TAG Heuer is stepping into the smartwatch industry in a partnership with Intel and Google to hopefully crush the Apple Watch launching next month.

It's one of the first moves by the Swiss watchmaker in the smartwatch market, clearly worried that sales of its premium line will drop once customers pick-up Apple's latest gadget.

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The product hasn't been unveiled but the partnership announced on the second day of Baselworld definitely shows promise for the future. If TAG Heuer enters the market, it will kickstart the battle between tech and watchmakers.

TAG Heuer will not sell the smartwatch as a competitor to its regular watch range that costs thousands more than the typical smartwatch. TAG Heuer's chief executive Jean-Claude Biver instead sees it as an opportunity to get young people excited about watches.

"It's like haute couture and prêt-à-porter, or it is like buying a Smart car from Mercedes, or a 600S," Mr. Biver said in an interview. "The Smart car is certainly not any competition to the Mercedes 600S limousine. It's complimentary. The two can work together. You can own both."

This might mean TAG Heuer will market the smartwatch as a cheap gadget rather than a premium watch, something Apple hasn't done with its own Watch Sport and Watch.

There is clearly some work to be done by the classic watch companies to win over the new tech audience. Brands like TAG Heuer, Breitling and Movado can't rely on brand awareness alone to compete in this sector. It must win fans with design and functionality.

More popular brands like Swatch are coming into the smartwatch industry as well, but that isn't surprising since it was one of the first to jump onto digital watches. Rolex, probably the most well known watch brand, hasn't made any moves to compete.

TagsTag Heuer, Apple Watch, smartwatch, Intel, Baselworld