TAG Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 17 RS Chronograph Gold (CAV514B.FC8171)

WORLDTEMPUS - 28 January 2011
For the third consecutive year, TAG Heuer exhibited during Geneva's SIHH week with a b presence at the Halle de Secheron, where both the brand's history and new products blended in celebration of the Carrera's 50th anniversary. The exhibition included a full historical range of timepieces and explored the Carrera's aesthetic origins in the architecture, industrial design, art and fashion of the 1960s - kicking off a year-long, round-the-world commemoration of the chronograph that has become the best seller in TAG Heuer's catalogue for the past decade.The "50 Years of Carrera" exhibition also showcased art and furniture inspired by the creations of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Peter Blake, John Baldessari and Robert Indiana alongside references to the epic Carrera Panamericana Mexico Road Race that saw Jack Heuer baptizing his 1963 chronograph. The specific codes of motor racing were well represented, from vintage dashboard counters to the perforated leather gloves favored by legendary race driver Juan-Manuel Fangio. However, the focus was on the new timepieces TAG Heuer is introducing in 2013 - mainly those associated with the Carrera jubilee. It was TAG Heuer that started the re-editions trend in the mid 1990s by bringing back the Carrera. Since then, the brand has reinvented its iconic chronograph in several sizes and declinations, from the first faithful tribute in 1996 to the brand new Carrera 50 Years featuring architecture inspired by the award-winning Mikrogirder and a dial designed by Jack Heuer himself. Yes, Jack is back after having announced his retirement last year, and the new Carrera bears his name."Jack realized it was impossible to retire one year before the celebration of perhaps, together with the Monaco, his most famous and best ever creation," explained TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin. "So, despite soon turning 81, he has decided to stay one more year not only as our chairman and main speaker of the company but also as a product developer. And he developed for us a very specific masterpiece derived from the Mikrogirder design but equipped with our Calibre 1887 chronograph movement and with a dial reminiscent of the very first Carrera he designed in 1963. Jack spent days and days with our designers to make sure the new Carrera 50 Years would be avant-garde, and the chassis of the Mikrogirder case obviously ensures that avant-garde ambition, but at the same time the timepiece is very connected to his first idea back in 1963." Jack Heuer will attend several events in 2013 to help celebrate the birth of his icon and the launch of the new Carrera models. A fortunate detail contributed to the final design of the so-called Carrera 50 Years: TAG Heuer wanted to equip the new models with its manufacture Calibre 1887, but the vertical tricompax layout (counters at 12-9-6) was against the traditional horizontal bicompax (3-9) or horizontal tricompax (3-6-9) disposition of the inaugural Carreras. Enter the Mikrogirder, winner of the coveted Aiguille d'Or at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve this past November, as an inspiration…and it was easy to get the crown and chronograph pushers on top of the case like a classic stopwatch for the same "Bullhead" look.The Carrera Calibre 1887 Jack Heuer Edition chronograph has a 45 mm asymmetric case (becoming the largest production TAG Heuer timepiece, though 2 mm smaller than the Mikrogirder) in a combination of steel and titanium, while the black fixed bezel is coated with titanium carbide. Marc Wätli, product manager of the Carrera at TAG Heuer, discloses that "the initial briefing was to have a product with counters at 3 and 9 o'clock but using our manufacture movement and go a step further; so we chose to rotate the movement 90 degrees in order to get the dial we wanted. We had prior conversations with Jack Heuer, who told us it had to be readable, with a nice design and also contain a pulsometer scale to go along with the tachymeter. He chose all the colors and the watch bears the Heuer coat of arms along with Jack's signature on the smoky sapphire case back." The overall "Bullhead" design of the Carrera Calibre 1887 Jack Heuer Edition was also used on the new Carrera Carbon Calibre 1887 Concept Chronograph, featuring a new-age material: carbon matrix composite, never before used in watchmaking and extremely difficult to manufacture. The case, dial, back and bezel are made from thin carbon fibers organized as on a isotropic matrix; the reinforced fabric is structured to organize the components into three-dimensional form, then heated and compacted by means of a chemical reaction to transform the soft, flexible layers into a super rigid form. It will age much better than a conventional watch, with fewer scratches and signs of wear. Additionally, it only weighs 19 grams (case 10.5 g; case back 4.35 g; lugs 2.77 g; bezel 1.23 g).The concept behind the 50th anniversary of the Carrera goes beyond a mere celebration or any commemorative timepiece. "We want to turn the Carrera into a masterpiece or line made 100 per cent internally: 100 meaning that all new Carrera watches not only will be equipped with Calibre 1887 but also with cases manufactured by TAG Heuer in its Cornol case factory and with dials manufactured by TAG Heuer in its Tramelan dial factory," says Babin. "So, to pay the best tribute and the best homage to the Carrera, we are manufacturing it 100 per cent internally, which is unique in Swiss watchmaking - as usually only very haute horlogerie brands selling a few hundred pieces per year can do the movements, the case and the dials in-house." New 2013 regular Carrera models will feature a more sophisticated case finishing (polished and brushed surfaces), ceramic on the bezels and new dials. But that's not all: the tireless CEO also revealed that there is a new chronograph caliber on the way to reinforce TAG Heuer's industrial force. Jean-Christophe Babin just can't get enough. READ OUR "WATCHMAKING 2013" DOSSIER