TAG Heuer unveils a new tourbillon chronograph, the Carrera Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph, which employs a new carbon composite balance spring, gas-produced, conceived, patented and manufactured by the Swiss watchmaker and replacing the previous ones made of silicone and Elinvar Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of LVMH Watchmaking Division and CEO of TAG Heuer, said: "This new interpretation of the TAG Heuer Carrera, with the brand's advanced technology, underscores our continuity in achieving watchmaking excellence and confirms our loyalty to values such as performance, breaking the mould and being avant-garde." The TAG Heuer Carrera collection has evolved since it was first introduced in 1963, but has always remained true to its DNA. The unique modular design and motor racing references continue to inspire what is one of the brand's most famous lines. The nanoscopic hexagonal pattern (one million times smaller than a millimetre) of the carbon composite material of the balance spring is reflected in the design of the Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph. In addition to the carbon composite balance spring, the most distinctive feature of this COSC-certified chronograph is the combination of the multi-layered dial and the movement, which features sandblasted and brushed hexagons on the plate, visible through an openwork dial. The motif is also visible on the oscillating weight, treated with black PVD and visible through the sapphire glass back. Inspired by haute horlogerie creations of the past, a fluorescent green hue embellishes several elements of the watch, including the aluminium bridge and the inscription on the tourbillon movement. The aluminium alloy balance features white gold inlays, while Super-LumiNova "highlights" ensure that the movement is visible both day and night. TAG Heuer's Production Director, Guy Bove, added: "With this new skeleton tourbillon model in the Carrera range, we wanted to underline TAG Heuer's capabilities in both engineering and developing convincing movements: like its predecessors, the Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph unleashes a disruptive force in haute horlogerie, thanks to its exciting combination of high-tech modern aesthetics and precise, elegant proportions, which have been characteristic of the Carrera collection for over fifty years. Defined as the heart of the mechanical watch, the balance spring is the most difficult part to make, because the overall precision of a watch directly depends on its tolerances. A team of mathematicians, physicists and chemists at TAG Heuer oversees the creation of this new balance spring. The Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph is the first watch to be regulated by this innovative carbon composite balance spring. In summary, the main advantages of TAG Heuer's carbon composite balance spring are as follows:
- The fact that it is made of a lightweight, low-density material makes it virtually insensitive to gravity and shock. The watches underwent drop tests in TAG Heuer's laboratory at up to 5000 g/1 m on a hard surface: the metal springs bent, the silicon springs broke, while the carbon composite spring remained completely intact.
- Perfectly concentric oscillations are made possible by its spiral geometry in and improve the precision of the watch.
- The carbon composite balance spring is made with the collet already mounted; usually, this small element that attaches the metal spring to the balance axis requires complicated assembly and generates additional inaccuracies.
- The carbon composite balance spring is completely antimagnetic, which rules out any inaccuracy induced by the watch coming into contact with a magnetic source.
- Optimum thermal behaviour and aeroelasticity were achieved by combining the carbon composite helix with an aluminium alloy rocker arm.
TAG Heuer is the exclusive manufacturer of these hairsprings, designed and manufactured in its in-house laboratory in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Describing the importance of this technology, Guy Sémon, CEO of the TAG Heuer Institute, said: "The development of this world-first took years, with the ambition of improving the performance and precision of mechanical watches. The innovations created at the TAG Heuer Institute can be compared to a ladder, where each innovation always leads to the next. The carbon composite balance spring is a first step that will lead us to further internal improvements still under development.
Data sheet
Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph
Ref. CAR5A8K.FT6172
- MOVEMENT
- IWC-manufactured TAG Heuer Calibre Heuer 02T tourbillon movement with new carbon composite balance-spring made by TAG Heuer, chronometer-certified chronograph with automatic tourbillon, diameter 31 mm, 33 jewels, oscillating balance at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), 65-hour power reserve, hexagonal decorations on movement plate and oscillating weight.
- FUNCTIONS
Chronograph with hour and minute counters, tourbillon, hours, minutes and seconds. - CASH
- In black PVD titanium (45 mm diameter), carbon bezel with tachymeter scale, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, water resistance guaranteed to 10 atmospheres.
- QUADRANT
- Black perforated with hexagonal motifs, black flange with sexagesimal scale, black gold-plated chronograph, hour and minute counters and tourbillon structure, rhodium-plated hour markers and hands with Super-LumiNova, hexagonal motif.
- BELT
- Black calfskin and rubber, carbon buckle with black PVD titanium folding clasp. Special packaging with integrated winder.
