Horological Meandering

Baselworld 2012: Tag Heuer

 

Tag Heuer made a few days ago an announcement to confirm the contract with Seiko Instruments Inc. which will provide the regulating organ strategic pieces of the movements. The decision from Nivarox to not renew the involvement with Tag Heuer was quite surprising and it led to this change of provider (Tag Heuer has also a contract with Atokalpa). Actually, it was very difficult to find an alternative solution within Switzerland for such volumes due to the market share of Nivarox. And very quickly the decision to choose  Seiko Instruments Inc. became obvious thanks to previous partnerships between both companies (caliber 1887 if you remember well).

These latest news were  so revolutionary in the quiet world of the Watch Industry (a major Swiss brand which confirms an important agreement with a Japonese company) that they almost hid the 2012 novelties which were presented at Baselworld a few weeks ago. time is coming to come back to them!

We can underline two main points in this collection:
- a new  Ladies' watches collection
- 1887 caliber becomes the keystone of the Carrera collection

At the same time, Tag Heuer presented a superlative watch, the MikroGirder 10.000 which is an improvement of the watch presented during the crazy week in Geneva: a proof of the innovative approach of its R&D department.

Ladies first!
 
New ambassador, new collection dedicated to women, without any doubt, Ladies' watches are a strong pillar of Tag Heuer strategy! New ambassador is Camaron Diaz and as a worlwide celebrity she will embody the image of the new Lady Link collection.

The main piece of the collection is the Link Lady Diamond Star which features rotating diamonds set stars around the central part dedicated to time display and PG case and bracelet. There is a bit of the Dancelight spirit in this watch, that was at least my feeling when I saw it.
 
Other Link Ladies are quartz powered. Amongst them, my fav version is the Purple dial one with guillochage.

Frankly speaking, I've never liked the Link watches. I found them old-fashioned the day after their presentation. But in a Ladies' watches context, this specific bracelet works much better and sure that these watches will meet a big success especially on high growth markets.

The rotating stars:




















Tag Heuer redesigned its Carrera collection with 3 new models, two of them using the "in-house" movement 1887. To make a long story short, I had the feeling during the presentation that there was a targetted watch and that the mission of one of the two 1887 Carrera was to become strong and credible competitor to this watch. And when you will see the watch, you will understand that I'm talking about the IWC Portuguese chronograph.

First new Carrera has a 41mm PG case and is available with silver or anthracite grey dials (a two-tones version was also presented with SS/YG but I didn't take pictures of it). Combo anthracite / PG is really gorgeous and this watch was maybe my fav Tag novelty. You will notice the tachymeter on the frange. The key asset of this watch, if we forget its 1887 movement is the finishings of the case which are pretty good. Case is at the same time elegant and casual and you will also notice the shape of the pushers. Applied indexes and the well-integrated date window are also positive points.

Caliber 1887 has a black rotor which gives a contrast with the bridges. Finishings are neat and flawless, I mean they meet the standards you can expect for this price range.

On an overall basis, this Carrera 41mm is a good watch, not really surprising but it does well what we expect from it.

















Second Carrera is larger with its 43mm SS case. It is basically the same recipe which is used again except that the applied indexes are replaced by rose-gold coloured arabic figures. Second hand subdial is almost invisible what reinforces the feeling to get with this Carrera a two vertical subdials chronograph. It is the reason why I was thinking about the Portuguese when I saw it.

The 43mm Carrera is offered with 3 different dials: silver, black or anthracite. Again, the darker dials work very well especially because they reduce the feeling of size and they highlight the touch of rose gold of the figures.

Caliber 1887 is obviously the same than with the 41mm Carrera but the rotor doesn't get its black coating.

























Last Carrera is a LE of 3000 pieces created to celebrate Jack Heuer's 80th birthday. It is a 41mm chronograph with a SS case and a silver dial featuring sunray effects. Tachymeter scale is put on the frange. It is always the same story with this kind of watches. Heuer fans will not see the point of this Limited Edition while new customers will be pleased by its Vintage atmosphere. Honestly, I saw much worse than this Carrera and I consider it as a worthy contemporary interpretation of a Vintage Carrera... even if it is not linked to a specific model. Movement is Caliber 17 which is, if I'm right, an  2892 base + a DD module. The black perforated calfskin strap contributes to the "racing" context of the watch.


















I would like to finish the report with an important side at Tag Heuer: the R&D Department. With my presentation, I spoke about the 1887 caliber, about DD modules or even about quartz powered movements. But we don't have to forget that Tag Heuer is investing a lot in new techniques, new regulator systems which are far from the traditional approach. The MikroGirder 10.000 is powered by a movement which uses a linear oscillator which vibrates in order to reach a very high frequency (7.200.000 beats per second) and so to be able to measure time with the ability to display the 5/10.000th of second.

The watch presented at Basel is not a 100% novelty but has to be considered as an evolution of the MikroGirder unveiled in January at Geneva. Main changes come from the dial lay-out which improve the readability of the elapsed time.


















This little movie shows you how impressive is the beahaviour of the main hand.

In my point of view, one of the main difficulties is the acceleration which is required when the chronograph is launched and the right system to stop properly and at once the hand which makes its rotation at a speed never seen before. I will try to learn more about this watch.

Anyway, that's an interesting side of Tag Heuer which invests a lot in the key topics to gain its future independence.

Thanks a lot to the Tag Heuer team for the warm welcome during the Fair.

Fr.Xavier
This message has been edited by foversta on 2012-04-01 14:37:07

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