For five generations, TAG Heuer has marshalled its resources and know-how in a concerted effort to master the tiniest fractions of time. This incessant drive has made the Swiss brand the unrivalled leader in high-end chronographs — one of mechanical watchmaking’s most sophisticated and demanding complications. Examples of TAG Heuer’s prowess in this field are legion, from the 1/100th-of-a-second Mikrograph stopwatch in 1916 to the 2006 Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix winning Calibre 360, the first mechanical wrist chronograph to beat 360,000/hour.
Today, this mastery is epitomized by TAG Heuer’s unparalleled line-up of 7 mechanical chronograph movements (Calibre 11 and 12 developed with Dubois-Depraz, Calibre 16 and 17 from ETA, new in-house Calibre 1887 unveiled in December 2009, Calibre 36 developed with Zenith and Calibre 360).To strengthen its longstanding leadership and continued growth in luxury chronographs, TAG Heuer needed further differentiation among the “engines” powering its masterpieces, more variety of performance and construction, and an unlimited access to high-volume movements. This is why, in early 2006, TAG Heuer started working on the design and development of the Calibre 1887, an automatic chronograph movement of superlative reliability and sophistication. Unveiled at the McLaren Technology Centre in December 2009, this powerful 21st century engine is now being launched commercially in an all-new Carrera chronograph of stunning design and performance.
The TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 Chronograph extends the mythical Carrera collection, which was created in 1964 by Jack Heuer. The brand’s CEO in the 60s and 70s, Jack Heuer is the creative genius behind key TAG Heuer icons like the Monaco, the Silverstone or the Aquaracer (born as the “1000 Series” in 1979). Today he is TAG Heuer’s Honorary Chairman, and as active as ever. A legend in the watch industry, he has overseen the redesign of every new generation of the Carrera family.
The TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 Chronograph is the 21st century design evolution of the 1964 icon, more than ever celebrating and emphasizing its original minimalism, purity, readability and understated elegance. A “Grand Classique” re-invented for TAG Heuer’s 150th Anniversary, it is faithful to the original in design and spirit, but its radical new “engine”, the Calibre 1887, turns it into a 3rd Millennium chronograph in terms of size, quality, performance and accuracy.
THE TAG HEUER CARRERA 1887 CHRONOGRAPH: A MASTERPIECE OF MODERN ENGINEERING DEVELOPED, PRODUCED AND ASSEMBLED IN TAG HEUER’S AUDACIOUS, STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY IN SWITZERLAND
The TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 Chronograph epitomizes TAG Heuer’s pre-eminence in mechanical movement and case manufacturing. Its key movement parts (main plate, oscillating weight plate and bridges) and case are manufactured internally in the TAG Heuer Cortech factory in Cornol (Jura), a state-of-the-art, “all-under-one-roof” workshop equipped with avant-garde Swiss machines and robots capable of stamping, milling and finishing with to-the-micron precision. Cortech also houses the first-ever Swiss robot capable of automatically selecting and setting the Calibre 1887 movement’s 39 jewels. This breakthrough in modern engineering allows for the production of a true “Manufacture” movement at a very competitive cost — a perfect embodiment of TAG Heuer’s famous “fair cost/fair price” philosophy.
Having acquired the intellectual property rights from SII, TAG Heuer has devoted the last 3 years re-engineering and redeveloping key components like the assortment bridge and the main plate, and adding major technical features such as an eccentric adjustment screw to the oscillating pinion (patented first by Edouard Heuer in 1887).
TAG Heuer also partnered with 22 premium component makers (21 of them in Switzerland) to redevelop other major components such as the assortment, shock absorbers and raquetterie.
Final assembling takes place in a totally new, dedicated workshop at TAG Heuer’s facilities in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Neuchâtel), on a semi-automated line under dust-free, fully hermetic conditions. Each movement is individually traced by high-performance software and undergoes 116 measurement sequences of rigorous quality control. Entirely automated stations, custom-made by a Swiss specialist in T0 and T1 machines, alternate with those requiring manual intervention — in this manner, the exacting, artisanal touch of the TAG Heuer watchmaster is always in complete control.
The Calibre 1887 is a new generation of Swiss-Made, high-quality mechanicalicana Mexico Road Race. chronograph movements. More than 20 million Swiss francs have so far been invested in the Cornol and La Chaux-de-Fonds facilities and 50 jobs created internally, along with many more indirectly through our local partners in Switzerland. This high profile ambitious project will eventually output several tens of thousands of movements each year.
THE TAG HEUER CALIBRE 1887: A NEW MEASURE OF EXCELLENCE AND A NEW GENERATION OF HIGH-QUALITY MECHANICAL CHRONOGRAPH MOVEMENTS
Vibrating 28,800 times per hour, the Calibre 1887’s 39-jewel, 29.3mm x 7.13mm movement is made of 320 components and has a 50-hour power reserve. A powerful, robust and easy to maintain engine, it houses an audaciously re-engineered version of its inspiration, the brand’s 1887-patented oscillating pinion, along with a matching column wheel.
The oscillating pinion, patented in 1887 by Edouard Heuer, works in tandem with the column wheel, in much the same way as an automobile transmission.
The column wheel, which coordinates the start, stop and return-to-zero functions of the chronograph hand, functions like a gearbox. The smoothness and precision of its super-soft click start is a recognized element of high-end watchmaking excellence.
The oscillating pinion works like a clutch. The optimized version in the Calibre 1887 enables the chronograph to start in less than 2/1,000th of a second. The Calibre 1887 is also equipped with a High Efficiency Rewinding (HER) system, acknowledged by watch experts as the world’s most efficient rewinding system because of its bidirectional automatic system, which delivers 30% more efficiency than the traditional inversor system used in most Swiss chronographs. The HER is also famous for its superior reliability and sturdiness.
THE TAG HEUER CARRERA 1887 CHRONOGRAPH: A MODERN RE-INTERPRETATION OF THE MOST ICONIC CHRONOGRAPH OF THE 1960s
The Heuer Carrera was born in 1962 in the pits and paddocks of the Twelve Hours of Sebring, where Jack Heuer, official timekeeper of the event, first heard tale of motor-racing’s most gruelling endurance competition, the “Carrera Panamericana Mexico Road Race”. It also pays homage to TAG Heuer’s unique timekeeping contributions to the racing world, radical innovations like the Time of Trip (1911), the first car dashboard chronograph; the Mikrograph (1916), the first sports stopwatch accurate to 1/100th of a second; and the Autavia (1933), the first 12-hour dashboard timer for AUTomobile and AVIAtion.
When he launched the Carrera in 1964, legibility was Jack Heuer’s highest priority. By placing the 1/5th of a second in the inside tension ring of the crystal, he freed up 2 mm of space on the flat dial. It was a world first and an instant success, a favourite of watch and motor-sports enthusiasts alike for its timeless design and uncluttered style, and a masterpiece of functional and minimalist elegance. Relaunched in 1996 and completely revamped in 2002, the Carrera is one of TAG Heuer’s most iconic creations. It has been worn by hundreds of TAG Heuer driving greats, including Juan Manuel Fangio, Kimi Räikkönen or Lewis Hamilton.
The TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 Chronograph boldly synthesizes this unique history. A celebration of 150 years at the forefront of luxury chronograph design, it proudly displays its star component — the Calibre 1887 mechanical chronograph movement, with its blue column wheel, top quality Swiss balance spring with micro-blazed finishing, and TAG Heuer oscillating weight — through its stunning sapphire crystal case-back. The tachymeter scale on the satin-polished bezel identifies its motor-racing heritage, and the high-end finish and optimized proportions of the silver and black dial distinguish it instantly as a grand classic in the Carrera tradition. Water-resistant to 100 metres, its unique folding bracelet has double, lateral-pressure pushbuttons for greater security, ease of use and greater comfort. Special luminescent markers on the hands and after the indexes ensure cockpit-fast legibility in all light conditions. Pure and sober in design, with the same great legibility as its 1964 ancestor, it is supercharged by the all-new chronograph movement beating inside. Simply stated, the TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 Chronograph raises the bar of refined technology and design.
In 2010, TAG Heuer proudly celebrates 150 years of pioneering Swiss watchmaking. Founded in Saint-Imier in 1860 by Edouard Heuer, TAG Heuer has set many major milestones of high-end watchmaking, especially in the field of chronographs and ultimate precision. Today, one of the largest and most desired brands in the luxury watch industry, the Swiss legend draws upon its active engagement in the world of sports to create the most accurate timing instruments and watches in the world. TAG Heuer is the first watchmaker to master luxury chronographs with an unsurpassed precision of 1/10th, 1/100th and 1/1,000th of a second. From the Olympic Games in the 1920s to its role as official timekeeper for the legendary Indy 500 race, with accuracy at 1/10,000th of a second, TAG Heuer, in a constant quest for innovation, excellence, performance and prestige, continues to aim ever higher. This is reflected in its quarter-century partnership with F1 team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, its 7-year partnership with 2008 Formula 1 World Champion, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, and his new teammate , 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button. TAG Heuer, more than ever, epitomizes prestige and performance through active partnerships with Hollywood icon Leonardo DiCaprio and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, LPGA star Suzann Pettersen and WTA tennis champion Maria Sharapova. TAG Heuer is a privileged member of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), the most exclusive club in the Swiss watchmaking industry. The newest addition to the TAG Heuer legacy is the Calibre 1887, an in-house, Swiss manufactured, integrated column-wheel chronograph movement that pays tribute to the original Heuer oscillating pinion of 1887, one of the brand's first patents and a major benchmark in modern watchmaking.
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