If Apple grabbed headlines early this year, it was left to Tag Heuer to dominate the airwaves in recent weeks with the announcement of its very own smart watch. The TAG Heuer Connected is the brand's 21st-century foray into timekeeping and more, the first watch developed by a Swiss watchmaker to feature Android Wear with Intel inside.

It was announced not in Switzerland but in New York, by Jean-Claude Biver, chief executive of Tag Heuer and president of the LVMH Group's watches division, along with Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and the director of engineering of Android at Google, David Singleton – a clue to the expertise each company brings to the watch and its intercontinental nature.