Tag Heuer and Notable Celebrities Kick Off Labor Day at 'Odyssey of Pioneers' in the Hamptons

AMAGANSETT, N.Y., Sept. 3  /PRNewswire/ -- Stars of television, the music industry and catwalk came out last night to celebrate TAG Heuer's "Odyssey of Pioneers" at an exclusive cocktail party hosted by the luxury Swiss watch brand.  The invitation-only event – held at a private estate – drew Golden Globe, Emmy and Tony award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker, Grammy nominated R&B singer Maxwell, Ed Westwick, star of the hit TV show "Gossip Girls," supermodel Hilary Rhoda, New York social influencer and philanthropist Cornelia Guest and musician Charlie Mars.  Renaud Dutreil, Chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., Jack Heuer, Honorary Chairman of TAG Heuer, Jean-Christophe Babin, TAG Heuer Worldwide President and CEO, and Ulrich Wohn, President and CEO of TAG Heuer North America, also were among the guests.

The party was part of TAG Heuer's year-long celebration of its 150th anniversary. In recognition of this milestone, the brand joined forces with Tesla Motors Inc., the legendary electric sports car company, to create the one-of-a-kind TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster. This fully electric, emissions-free car is outfitted with a Heuer limited-edition one-fifth second stopwatch and a TAG Heuer Meridiist communications device. Additionally, a special console houses the ground-breaking TAG Heuer Pendulum Concept, a timepiece operated by the world's first magnetic oscillator without a hairspring.

"The Odyssey of Pioneers was a dream: the first world tour of a fully electric GT car, leading a mythical exhibition of our very best watches and chronographs," said Babin during his welcoming remarks to guests. "Now that the journey will soon reach its end, the dream becomes a reality."

During the event, guests enjoyed cocktails, including Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, and previewed an exhibition of key historical and current TAG Heuer product that underscores the brand's passion for revolutionizing timekeeping. Highlights include: the Time of Trip (first dashboard chronograph), the Mikrograph (first stopwatch accurate to 1/100th of a second), the Monaco (first-ever self-winding automatic chronograph with micro rotor), the Monaco V4 (world's first patented belt-driven watch movement) and the Carrera Calibre 1887 Chronograph (first TAG Heuer watch to be powered by the brand's new Calibre 1887 chronograph movement). The TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster also was on display for guests to admire.

The Amagansett, NY-based event marked the 13th major stop the TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster has made worldwide.  In March 2010, TAG Heuer brand ambassador and Academy Award-nominated actor Leonardo DiCaprio kicked off the car's round-the-world, six-month "Odyssey" in Basel, Switzerland. Since then, the TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster has visited Monaco, the Great Wall of China and India, where Prince Albert, actor Chen Dao Ming and the Maharaja of India, respectively, drove it.

Brand ambassador and tennis champion Maria Sharapova welcomed the TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster when it arrived in the U.S. in early July, and drove it along the streets of Manhattan Beach, Calif. Throughout the summer, the car was driven cross-country and stopped in cities nationwide, including Malibu, Calif., where TAG Heuer hosted a cocktail reception with "Twilight" star Kellan Lutz, "True Blood" leading actor Joe Manganiello, Johnny Galecki of "Big Bang Theory", and Tim Daly of "Private Practice."

The TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster will travel to London and then Paris for the final leg of its global journey. At the Odyssey's completion, the car will have traveled more than 25,000 miles over three continents.  Follow the Odyssey at http://odyssey.tagheuer.com.

TAG Heuer Celebrates 150 Years of Watchmaking Innovation

The year 2010 marks TAG Heuer's 150th anniversary – a milestone that celebrates the brand's evolution from a small workshop in the Swiss Jura Mountains to its status today as a leader in the luxury watch market. Since its inception, TAG Heuer has demonstrated a passion for accurately measuring even the smallest increment of time. It is the only watchmaker to develop a mechanical automatic chronograph movement that displays 1/10th and 1/100th of a second, as well as the only brand to capture 1/10,000th of a second. The brand's 150-year legacy is peppered with displays of engineering prowess, including the world's first oscillating pinion, patented in 1887, and the recently launched Monaco V4, which features a double-patented belt-driven movement that shatters the basic tenets of how a watch keeps time.  Through a constant pursuit of excellence and innovation, TAG Heuer creates timepieces that are a defining symbol of state-of-the-art originality.

About TAG Heuer

TAG Heuer, the leader in prestigious sports watches and chronographs since 1860, is one of the largest and fastest growing luxury Swiss watch Brands. The Swiss watch making legend draws upon its active engagement in the world of sports to create the most accurate measuring instruments and sports watches in the world.  TAG Heuer is today the first watchmaker ever to master luxurious Chronographs with an unsurpassed precision of 1/10th, 1/100th and 1/1,000th of a second.  From the Olympic Games in the 1920s to its role as official timekeeper to within 1/10,000th of a second for the legendary Indy 500, TAG Heuer, in a constant quest for innovation, excellence, performance and prestige, continues  to  aim ever higher, as reflected in its partnerships with Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in Formula 1 and its two aces: Fernando Alonso, youngest ever and already two times Formula 1 world champion and Lewis Hamilton, GP2 world Champion in 2006. With two times Formula 1 world vice-champion and Scuderia Ferrari F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen,  with world number 1 golfer Tiger Woods and WTA number 1 tennis player Maria Sharapova, Champcar four-time world champion Sebastien Bourdais, promising talent Bruno Senna as well as Hollywood and Bollywood icons Leonardo DiCaprio and Shah Rukh Khan, TAG Heuer more than ever epitomizes Sport and Glamour !

About Tesla

Tesla's goal is to produce increasingly affordable electric cars to mainstream buyers – relentlessly driving down the cost of EVs. Palo Alto, CA-based Tesla has delivered more than 1200 Roadsters to customers in North America, Europe and Asia. Tesla designs and manufactures EVs and EV powertrain components. It is currently the only automaker in the U.S. that builds and sells highway-capable EVs in serial production. The Tesla Roadster accelerates faster than most sports cars yet produces no emissions. Tesla Service Rangers make house calls to service Roadster.

SOURCE TAG Heuer