TAG Heuer’s rich history dates back to 1860 when 20-year-old Edouard Heuer founded the brand in Switzerland’s St-Imeir on his family farm. The company was then called Uhrenmanufaktur Heuer AG. Heuer moved the company later to Brugg in 1864 while in 1867, the company relocated to Bienne in Bern Canton, where it remained for more than 100 years.

With the company’s hallmarks being technology and innovation, a slew of inventions and patents followed. The first patent in 1869 for a keyless winding system that was crown operated, transformed the course of watchmaking. The new winding crown eliminated the need for a separate key which was used before this invention to wind a watch. Edouard Heuer and his company. continued to innovate across the areas of engineering, design, and manufacturing. 

In 1882, Edouard Heuer obtained a patent for his first chronograph while patenting the landmark ‘oscillating pinion’ in 1887. The oscillating pinion is a module that enables the chronograph to function efficiently and consists of two pinions or sprockets on which the movable shaft is mounted.After the founder’s death in 1892, his sons, Charles-Auguste and Jules-Edouard took charge of the company while patents and inventions continued unabated.

Another patent in 1911 was obtained by the Heuers for their invention called "Time of Trip", which was the first dashboard chronograph. The chronograph was designed specifically for aircraft and automobiles and had two large hands that were mounted on the centre pinion showing the time of day. On top of the dial were smaller pair of hands that denoted the trip duration. The user could set the time using the crown on the top of the dial while operating the button in the crown for starting, stopping or resetting the trip duration counter. This patent is notable as it established the longstanding relationship between airline/automobile industries and the Heuer company.