Right on Time
2020 marked the 160th anniversary of the brand we now know as TAG Heuer and to mark that milestone it unveiled some special versions of the beloved Carrera chrongraph
TAG Heuer marked the 160th anniversary of its founding in 2020, and there was much to celebrate. From its beginnings in 1860, the brand has grown into a global powerhouse, with a reputation for technical innovation that’s worthy of its Techniques d’avant Garde name. Along the way, it’s also witnessed — and had an outsized impact on — the changing landscape of the Swiss luxury-watch industry. To commemorate this milestone, the brand has relaunched a much-loved chronograph collection that recalls its roots.
Chronographs have long been integral to the TAG Heuer heritage. With the proliferation of sporting competitions in the 1880s and a resultant demand for accurate timing instruments, the brand began producing large numbers of pocket chronographs in its early years.
Edouard Heuer, the company founder, made several contributions of his own to the development of the chronograph complication. Most notably, he was granted patents for his invention of the oscillating pinion in 1887. The mechanism alternates between two positions to engage and disengage the chronograph seconds wheel with the gear train’s second wheel, which in turn starts and stops the chronograph. Thanks to its simplicity and reliability, it remains in use today.
Other developments followed. In 1916, Heuer unveiled the Mikrograph, the world’s first chronograph capable of measuring elapsed time down to 1/100th of a second. This was succeeded by TAG Heuer’s Mikrotimer Flying of 2011, which refined the mechanical chronograph’s accuracy to 1/1,000th of second. Among other innovations by the brand are rugged dashboard-and cockpit-mounted timing instruments, chronographs with swappable rings that offer different functions, as well as beltdriven movements.
Throughout its history TAG Heuer has developed several chronograph families, including the Autavia, Monza and Monaco. Among these lines, the Carrera has arguably been the most successful. It was conceived in the early 1960s as a motor-racing chronograph by the brand’s then-ceo Jack Heuer — the great-grandson of Edouard — and designed with legibility as a high priority. To achieve this, every superfluous detail was stripped away, while Heuer played with proportions and design to ensure that the Carrera offered at-aglance legibility. The Carreras of today speak the same language as that of the original, and offer a similar clarity that enables their wearers to tell time instantly.
As part of the brand’s 160th-anniversary celebrations, TAG Heuer has relaunched the Carrera’s chronograph segment with the new Carrera Sport Chronograph. The “Sport” label used here makes an important distinction — it differentiates the novelties from current Carrera chronographs first unveiled in 2018.
Visually, Carrera chronographs from 2018 mark a radical departure from the archetypal Carrera. Their multi-tier openworked dials revealed the Heuer 02 movements underneath, which gave the watches a busy, industrial look. This certainly emphasised the Heuer 02 movement’s technical slant; the in-house calibre was a major boost to TAG Heuer’s movement portfolio, and represented a new era of watchmaking for the brand. Their modular cases further strengthened the line’s visual identity, and created an overall package that was both technically and aesthetically advanced.
The Carrera Sport Chronograph, on the other hand, marks a return to basics for the collection by harking back to earlier versions of the Carrera, which placed a premium on simplicity and legibility. At 44mm, it’s fairly large but fits the wrist comfortably, thanks to its short lugs. Gone is the modular case of its predecessor. Instead, a traditional construction is used, with attention paid to the finishings on the various surfaces of the case to create a more sophisticated result that identifies the timepiece as a luxury sports watch. The dial has also reverted to a solid one that bears different textures, such as circular graining and snailing, making the watch much easier to read.
Four references of the Carrera Sport Chronograph are currently available. The first variant juxtaposes a contemporary green dial with a traditional steel bezel for a distinct retro-modern look. The remaining ones, on the other hand, sport ceramic bezels that match the colour on their dials, including one version in black and another in blue. Rounding up the line-up is a more luxurious reference in black and rose gold.
In spite of the updated aesthetics, the movement powering the new generation of chronographs remains unchanged. The Carrera Sport Chronograph is still equipped with the Heuer 02 calibre, which uses a column wheel for actuation and a vertical-clutch system to drive the chronograph. An 80-hour power reserve is also standard for the movement, so the watch can be left unworn over a weekend without needing any adjustment on Monday morning.
Two special variants of the Carrera have also been released, each in stark contrast with the other while clearly sharing a design lineage that reflects the wide range of Carrara models over the years.
Unveiled at the beginning of 2020, the Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition is a faithful interpretation of Jack Heuer’s idea for the Carrera to be a clean, modern chronograph offering supremely legibility for racing drivers. To that end, TAG Heuer designers based it on the Heuer Ref 2447S from 1964, a vintage reference that remains one of the purest iterations of the Carrera with its monochromatic colour scheme and silver dial, which its contemporary counterpart retains. The polished-steel case and pushers remain, too, thus completing the watch’s authentically retro appearance.
However, as it’s also been thoroughly modernised in several areas, the Silver Limited Edition is far from being a reissue. Note, for example, how the silver dial now bears a brushed sunburst texture, while the snailed sub-dials have been subtly enhanced with contrasting grained borders. Other visual upgrades include faceted hour and minute hands, and a simplified chapter ring, while technical improvements include a scratch-resistant box-shaped sapphire crystal.
Meanwhile, the positioning of the running seconds subdial at six o’clock hints at the fact that a Heuer 02 calibre ticks beneath the dial, rather than the hand-wound Valjoux 72 fitted in the Ref 2447S. To better suit contemporary tastes, the new timepiece’s case is also upsized to 39mm.
The Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition is offered on a black alligator leather strap with a matching steel folding clasp; production is limited to 1,860 pieces, echoing the year of the brand’s inception.
TAG Heuer followed the Silver Limited Edition in June with the introduction of the Carrera 160 Years Montreal Limited Edition. Although largely similar to its sibling, it features bold splashes of colour on its dial that assume a very different visual identity. Interestingly, this colour scheme didn’t originate in a vintage Carrera: the interplay of blue, yellow and red against a matte-white dial actually relects the Heuer Montreal Ref 110503W of 1972, which was part of a separate line of watches since discontinued.
The bright palette on the Montreal Limited Edition references several Heuer timepieces of the 1970s, a period
of bold experimentation enabled by advancements in material engineering, as vivid colours and new materials became viable in watchmaking. In the Montreal Limited Edition, TAG Heuer is offering a vibrant counterpoint to the Silver Limited Edition, demonstrating how the Carrera’s very design promotes legibility, irrespective of colour. The markedly different personality displayed here will appeal to anyone who wants a little more oomph and presence on their wrist. Produced in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, the Carrera 160 Years Montreal Limited Edition comes with a blue alligator leather strap fitted with a steel deployant clasp.
Beyond such novelties, however, it’s worth thinking about the Carrera’s progress in the context of TAG Heuer’s technical advancements. The new Carrera watches may represent a culmination of the brand’s design and technical developments so far, but the brand’s relentless forward march will surely continue and we can expect plenty more advances in timekeeping accuracy, reliability and robustness in decades to come.