TAG Heuer demonstrates its watchmaking prowess with a new timepiece representing the next generation of tourbillon watches. The manufacture movement of this new model features a carbon- composite hairspring, produced from a gas, that replaces the well-known Elinvar and silicon versions.
“This new interpretation of the TAG Heuer Carrera with its advanced in-house technology underscores our legacy in achieving watchmaking excellence and proves that we remain true to our values of performance, disruption and avant-garde,” said Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of the LVMH Watchmaking Division and CEO of TAG Heuer.
The tourbillon feature of this timepiece bridges the gap between traditional watchmaking craftsmanship and state-of-the-industry innovation. Thanks to its elaborate construction and aesthetics, the tourbillon is among the most impressive complications a watch aficionado can own – and one that only a small number of manufacturers have mastered.
A unique design
The nanoscopic (one million times smaller than a millimetre) hexagonal pattern of the hairspring’s carbon- composite material is mirrored in the design of the Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph. Aside from the carbon-composite hairspring, the most distinguishing feature of this chronometer-certified chronograph is its multilayer dial and movement combination, which features sandblasted and fine-brushed hexagons on the movement plate visible through an open-worked dial. The pattern can also be seen on the oscillating mass, which has been treated with black PVD and is visible through the sapphire caseback.
Alluding to haute horlogerie creations of the past, a bright neon green colour adorns various elements of the watch, including the aluminium bridge and the inscription on the tourbillon movement. The aluminium alloy balance wheel stands out with its white gold inserts, while SuperLuminova® markings ensure that the movement is visible day and night.
“With this new skeletonised tourbillon model in the Carrera range, we wanted to highlight TAG Heuer’s capabilities both in engineering and in the development of compelling movements,” added TAG Heuer Product Director Guy Bove. “Like its predecessors, the Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph is a force of disruption in haute horlogerie, thanks to its visually exciting blend of modern, high-tech aesthetics and precise, elegant proportions: hallmarks of the Carrera collection for over 50 years.”
A new generation of hairsprings
Known as the heart of the mechanical watch, the hairspring is the most difficult part to produce because its minute tolerances directly impact the overall precision of a timepiece. A team of TAG Heuer mathematicians, physicists and chemists are behind the creation of this newly reinvented hairspring. Not only does the carbon-composite hairspring shake up traditional watchmaking, it also improves the performance of watches fitted with the brand’s chronometer-certified movement. The Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph is the first watch to be regulated by this carbon-composite hairspring innovation.
TAG Heuer is the exclusive manufacturer of these hairsprings, which are designed and produced in its in- house laboratory in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
“The development of this world premiere has taken years, with its ambition of improving the performance and accuracy of mechanical watches,” said Guy Sémon, CEO of the TAG Heuer Institute, describing the importance of this technology. “The innovations created in the TAG Heuer Institute can be likened to a stairway, with each innovation always leading to another. The carbon-composite hairspring is a first step that will lead us to yet more in-house improvements still in the process of being developed.”
