TAG Heuer

When TAG Heuer’s Carrera Heuer-01 was announced at Baselworld in 2016, its innovative design marked a new chapter in the evolution of the iconic Carrera - a line with provenance reaching back more than fifty years.

Just months earlier, Jean-Claude Biver had taken the reigns as TAG Heuer CEO, challenging his team with an almost impossible task of redesigning the Carrera. 

While the movement itself was fundamentally identical to the well-established Calibre 1887, now relabeled the Calibre Heuer-01, all it took was for the brand to make some minor cosmetic tweaks that would combine with a new fenestrated dial to create one of the most visually complex and compelling Carreras to date.

The biggest challenge with the new Carrera was the development of its modular case. A modular approach represented a paradigm shift in the design and assembly of the Carrera. It required an entirely different methodology and mindset from anything TAG Heuer had produced before. 

The concept of a modular case had been successful at TAG’s sister company, Hublot, for more than a decade. But how would it translate to TAG Heuer - a brand steeped in tradition with and arsenal of classic designs?

Fast forward to 2018. After less than three years on the market, TAG Heuer’s  newly redesigned Carrera is largely credited for some of the brand’s most profitable years in its 150 year history. 

The market has spoken and simply put, the Carrera Heuer-01 is a resounding success as new models and Special and Limited Editions continue to emerge.

With four Carrera Heuer-01s in my collection along with aspirations of another, I was driven to learn more about the construction of the new Carrera. I wanted to get to the bottom of the so-called, “modular case.” I reached out to my contacts at the brand who generously provided me with a Carrera case to deconstruct and review. 

I must say, I’ve been inside of my share of watches, but the engineering of this case is unlike any other. It’s an extraordinary mixture of brute force engineering genius combined in with subtle of artistry throughout. 

The result is a powerful, robust design that is sexy, practical and by most industry standards, affordable. These attributes combined make the Carrera a watch worthy of further investigation. 

Why Modular?

There are several advantageous characteristics that led TAG Heuer to create a modular case for the new Carreras.

First, the modular case allows for more precise machining and finishing of case components. For instance, creating the lugs separate from the body of the case  (referred to as a “container”) allows multiple different finishes to be applied to various facets. In most versions, the inner facets and tips are polished to a mirror finish while the other facets receive a lightly brushed surface. These seemingly subtle variations cause light to react quite differently to the different angles and finishes.  The lugs are like strapping a kaleidoscope to your wrist.

In addition to their finish, machining the lugs as individual components create bold, clean edges that seem to pierce the sides of the case, creating a sharp, contemporary look. Vintage Carrera lugs appear to “flow” or blend organically into the case due to limitations of the machining process. There is certainly no foul with the traditional lugs, but perhaps it was time to evolve.

Another advantage of the modular case is that it allows the brand to create variations of the Carrera using new finishes, colors and materials without having to redesign and test an entirely new reference. This also allows TAG Heuer to quickly and affordably create limited editions. 

TAG Heuer wasted no time in exploiting the merits of the modular case. As of this writing, the brand has produced more than fifty variations of the Carrera Heuer-01 in less than three years, 17 of which were Limited or Special Editions.

The Art of Parts 

In trumpeting the merits of its newly redesigned Carrera, TAG Heuer reports that  the modular case has twelve components. I’m certainly no mathematician, but I think the brand has been conservative with its math.  By my count, there are more than two dozen pieces that make up a Carrera Case when you include crystals, gaskets, screws, etc. In any case (no pun intended) it’s impressive.

The main component of the Carrera chassis, the container, is responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the watch. As it houses the movement, it is also responsible for water resistance. The container is typically made from PVD coated steel. In case of titanium models, the container is machined from Grade 2 Titanium, which makes a noticeable difference in the weight of the watch.

To say the container is thick or robust is an understatement. It feels as if it were engineered for orbital reentry without a parachute. 

In the case of ceramic models, an even more dramatic change is made in the Carrera’s design. 

Ceramic models are based on a PVD coated steel framework that is shrouded in ceramic. This approach allows for the strength of steel to support the lugs and housing of the movement while simultaneously providing the finish and scratch resistance of ceramic. 

Because the ceramic and steel are combined into one component, in the case of ceramic Carreras, the container and lugs cannot be separated as with steel, titanium or gold models. 

The lugs of the Carreras are machined in pairs. With the exception of ceramic models, these lug pairs are attached to the container, each with a pair of screws that are relatively large by watch standards.

By machining the lugs in pairs, they can be more precisely secured to the container while maintaining the exact spacing required for the strap. 

The case back provides additional security as it overlaps the base of the lugs -  essentially trapping them in place.

One of the most striking features of the Carrera Heuer-01 is its ceramic bezel. Unlike many watches, TAG Heuer opted for a full ceramic bezel rather than an insert. With a polished surface and beveled edges, the results are utterly striking.

I was hoping to remove the bezel for further investigation. As it happens, however, they are press fitted and require specific tools to change out.

Over the years, I have referred many times to TAG Heuer as the masters of subtlety. One example is just below the bezel, where there is a small accent of color, typically red between the bezel and container. This small, polymer ring is not a gasket. In fact, it is not functional at all. Rather, it is purely for aesthetics. In some models, such as gold versions, the polymer ring is black, matching the bezel and container so it is barely visible. In cases where the ring is colored, it really “pops” and adds a surprising amount of detail to the piece.

Of my four Heuer-01s, two have the red polymer rings and the other two are black. I think it’s a great distinctive touch.

Yet another aesthetic feature that deviates from classic Carreras are the small covers between the lugs, sometimes referred to as lug shroud or lug covers. TAG Heuer simply calls them “end tips.”

These two pieces add a lot to the contemporary look of the Carrera. They are made of PVD coated steel and are held in place by the spring bars. No additional screws are used to secure the end tips.

I’ve seen, in at least one instance, that the end tips were removed and an aftermarket strap was added. While I certainly prefer the end tips, their removal opens up the opportunity to use an infinite number of after market straps, or perhaps even an OEM Carrera bracelet which is quite formidable.  

The case back is rather straightforward. It uses four screws to secure it to the container. 

So how does a modular case benefit an owner? 

Besides the aesthetic benefits of the new design, there is one practical benefit. If the watch is damaged, only the affected components have to be replaced. This is certainly important since the lugs, if damaged, can be easily be replaced in pairs rather than requiring a completely new case.

All-in-all, the case is brilliantly designed. 

So what’s next for Carrera?

Through more than four dozen variations, the modular Carrera has changed very little, a testament to its solid design.

With the case perfected, TAG Heuer announced at Baseworld in March that new 43mm Carreras would be receiving the brand’s latest in-house, column wheel chronograph Calibre Heuer-02, based on the earlier CH-80, the same movement powering the reissued Autavias to great success.

I would certainly expect to see more Limited Edition and Special Edition Carreras in the future, but I’ve yet to see any fundamental reason to change the design of the Carrera case itself.

For such a unique design that was engineered in a matter of months, TAG Heuer has done a remarkable job in creating a level of perfection in the Carrera Heuer-01 that makes it worth of carrying the Carrera name. 

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