With a keen eye on heritage and innovation, Carole Kasapi spearheads TAG Heuer’s movement strategy, aiming for longevity and quality. “We don’t want to innovate just to innovate. We want to create, of course, desirability, something totally in line with the maison, the DNA, the spirit. and propose something which makes sense. Very simple.”
Born into a family of watchmakers, her journey through the Swiss city La Chaux-de-Fonds has been marked by accolades and a passion for innovation. Unlikely to elaborate on this in conversation – it’s not her style – she’d rather talk about some of her latest creations, like the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche based on the Heuer 02 movement, with a special twist inspired by the Porsche 911. “Just as the car went from 0 to 100km/h in just 9.1 seconds, so does our second hand.” Her affinity for speed extends beyond design, evident in her personal love for Porsche. “There is a connection,” she smiles.
Yet, amidst the pulse of motorsport, she finds solace in the precision of timekeeping, exemplified by her choice of wristwatches. She’s wearing one on each wrist at the interview – the TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph for Only Watch, her first “100 percent baby for the maison” – and the new Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph in titanium, all the better to explain the ingenuity of the Rattrapante function, o ffering simultaneous time interval measurement, and the split-seconds chronograph.
More than a century ago, TAG was well known for Rattrapante stopwatches, as evidenced by archival advertisements discovered a week before the Watches & Wonders fair. “So, imagine how close we are to this complication. At the beginning of the 20th century, this was the start of international sport competitions, the beginning of car racing, and each team needed Rattrapante stopwatches. Heuer was very well known for this at that time. I don’t know why, but during the history of the maison, they never produced a wristwatch with this complication. Never. This is the very first one.” Beyond the mechanics of timepieces, she reflects on the luxury of time itself – a universal constant that transcends boundaries. Outside the maison, Carole finds joy in the simple pleasures of life, cherishing moments in her garden alongside her feline companion, Tourbillon.
