG Heuer watch being brought to life. 

Sounds of Time reveals the secrets behind every stage of our watchmaking process — from our dials to our movements to our cases and finally, assembly. From the heavy hum of our machines to the tiny tinkle of our watch components, the podcast will treat your ears to the wonderful intricacies of watchmaking. So go on, tune into Sounds of Time.

In the first episode, we take you to Tramelan, nestled within the Bernese Jura region. It’s home to ArteCad, our TAG Heuer dial manufacture. Listen to the sounds of our watchmakers as they use special dial-making tools to animate and breathe life into one of the most vital components of a TAG Heuer watch.

Snippet from Part 1: ‘The dial is the face of a watch. Something you will see for decades. That’s why making a dial is a labor of love. It requires great care and attention to detail.’

This time we visit the little Swiss village of Chevenez. This is where our TAG Heuer movement manufacture powers the innovation behind our watches. From imagining new movements to adapting existing ones, a lot of watchmaking magic happens here. Listen to how our movements are crafted, from start to finish. Go on, put your ears through the microscope.

Snippet from Part 2: ‘Enter the slick halls of the building designed to allow for maximum sunlight. Soak in the sounds of our expert watchmakers buzzing busily around intricate and sophisticated machinery. It is here that our movements are crafted from start to finish. Having a cutting edge facility like this enables us to keep a close eye on quality control so we can develop innovations like the new TH20-00.’

In this episode we’re off to Cornol, a district in north-west Switzerland. Here amidst the picturesque hiking routes lies the home of TAG Heuer’s case-making company. From machining to testing, tune into the different stages of the making of a TAG Heuer case.

Snippet from Part 3: ‘A watch case protects the dial and movement from the elements. Think of it as a house that shelters everything inside it.’

Finally, we arrive at the TAG Heuer factory in La Chaux-de-fonds. This is where all the different watch parts are delivered for assembly. Remember the cases, the dials and the movements from our manufactures? Well, this is where they come together. 

Snippet from Part 4: ‘Our watchmakers take up this space. They’re not just highly-skilled; they’re multi-skilled. Most assemblers work silently with their eyeglasses on. Others exchange notes. Everything moves like clockwork.’

If you’d like to listen to more fascinating podcasts by TAG Heuer, subscribe to The Edge and A Matter of Time. 

And if you’d like to learn more about our savoir-faire, head over to The Edge, a magazine by TAG Heuer.