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Tag Heuer is no stranger to speed and at a recent event in Paris the famous watch and now eyewear brand revealed the lengths it goes to in putting product through its paces.

Entitled 'From endurance to F1, visual performance is essential', the event brought together two Formula 1 drivers in Kimi Raikkonen and Sébastien Bourdais, along with Team Peugeot driver Stéphane Sarrazin and Superbike rider Sébastien Gimbert. All are champion racers and involved in the development process of Tag Heuer eyewear.

Tag Heuer president Jean-Christophe Babin told attendees: 'We are honoured to have champions sitting with us. It shows how much Tag Heuer is rooted in racing and we try to be faithful to that tradition.'

The company produced early wrist chronographs for racing drivers, along with clocks that were embedded in the dashboards of racing cars. Then in the 1960s it could count Steve McQueen, a keen racer, and Swiss racing driver Jo Siffert as its brand ambassadors, used in communications.

Stepping forward in time, F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen has been a Tag Heuer ambassador for the timepieces since 2002 and more recently extended his contract to work with Tag Heuer Avant-Garde Eyewear. As a result, he recently collaborated with the eyewear designers and the fruits of that cooperation can be seen in the development of the just-launched Speedway sunglass.

The finished result, in a shape and style Raikkonen is happy with, is a lightweight alloy frame with an outer bronze coating and large, hollowed temples. The end tips are made from adherent elastomere and there is a 'Kimi' logo laser engraved on the right temple to personalise the special edition. Speedway comes with polarised Makrolon polycarbonate lenses, with multi anti-reflective layers and an oleophobic coating.

'We came up with something we like and hopefully other people will like it,' Raikkonen told the Paris audience. He explained that while he had appreciated the technology Tag Heuer used in its eyewear, he preferred a younger looking design than the typically straight-browed models.

Badin said that this advice was taken on board as they realised they had been designing eyewear for 35-45 year-olds. 'It opened our minds and made us realise that it was important to collaborate with the outside world.'

Extreme testing

Fabien de Nonancourt, general manager of Tag Heuer Avant-Garde Eyewear, added that working with world-class drivers was good for the company, and exciting, describing it as a great learning opportunity. As well as developing specific product and lenses, it enabled the company to test them out in extreme conditions.

For example, Torra Rosso driver Bourdais is the only F1 driver to wear spectacles when racing. A four-times Champcar champion in the US, Bourdais said: 'People seem to think it's bizarre that I wear spectacles. Other drivers don't understand.'

He has tried contact lenses but has worked with Tag Heuer to find the best compromise and wears his snug-fitting Reflex frame with his helmet. He added that wearing these does not create any additional risk and they are comfortable thanks to the adjustable temples.

Then there is the development of Tag Heuer Night Vision glasses alongside Team Peugeot Total (top photo), whose driver Sarrazin was on pole for May's Le Mans with a record lap averaging over 150 miles per hour. He led for the first two hours of the race, eventually finishing fifth after some difficulties with the car.

The slightly corrected lenses are AR-coated on both sides, have an oleophobic treatment and a pale yellow tint with a high light transmission rate to contrast dark blue and green surroundings without changing colour perception.

Sarrazin said that reliability and performance were important in endurance racing, as well as having acute vision. 'This year the Night Vision glasses helped us to remain concentrated and focused and to see all the detail as the track gets dirtier.' He added that the glasses particularly assisted when differentiating between patches of oil and water which are harder to see on the track at night, as well as protecting against dazzle at the end of the straight when the sun is setting. As well as being worn by the team of drivers, the Night Vision product was worn by the Peugeot mechanics. 'If you can save a few precious seconds with every pit stop through the night, that makes a big difference,' said de Nonancourt.

Tackling condensation

Superbike rider Gimbert has also been involved in the product's development and explained that when racing the Night Vision glasses help him concentrate better with less effort and he feels more rested.

'I'm also going to benefit from an anti-fog coating when I stop for refuelling, because the heat coming off the engine causes condensation,' he said.

Explaining this close cooperation with drivers, de Nonancourt said the company didn't want to be a 'covert sponsor'. 'We can learn from the drivers and see if the solution makes a difference in night traffic. There are several factors of fatigue and vision and everyone is affected by night myopia. Thirty five per cent of under-25s have vision just above the legal minimum requirement.'

He added that the development work would continue with the Night Vision product, with additional testing and improvement. Gimbert, for example, is having some of the Night Vision spectacles custom-made following tests on his night myopia.

Tag Heuer eyewear is now an established brand alongside the timepieces, and illustrating this, Badin pointed out that for every 1,000 watches sold, 500 pieces of eyewear are purchased. The eyewear has also attracted customers in their 40s to the watches, when they may not have been their first choice.

The parent company is just as demanding when it comes to eyewear as it is with its watches, said Badin, who added it has a strong determination to do better. 'Working closely with drivers who are very demanding can give rise to outstanding glasses.'

He explained that there were similarities between watchmaking, a complex procedure with testing of special mechanics and treatments that take months to develop and make, and the eyewear.

In this respect, he said eyewear was like a great watch: 'It looks simple but is complicated to make right'.

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