PARIS, March 23 /PRNewswire/ --

The MERIDIIST, the first luxury phone created by watchmaker TAG Heuer, enters a completely new dimension with the worldwide launch of its official website: www.tagheuer.com/meridiist.

The global launch of the website www.tagheuer.com/meridiist precedes BASELWORLD, the World Watch and Jewellery Show that starts March 26th 2009 and during which the most recent MERIDIIST collections are to be presented as a preview.

Truly representing the performance of the MERIDIIST, the website highlights the sleek design and key features of this exceptional luxury phone through images and animated content intended to reflect the TAG Heuer universe of luxury, sports and masculinity.

Following an exclusive two month presentation for VIP clients, the website www.tagheuer.com/meridiist now enables the general public to discover the MERIDIIST as well as other available collections and allows customers to find the closest retail location by country. One section of the website is specially dedicated to preorders and enables customers to reserve the model of their choice without any financial obligation by completing a simple form that is automatically forwarded to the appropriate store.

The showcased MERIDIIST collection consists of seven models, all made of 316L stainless steel yet offering different kinds of keyboard finishing. A range of colors and materials (genuine calfskin leather, rubber and alligator skin) is available to customize the back of the phone and provides clients with the ultimate opportunity to design their phones according to their most luxurious tastes. Prices range from euro 3400 to euro 4500, although some diamond-finished models with prices starting at euro 8500 are already on the horizon.

The successive MERIDIIST launches that have started last August within a selected international distribution network in London, Paris, Geneva, New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore have been particularly impressive and herald a true success story for the Swiss brand that is the world leader in prestigious chronograph timepieces.

The success of MERIDIIST surpasses our keenest expectations and manifests itself in the rapidly growing luxury telephone category. This bears witness to the phone's incredible attractiveness: a subtle combination of performance with its autonomy of 28 days of stand-by time and attractive design based on precious materials such as stainless steel and sapphire crystal. Customers are in search of an object of differentiation and the MERIDIIST perfectly fits that mindset, says Steve Amstutz, TAG Heuer's Managing Director of Communications.

With a Web presence, we are now hoping to attract an international client base that appreciates the quality of the services we provide as well as our responsiveness, adds Steve Amstutz.

PRESS CONTACT: Sarah Garcia +33(0)1-43-12-12-04 info.meridiist@modelabs.com

About TAG Heuer

TAG Heuer, the world leader in prestigious sports watches and chronographs since 1860, is currently the flagship brand of timepieces of the world leader in luxury goods: the LVMH group. The Swiss watchmaking 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. TAG Heuer more than ever epitomizes Prestige and Performance! http://www.tagheuer.com

Sarah Garcia, +33(0)1-43-12-12-04, info.meridiist@modelabs.com