Tag Heuer to partner with Google, Intel to create smartwatch

Luxury Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer announced Thursday it was joining forces with technology behemoths Google and Intel to develop a smartwatch that can compete with the new Apple Watch.

The timepiece, which aims to combine Swiss watchmaking know-how with high-end technology, is expected to hit stores by the end of the year, Tag Heuer chief Jean-Claude Biver told the Baselworld watch fair.

"Silicon Valley and Switzerland are going to conquer the market of the connected watch," he told a press conference at the world's largest trade show for timepieces, in the northern Swiss city of Basel.

Biver, an industry legend who also leads the watch division of Tag Heuer's owners LVMH, did not reveal how much the watch would cost or which functions it would have.

"We don't want the competition to know what we are going to do. We want them to be surprised," he said.

In a statement, the three companies said their partnership "signifies a new era of collaboration between Swiss watchmakers and Silicon Valley, bringing together each company's respective expertise in luxury watchmaking, software and hardware."

David Singleton, head of engineering for Android Wear at Google, said the company was "thrilled" with the project, telling the news conference the companies were ready to "forge a new evolution for the luxury watch of the future."