REACHING FOR THE MOON

TAG HEUER’S STORY with space exploration goes back as early as 1962, when American astronaut John Glenn, wearing a Heuer 2915A stopwatch, piloted the Friendship 7 spacecraft to complete a successful three-orbit mission around the Earth. At Baselworld 2018, the avant-garde Swiss watchmaker, together with China’s Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), of which TAG Heuer has been the official timekeeper and strategic partner since 2016, held a science fair focused on aerospace, highlighting in particular the magnificent achievements of China.

A lion dance performance wowed visitors to the science fair, where Jade Rabbit, China’s first lunar rover, and Long March 5, China’s large cryogenic liquid launch vehicle, were on display, attracting a lot of attention from the media and the public. Meanwhile, TAG Heuer unveiled two special edition watches, designed to pay tribute to CLEP̶Carrera Heuer 01 CLEP Special Edition, limited to 100 pieces, and a sporty Aquaracer Calibre 5 Automatic, both engraved with “Official CLEP Watch”.

“The brand spirit of TAG Heuer, #DontCrackUnderPressure, reflects the progressive spirit of Chinese astronauts in making breakthroughs and pursuing excellence. We are delighted to collaborate with such an outstanding brand,” said XuXingli, general manager at Chang’E Aerospace Technology. At the event, Xu was joined by Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer; and Zuo Wei, researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and deputy chief designer of CLEP Ground Application System. CLEP targets to implement Chang’e-5 mission in 2019 and achieve the lunar surface sampling return with an unmanned lunar orbital rendezvous and docking mode for the first time in the world.