Timing is crucial in racing and TAG Heuer’s Carrera line spans a long history thoroughly rooted in speed and accuracy. In 1889, Edouard Heuer presented the first chronograph that saw its breakthrough in the 1960’s—at the height of motorsports. Introduced in 1963, the first Carrera model took its name from the legendary Mexican Carrera Panamericana that can be described in two words: fast and deadly.
The Carrera has since been a distinguished sight in the world of motorsports. With its trademark sporty look and automatic movement, it provided racers with easy to read dials and precise time-keeping. Today, both on- and off-track, the Carrera takes inspiration from its passion for speed with a modern-day take of the original.
TAG Heuer continues to reinvent and break boundaries with the flagship Carrera line. The Heuer 02T, which was premiered in Baselword 2018. It is powered by TAG Heuer’s in-house automatic Calibre Heuer 02 movement, which draws its DNA from CH 80.
The Heuer 02T shatters every expectation as it features a COSC-certified automatic chronograph paired with a titanium and carbon flying tourbillon. While some may argue that the presence of the tourbillon is impractical—and even an added expense, the Heuer 02-T also holds the once unheard of status of being the only COSC automatic chronograph with a tourbillon produced by the Swiss watch industry that is under 15,000 CHF (around P700,000). The Heuer 02-T comes with a 45mm diameter face and in three color variants: navy and white with red accents; black and white; and a black and gold variant. There is also a Black Phantom limited edition of the Heuer-02T that is completely black with grey accents. There are only 250 numbered pieces available, priced at 19,900 CHF (around P1,031,000).
A grand complication
The Heuer-02T’s titanium case houses a chronograph and a one-minute flying tourbillon caged in titanium and carbon that holds a 65-hour power reserve. Tourbillons were a marvel back in the 1700s, when horology was restrained to upright pocket watches—which caused gravity to take a toll on the accuracy of the timepieces. Watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet then invented the tourbillon, which is an escapement in a rotating cage that counters the effects of gravity on the watch’s mechanisms. In the modern age of wristwatches, however, the tourbillon serves no real purpose. But the design and intricacy of a tourbillion is essentially what makes it comparable to a piece of fine art along with it being completely mesmerizing to look at, which is why it remains to be a common marker of elite timepieces to this day.
Aside from the tourbillon, the Heuer 02-T features an automatic movement at 4Hz or 28,000 vibrations per hour fitted in a grade 5 titanium case, allowing it to be both tough and lightweight. The case design also stays the same as that of the Heuer 01.
The different components of the Heuer 02-T perfectly showcases the avant-garde philosophy of the brand. the counters are set on a raised platform with the tourbillon at 6 o’clock and the chronograph at 3 and 9 o’clock, deviating from the Heuer 01’s 12-6-9 arrangement. Its matte ceramic bezels also lend both style and structure to the piece, setting off the entire design. The tachymeter can also be found on the bezel. The distinctive features of the Carrera line are seen in its decidedly sporty industrial look with its long, angular lugs . The watch is finished with a black alligator strap with an ingeniously added rubber back giving it a good grip on the wrist for active days.
