The red ring around the chronograph subdials, the red chronograph hand, and the red index points on the black background stand out like porcupines in a nudist colony. It is a well-tested graphic trick: Red on black has been used to symbolize revolution, power, danger – and it was also among the first achievable color combinations in printing.
On the TAG Heuer Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph the color combination also adds a functional element. Everything red (apart from the merely decorative stitching on the strap) symbolizes chronograph functions. Haven’t we all looked at a chronograph and taken a few seconds to decipher which subdial is what? Here you have it at a glance.
I also love that this simplicity is combined with one of the most complex challenges that a watchmaker can face: The split-seconds chronograph embodied in the new TH81-01 caliber conjured up by TAG Heuer’s master watchmaker Carole Forestier-Kasapi and the R&D department. This is the team’s first round split-seconds movement for a wrist watch – and a significant difference in shape to the TH81-00 caliber used in the square Monaco-encased version released in 2024. “In the Monaco the movement is square. So, basically, we redeveloped and reproduced the plate and all the bridges,” said Ms. Forestier-Kasapi. “But other than that, it is the same components. As the Monaco movement passed all the tests, we didn’t need to improve it – and up until now we’ve had zero returns on the Monaco. At this level of price there is no mistake,” she said of the approximately 100 pieces sold at around 110,000 CHF.
Titanium All Around
Just like the case, chronograph buttons and the crown, the movement is made of titanium. When you hear that a movement is made of titanium, this goes for the plate and the bridges. The rest of the 350+ components are made of “normal” materials. For instance, wheels are still made of brass, and pinions made of steel. “To make everything of titanium would not be good idea because it is not good to have the same hardness on everything. When you have the combination of hard materials and the smooth softer materials, for instance of the brass wheels, you have a better transmission and durability,” explained Ms. Forestier-Kasapi.
With the split-seconds chronograph, TAG Heuer shows that it masters top-shelf horology as we know it. Because this complication requires placing one chronograph inside another chronograph. “And when you double something in watchmaking, it is not twice as hard – it is exponential,” said Ms. Forestier-Kasapi. “This system is complex to develop and adjust, because there are many different states of force depending on whether the split-seconds hand is activated or not. Each time we must manage different kinds of forces in watchmaking, like for instance the jumping hour – it is always difficult to manage the accuracy. We prefer to always have the same force. I mean, that is why watchmakers developed the constant force,” she continued.
To Ms. Forestier-Kasapi, a split-seconds chronograph is definitely on the same level of complexity as a minute repeater, and it is difficult to say as there is no classification of movements. So, while performing exquisite timing, the TAG Heuer Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph also asks the question: which kind of complication is the pinnacle of watchmaking? This is a subject that could be debated for a long time: It might even have some people seeing red.
