TAG Heuer ambassador and driver Patrick Dempsey, as well as the Red Bull Racing Team joined them for a family photo with Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of the company and President of the LVMH Watches Division, to celebrate the Swiss watch brand's passion for motor racing, and its long history of involvement with the sport.

TAG Heuer and the Monaco F1 Grand Prix

From Juan Manuel Fangio to Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, the greatest motorsports champions have all played their part in the TAG Heuer legend. It's the same for all motorsport races but the highlight is the most prestigious race and one of the oldest motor races in the world: the iconic Monaco Grand Prix. At this circuit, TAG Heuer occupies its own very special place, written in the great annals of history.

The Swiss watch brand is building up the biggest number of Monaco Grand Prix winners: Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, David Coulthard, Kimi Räikkönen, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton have all been TAG Heuer ambassadors at one time or another, and have all taken the chequered flag.

To understand the bond between watchmaking and motor racing, it's TAG Heuer that you have to look to. The brand has built, consolidated and driven forward this bond to an unprecedented level of performance, with the creation of chronographs which have pushed the boundaries of chronometric accuracy – 1/10^th, 1/100^th, 1/1,000^th and 5/10,000^th of a second.

The history of TAG Heuer is closely linked with the Automobile Club de Monaco. In 1911, the ACM created the Monte-Carlo Rally, the very first motor racing event organised across Europe. The Rally was not only designed to prove that steam or petrol cars could cross Europe in the middle of winter, but also to put the spotlight on the Rally's final destination – the famous gambling capital, Monte-Carlo.

That same year, TAG Heuer unveiled the Time of Trip, the first 12-hour chronograph specially designed for car dashboards and aeroplane instrument panels. Another new development came in 1916 with the launch of the first chronograph which could measure to within 1/100^th of a second.

In 1929, the ACM was once again at the forefront of innovation when it organised for the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in motor racing history to take place in the heart of a city. 

Since 2011, TAG Heuer and the Automobile Club of Monaco have been strengthening their relationship even further by signing a historic and now all-encompassing agreement: Official Partner and Official Watch. 

TAG Heuer unveils TAG Heuer Watches at a world-exclusive launch in Monaco

• Two special editions of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Red Bull Racing Team watch, a steel quartz chronograph with either a stainless steel bracelet or a textile strap for a sportier look.

• The TAG Heuer Connected in 18K rose gold. After the huge success of the launch of the first connected watch, designed and developed by a luxury Swiss watchmaker in partnership with Intel and Google Android, the watch is once again available in a 46 mm case made from 5N 18K rose gold, and equipped with an elegant strap in a natural calf tone, sewn onto black rubber.

• And, fittingly, since we are on the coast, the newest Aquaracer 300M – for both Men and Women – will also be on display.

• Not to mention the famous Chronograph Calibre 11 Monaco, a re-release of the Heuer Monaco 1969, the square watch which made history as the first water-resistant automatic chronograph in the history of Swiss watchmaking.

Named by Jack W. Heuer after the Monaco Grand Prix in 1969, the watch broke completely with the aesthetic of traditional watchmaking. Just as innovative at the time, its technology offered perfect water resistance. However, the origins of the revolution lay inside the watch: the famous Chronomatic Calibre 11, which was the first automatic chronograph movement to go on sale in the history of Swiss watchmaking. The crown positioned to the left signified that the watch did not need winding.

Some key facts and dates in the history of TAG Heuer's involvement in motor racing

TAG Heuer is currently partnering the Red Bull Racing F1 Team, and is the founding partner and Official Timekeeper of the FIA Formula E Championship; Tag Heuer is also Official Timekeeper of the legendary Carrera Panamericana, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pike's Peak in the USA, Official Sponsor & Official Watch of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) and the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500), the FIA WTCC World Touring Car Championship endurance race, endurance racing with the Dempsey Racing team, and motorcycle racing in the Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC).

Steve McQueen and Ayrton Senna are figures with a historic link to the brand, which continues to include their images in its communications.

Monaco and China - The TAG Heuer Chinese delegation visit the Prince’s Palace

This year, China – the world’s second largest economy – has passed the symbolic threshold of 300 billionaires, according to a study published by the Hurun Research Institute, with the average wealth of the 1,000 richest Chinese standing at $1.04 billion.

Diplomatic relations between the Principality and China were opened in 1995. In 2006, the first ambassadors were appointed from both sides. Then, in 2010, the World Expo took place in Shanghai, featuring a Monaco pavilion. This was a huge boost to promote and raise the profile of Monaco in China.

Now, Monaco is hoping to make its ties with China even closer than ever. An embassy has existed since 2006, although it is not currently residential. Delegations have been organised. And most recently, in February, the first Chinese Festival in Monaco took place. It cannot be denied that Monaco hopes to seduce the world's most populous country.

To coincide with the visit, organised by TAG Heuer, of these two Chinese superstars, G.E.M. and Li Yifeng, to Monaco, the Ambassador of Monaco in China, Catherine Fautrier, invited the delegation to visit the Prince’s Palais on Friday, a sign of close relations with China.

Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer has, of course, had a presence in China since 2001-2002, and currently has 13 stores, including 3 in Hong Kong.