TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T COSC
The TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T COSC combines a new blue dial and a titanium bracelet with a highly desirable tourbillon escapement. Moreover, the Swiss firm has democratised tourbillon ownership, offering the model for a comparatively keen price of £17,400.
The name ‘Carrera’ evokes thoughts of motor racing and Swiss chronographs. Ever since Jack Heuer selected the moniker for a range of chronographs back in 1963, the Carrera name has become a byword for precision. Today, the brand name is legendary and beloved by legions of horophiles.
In 2020, the Carrera was updated. Each element was skilfully refined. Most notably, all models were equipped with the sublime, fully integrated Heuer 02 calibre. In addition, the Maison unveiled a plethora of limited edition chronographs, each with their own distinctive design, but all blessed with prepossessing looks.
With the advent of the new Carrera models in 2020, offered in a choice of 42mm or 44mm case sizes, the brand delivered incredible choice. Indeed, would-be buyers are now indulged with a breathtaking choice of dial colours including every collector’s favourite, blue.
Recently, the luxury brand has revisited one of its existing models, the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T, and released a new version sporting a pulchritudinous blue dial. The model was first introduced in 2016 and has frequently embraced dark dial tones and openworked dial architecture. However, this latest model, the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T COSC shuns the beam-type dial elements of its older siblings.
The dial features a 30-minute chronograph register, positioned at 3 o’clock, and a 12-hour counter, located at 9 o’clock. Each register is framed with a rhodium-plated snailed circlet, wonderfully enlivening the overall appearance of the dial. The baton-style hands and indexes are rhodium-plated and lined with luminescent fill. The dial area is suffused with sunray brush decoration and framed with a minute track.
At the base of the dial, the tourbillon escapement ensnares the onlooker’s eyes. Its cage features three arms, each of a double-spoke design. The case is formed of ultra-light carbon and titanium, mitigating mass and thereby reducing energy consumption. The balance and escape wheel are visible and the hairspring can be seen pulsing with life. This is a watch that indulges the wearer with an animated spectacle that’s impossible to ignore.
The case is formed of Grade 5 titanium, the preferred specification for watchmaking. The material is light, strong, hypoallergenic and not liable to corrosion or magnetic influence. However, machining Grade 5 titanium presents several challenges. It is a very hard material to machine and often results in tools wearing out more readily. Also, the milling speeds have to be reduced to prevent the alloy suffering heat damage. Put simply, the machining costs for Grade 5 titanium are greater than the cost of milling steel or noble metals and, to this end, the alloy is normally the preserve of costlier watches.
TAG Heuer has equipped this model with a Grade 2 titanium H-shaped bracelet, ideal for those individuals who suffer from nickel allergies and a first for the brand’s tourbillon collection. The automatic movement, as its name implies, is chronometer-certified (COSC). The Swiss brand has, once again, shown its love for blue hues, choosing to execute the rotor and column wheel in the becoming shade.
Lastly, the Swiss firm has democratised tourbillon ownership, offering TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T COSC for a comparatively keen price of £17,400.
The brand’s press release (March 2020)
What is your favourite colour? Watchmaking enthusiasts most often opt for blue when answering this question. However, since its launch in 2016, the Carrera Heuer 02T had never ventured into this territory, preferring darker or golden tones. Today, TAG Heuer unveils a limited edition of 250 pieces of its tourbillon chronograph in a blue version fitted with a titanium strap. An important first for the brand’s tourbillon line!
A symbol of technology and an example of total control of industrial processes and manufacturing costs, the Carrera Heuer 02T movement features a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour and an ultra-light carbon and titanium tourbillon cage. But one of the main challenges for the La Chaux-de- Fonds watchmakers was to house the chronograph functions, the self-winding mechanism and the flying tourbillon in a calibre with a diameter of 31 mm. All this while ensuring an ideal distance between the subdials to give it a contemporary look.
It is the same movement that pulses in this limited edition, but this time, the watch impresses in blue, from the bridges of the tourbillon cage to the rubber that protects the crown and pusher buttons. For the first time, the Carrera Heuer 02T has a full dial with a blue sunray design creating the most beautiful effect. Even the ceramic tachymetric bezel is finished in this cerulean blue with hypnotising reflections. The oscillating mass has been given a PVD coating so as not to be out of place in this azure composition.
Fitted with a 45 mm grade 5 titanium case, this chronograph has another surprise in store. Previously sporting alligator straps sewn on black rubber, or even just soft rubber, it dares to make the switch to this new model with a grade 2 titanium bracelet. That is a first! In addition to its lightness, this material gives this Carrera Heuer 02T timepiece a sporty yet elegant look. This exceptional watch is priced at 20,500 Swiss francs.
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