TAG Heuer has partnered Oracle Racing Team USA in the 34th America’s Cup, and here are the commemorative Aquaracer watches we knew were coming.  There are two “limited edition” chronographs here — one with “Team USA” logo and one with “Defender” logo.  Each model is available on a rubber strap or steel bracelet.   If you are not up on yacht racing (like me) you may be wondering what “Defender” is all about.  In short, it means that Oracle Racing Team USA won the last America’s Cup (in 2010, it was then ‘BMW Oracle USA’ beating Hublot sponsored Team Alinghi) and thus they are defending, rather than challenging for, the cup this time around.   Back to the watches:  of note you will see the touches of red, the official “Team USA” color, and the superbly looking “Oracle Racing Team” boat stamped on the caseback (also pictured below).  In addition to the models shown here, there is also a non-chronograph “Team USA” version being produced as well, if you prefer a simpler look.  All in, this is a nicely styled and respectably spec’d watch that many watch enthusiasts will be clamoring for.

TAG Heuer Aquaracer “Team USA” / “Oracle Racing” Watches

Limited Edition ? pieces

44mm stainless steel case, 500 meter water resistant, black rubber bezel, automatic mechanical TH Calibre 16, rubber strap or steel bracelet

a beautifully stamped caseback — “Oracle Racing”

note the “Team USA” logo

 note here the “DEFENDER” logo rather than “Team USA”

the “GGYC” stands for Golden Gate Yacht Club

One last note:  I say “limited edition” in quotations because TAG Heuer conveniently has not stated how many will be produced, which probably means it is a fairly high number (i.e. thousands+) by my definition of “limited edition”.

A nice look at the Heuer Autavia Siffert over at Heuerville.  For more on legendary Swiss racer Jo Siffert, see here.  Click through to Heuerville for all the pics…

Heuer Autavia 1163T Siffert

Nice shot of a Heuer Silverstone trio, Caliber 12′s.  One lucky man, right?  Check him out at Heuerville, or read about each on individually Blue Silverstone 110.313B | Red Silverstone 110.313R | Fume Silverstone 110.313F.

Heuer Silverstone Triple – Full Cal. 12 Set

Baselworld 2012:  TAG Heuer has expanded its “Calibre 1887″ lineup within the Carrera range with a 43mm Chronograph.  This is 2mm larger than the last year’s Carrera 1887 Chronograph.  As well, the watch is a bit more refined and less sporty — vaguely reminiscent of the IWC Portuguese, I think.  Available in a variety of dial/strap combinations, all models have gold hour and minute hands, matching gold Arabic numerals and black sub-dial hands (nicely chosen colors) — that is, except for the black-dialed model  which has all gold hands, including subdials.   Price will be around CHF5500, or $6000 at current F/X rates.  I am partial to the anthracite dial — looks great with the gold markers/numerals and black subdial hands.  Black dial versions look great, too.

TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 43mm

43mm steel case, automatic mechanical TAG Heuer Calibre 1887, variety of dial/strap combinations

anthracite dial:

TAG Heuer insider blog Calibre11 brings us a nice look at the 2012 TAG Heuer Carrera Jack Heuer 80th Birthday edition that will officially be unveiled at Baselworld 2012 next week.  As the name suggests, the watch commemorates the 80th birthday this year of Jack Heuer, the man who among other notable achievements, launched the Carrera back in 1964 and was CEO of Heuer until its sale in 1982.  A fitting choice for this particular limited edition, the Carrera was first introduced in 1964, then discontinued in the mid-1980s before being brought back in 1996. Today, it’s the best-selling model in TAG Heuer’s line-up.  The new Carrera is a Limited Edition of 3000 with an estimated price of CHF4500 in Switzerland.  Lots more great looks and details over at Calibre11 blog.

TAG Heuer Carrera Jack Heuer 80th Birthday Limited Edition 

41mm steel case, automatic mechanical movement (ETA 2894-2), choice of strap or bracelet

Heuerville — a new favorite on my reading list (check it out!) — brings us a very nice look at a beautiful Heuer Silverstone Bordeaux dial, circa 1975.  More looks and the story on this beauty, just pay a friendly visit to Heuerville (I like your taste in Heuer, Stewart!).  On a related note, don’t miss my hands-on with some of the Silverstone re-issues from 2010.

Vintage Heuer Silverstone Bordeaux

pics:  Heuerville

Two weeks ago at the Geneva Time Exhibition, TAG Heuer launched 18 completely new editions of its iconic Formula 1 watch (I already showed and analyzed my favorite, the small seconds + date models).  TAG did a great job — these are some exciting new pieces in TAG’s most popular collection.  Inspired by high-performance Formula 1 automotive technology, the TAG Heuer Formula 1 is for many a gateway watch into the world of fine timepieces (it was for me, at least).  With a quartz movement inside, this watch is all about external appearances — balanced colors and design, unpretentious, functional and super tough — an aspirational piece for many a young professional.   This said, let’s look today at another one of new, revamped TAG Heuer Formula 1 watches, this one a Chronograph model with a striking red aluminum bezel ring.   Again, big credit to TAG Heuer on a job well done with the revamp of the Formula 1 line this year.  Available at TAG Heuer retailers worldwide in April 2012.

TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph Date (Red Bezel)

42mm black titanium carbide-coated case and bezel with red aluminum bezel ring inset

Conceived, developed and manufactured in-house in the company’s R&D lab in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the MIKROGIRDER is the fastest mechanical regulator ever crafted and tested.  Accurate to an unprecedented 5/10,000 or 1/2,000th of a second, the MIKROGIRDER is a completely new regulator system — a coupling beam/girder and excitatory beam/girder system working with a linear oscillator (versus a spiral shape in a classical hairspring) that vibrates isochronously at a very small angle, as opposed to a traditional watch, which vibrates at an angle of up to 320 degrees.

The advantages are numerous. In a classic spiral hairspring system, the effect of gravity due to mass is a dominant issue. With the MIKROGIRDER, the problem no longer even exists. There is no loss of amplitude and the movement’s frequency can be modulated on a very large spectrum of frequency without overburdening the power supply. The result is a significant increase in precision (division of time) and performance (frequency accuracy and stability). The MIKROGIRDER energy performance will enable TAG Heuer chronographs to attain ultra-high frequencies never before dreamed possible. Ten patents are pending on this breakthrough.

The MIKROGIRDER’s dual frequency system ensures precision and chronometry through 2 independent chains. As there is no possibility of interference between “normal speed” and “high speed”, there is better precision and accuracy. The power reserve is improved, too, and wear and tear dramatically reduced, as “high speed” is “on demand” instead of being always engaged. Finally, the dual frequency system offers the ultimate in readability.The smallest fraction of time — 1/100th, 1/1,000th and ½,000th (5/10,000) of a second — is displayed on a central hand that does a complete revolution around the dial a mind-boggling 20 times per second. Furthermore, and like the Mikrotimer Flying 1000, the dial display allows a quick and easy reading of the incredible measurement thanks to 3 scales, 2 external and one at 6 o’clock allowing to read 5/10,000 or 1/2,000ths of a second.

True to its “Technology and Design” DNA, TAG Heuer has embedded this mechanical engineering masterpiece in a new stunning asymmetric chronograph case design. Though the placement of the crown at 12 o’clock is inspired by the 1/100th of a second Heuer stopwatches of the 1920s, the overall design is decisively avant-garde. The unconventional shape and wide opening makes for easier reading, while the dial design allows one to see the beam/girder regulator system “at work”. A new Concept masterpiece from TAG Heuer, it could very well become a commercial piece like most of its Concept predecessors of the last 10 years, including the Monaco V4, the Calibre 360, the Monaco 24, the Mikrograph 100, and, since the end of 2011, the Mikrotimer Flying 1000.

TAG Heuer Concept History

In 2010, TAG Heuer presented the Grand Carrera Pendulum Concept, the world’s first-ever mechanical regulator to replace a conventional hairspring with magnets. Following TAG Heuer’s Calibre 360 Chronograph (2005), which beats at 50Hz and measures and displays to the 1/100th of a second, the 6Hz Pendulum Concept, which is still under development, confirmed TAG Heuer’s position as the unrivalled pioneer of high frequencies.

In 2011, TAG Heuer launched the MIKROTIMER FLYING 1000, the world’s first 500hz mechanical chronograph. A revolutionary mechanical chronograph regulator without any balance wheel system and equipped with two escapements, the Mikrotimer’s beats 3.6 million times per hour, making it 125 times faster than a standard Swiss chronograph. Its central chronograph hand completes a full rotation 10 times per second. Now being successfully commercialized, the Mikrotimer was voted the 2011 Swiss Sports Watch of the Year at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix. The victory marked the 7th time in 10 years that TAG Heuer was singled out by the Geneva jury for its engineering and design prowess.

Now comes the pioneering MIKROGIRDER, the Swiss legend’s greatest achievement in watchmaking engineering to date, a game-changing technology which promises to completely revolutionize the very heart of the watch — the regulator. More than the Pendulum or the Mikrotimer, the MIKROGIRDER represents a total departure from the conventional, 3-centuries-old Christiaan Huygens system, which today still reigns over the mechanical watch industry.

TAG Heuer has demonstrated how to run a product innovation cycle, this the third year of bringing new technology in a concept watch, each building on the year before it.  Way to go JC Babin and team.  Calibre 11 brings the scoop on the new Mikrogirder 2000 ultra high frequency concept watch:

Meet the TAG Heuer Mikrogirder 2000 Concept watch- a dual-assortment, ultra high-beat watch with a Chronograph beating at 7.2 million times every hour, meaning that the watch can time events to 5/ 10,000th of a second. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the new TAG Heuer Mikrogirder is not that TAG Heuer have put out a watch twice as fast as the Mirkotimer- it’s the fact that they’ve done it with a movement that- again- reinvents mechanical movements. The 2011 Mikrotimer had no balance wheel. The 2009 Pendulum had no hairspring. The 2012 Mikrogirder has neither.

Get more pics, full background and discussion @Calibre 11.

TAG Heuer Mikrogirder 2000

5/10,000th of a second accuracy (1/2000th aka “2000″ on dial),

“bullhead” design (pushers, crown at top)

TAG Heuer insider blog Calibre 11 brings us a special first look at some great looking new Formula 1 racing watches coming in 2012 from TAG Heuer (official unveiling @ Baselworld 2012).  A fairly dramatic redesign from previous models, I immediately noticed that the new Formula 1 features a sleeker, more refined look — particularly the bezel and the case finishing (now brushed steel with some polished elements) — major positive improvements from prior models.  The hour markers are also “applied” rather than printed — another notable change that significantly improves the look of the watch.  This said, keep in mind that the TAG Heuer Formula 1 has always been an “entry-level” luxury timepiece so the movement is (and continues to be) quartz.  All in all, you are getting some nice upgrades to the series, and I expect this watch to be well received by watch enthusiasts who want “brand name” on their wrists rather than something that is horologically and mechanically interesting.

TAG Heuer Formula 1 Watch

42mm steel case, black or white dial

There are also other new models (chronograph, alarm watch), which you should check out over at Calibre 11.