TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Watch Review
The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon has a fresh-faced appearance and incorporates two highly-prized complications, making it one of the stand-out releases of 2023. Carl Eady looks closely at this model, skilfully crafted by one of the world’s most popular makers of chronographs.
TAG Heuer depuis 1860
The TAG Heuer brand can trace its roots all the way back to 1860, when 20-year-old Edouard Heuer set up the company’s first workshop in St-Imier, in the Jura mountains. In an era when giant strides were being made in the worlds of transport and industrialisation, there was an ever-increasing requirement for superior timing accuracy. Heuer spotted this opportunity and set to work creating technically innovative pocket chronographs, leading the way in precision timekeeping and neatly positioning his company to fulfil the demand.
TAG Heuer chronographs and stopwatches
The world of international sport was also becoming more competitive, races often boiled down to split seconds, with minuscule margins separating victory from failure. In 1887, Heuer patented a revolutionary oscillating pinion for mechanical chronographs, still used by many brands to this day. Edouard may not have known it at the time, but the timekeeping prowess of his chronographs was laying firm foundations for his brand to become synonymous with the world of sport.
Edouard died in 1892 but the brand continued to have momentum, creating dashboard timers for aeroplanes and motor vehicles. His spirit also inspired further innovations with a number of patented horological innovations including the Micrograph in 1912, a revolutionary sports stopwatch capable of timing to 1/100th of a second. With its reputation growing exponentially, Heuer was selected to provide the official stopwatches for three consecutive Olympics between 1920 and 1928.
Jack Heuer joins the family company (1958)
In 1958, at just 26 years of age, Jack Heuer (Edouard’s grandson) joined his family’s company. It was his foresight that recognised the potential for closer ties between motorsport and the watch world. Throughout his tenure, some phenomenally successful partnerships were formed with the likes of Ayrton Senna, Mario Andretti, Ferrari and the Monaco Grand Prix, all of which contributed to the brand’s notable success. To this day, TAG Heuer remains a major force in Motorsport sponsorship.
Carrera Panamericana
One of Jack’s most inspired decisions was to name a collection after the legendary Mexican ‘Carrera Panamericana’, a road race designed to promote the Mexican section of the Panamerican Highway linking Central and North America. The race was nothing short of brutal with drivers covering 1900 miles over eight stages between Tuxtla Guitierrez and Ciudad Juárez. In a somewhat morbid claim to fame, it was deemed to be the most dangerous race of any type in the world, claiming 27 lives during its 5-year existence between 1950 and 1954.
The introduction of the Heuer Carrera collection (1963)
In 1963, Jack decided to honour the legendary race by introducing the Carrera collection. These models featured large chronograph pushers, no external bezel and a highly legible dial, taking inspiration from a car’s instrument panel. It was an era when being an établisseur was the norm, predating today’s fondness for ‘in house’ movements. The original Carrera’s movements were from Valjoux, often paired with dials from Singer and cases from Ervin Piquerez. Despite having a multitude of component sources, Jack’s cohesive vision fashioned high visibility tool watches perfect for demanding race drivers. They soon became a hit and would eventually be regarded as design classics.
The 60th anniversary of the Carrera collection (2023)
This year (2023) marks the 60th anniversary of the Carrera collection and the brand chose the ‘Watches and Wonders’ event in Geneva to celebrate the occasion, releasing two ‘3-register’ chronographs and a mesmerising ‘2-register’ chronograph tourbillon, all designed to seduce its demanding collector community.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon – case
Unsurprisingly, in six decades there have been numerous refinements to the Carrera collections but the design language has always remained faithful to the 1963 original. The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon is housed in a highly polished 42 mm stainless steel case. At the sides, fine brushwork decoration bestows playful contrast. The lugs are deliberately short to allow the strap to hug the wrist, making the watch practical and incredibly comfortable to wear. The familiar large chronograph pushers deliver a satisfying click, communicating a reassuring sense of quality as the column wheel of the chronograph engages.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon – Calibre TH20-09
On the reverse, a pane of sapphire glass affords a view of the Calibre TH20-09 automatic movement. It is a rework of the 2016 Caliber Heuer 02, conceptualised by Carole Forestier-Kasapi, TAG Heuer’s Movements Director. The refinements include bi-directional winding and a revised rotor, which has been cleverly openworked and shaped to mirror the TAG Heuer shield. The chronograph’s column wheel is visible at the top of the movement and there is a pleasing degree of decoration with Côtes de Genève and brushwork in evidence. The balance has a frequency of 4Hz and, assuming it’s fully wound, the watch will run autonomously for 65 hours.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon – glassbox sapphire crystal
For this latest Carrera, it is the dial estate which undoubtedly sets pulses racing. TAG Heuer has returned to the ‘glassbox’ design for the sapphire crystal, shaped liked the domed hesalite crystals found on Carrera models made during the 60s and 70s.
Twice coated to minimise reflection and perfectly shaped, the sapphire crystal enhances the legibility of the model. The dial itself is finished in a beautiful azure blue with circular brushing and contrasting silvered-framed chronograph counters.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon – dial
To complement the profile of the glass, the dial has a subtle curvature, as do the highly polished and faceted hour markers. Likewise, the hour and minute hands are polished and faceted and lined with a slender strip of Super-LumiNova.
At its perimeter, the minute track is punctuated with fiery orange 5-minute markers which are paired with tiny lumed dots. Angled away from the dial, the edge of the sapphire crystal floats over the tachymeter scale and into the case. A triangular-shaped central chronograph seconds hand reaches out to the minute markers and springs into life with the gentle press of the pushpiece at 2 o’clock. Finished in a vivid shade of orange, it wonderfully contrasts with the adjacent sea of blue and serves as another nostalgic reference to the dials fitted to race cars in the 1960s.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon – flying tourbillon
A ‘one minute’ flying tourbillon sits at 6 o’clock, featuring a stylish ‘tri-spoke’ cage that mimics an old-style motorsport steering wheel.
Though clearly beautiful, some purists may argue that the inclusion of a tourbillon is at odds with the original concept of the Carrera line, ie to be a highly legible drivers’ watch. Tourbillons, however, have featured in TAG Heuer’s catalogue since 2016 and have consistently provided excellent value for those collectors desiring this highly prized complication. The tourbillon is one of the most visually engaging complications. With this in mind, TAG Heuer devotees will probably find its inclusion in the new suite of Carrera glassbox models, a tantalising proposition, especially given its relatively modest price.
Blue calfskin strap with TAG-Heuer-branded steel folding clasp
TAG Heuer has paired the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon with a blue calfskin strap, secured with a steel folding clasp featuring push buttons and the brand’s shield logo.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon – Closing Thoughts
Judging by the immense social media response since its release, TAG Heuer’s glassbox collection is sure to be a resounding success for the brand. The culmination of six decades of heritage and refinement has resulted in a collection destined to delight loyal brand devotees and attract newbies to the firm, in what is a highly competitive sports watch segment. The brand is clearly in good hands with its parent company LVMH, benefitting from its vast resources while at the same time enjoying much creative freedom. TAG Heuer continues to create impressive products packed with innovative ideas while respecting the brand’s rich heritage.
The addition of the flying tourbillon may be an unnecessary complication, but it endows the dial with a mesmerising dose of animation and confers an additional quotient of prestige. In my opinion, the TAG Heuer Chronograph Tourbillon is one of this year’s most notable releases and based on its handsome looks and the brand’s amassed know-how making sublime chronographs, the model is destined to be a winner on and off the track.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon
- Reference: CBS5010.FC6543
- Case: polished steel, diameter 42 mm, water resistance 10 ATM (100 metres), sapphire crystal to front, exhibition caseback.
- Functions: Hours, Minutes, Chronograph: 1/4 second, 30 minutes counter, 12 hours counter, Tourbillon 1 minute
- Movement: Calibre TH20-09 automatic, frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz), 33 jewels, power reserve 65 hours
- Strap: Blue calfskin strap. Polished steel folding clasp with double safety push buttons
- Price: £19,500 (RRP as of July 2023)