TAG Heuer - Carrera Plasma

1 0 Thursday, 31 March 2022 Edit this post

The innovative spirit of TAG Heuer is clearly evident in the new Carrera Plasma Tourbillon presented during the Watches and Wonders event in Geneva (March 30 - April 5).

This model makes use of the Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) technology - or ‘Diamant d’Avant-Garde’ as TAG Heuer calls it - to explore the versatility of carbon in the form of lab-grown diamonds used in very unique shapes and textures.

Manufactured by a network of partners specialised in this disruptive technology, such as Lusix, Capsoul and Diamaze, 48 lab-grown diamonds (4.2 ct in total) are set in the 44 mm case of the Carrera Plasma predominantly made of sandblasted anodized aluminum, an ideal complement to the lightness and colour of the diamond, and equipped with a black ceramic fixed bezel with tachymeter scale.

The crown at 3 o’clock is entirely executed in diamond. Made of steel, the two pushers on each side of the crown have been embellished with a black ADLC coating, which brings to the watch a refined matt touch that creates a nice contrast with the brightness of the diamond.

Protected by a domed sapphire crystal, the dial is not less eye-catching with its rhodium-plated brass base covered with a polycrystalline diamond plate (3.9 ct). This diamond effect is a sum of crystals being grown as one diamond morphology. This way, while actually constituting a single piece, this surface creates spectacular reflections like if they were generated by many diamonds.

At 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, the chronograph minute and hours counters feature a black polycrystalline diamond plate that makes the polished rhodium-plated hand to stand out.

The 11 indexes in white gold are set with a diamond each and sport a double index at 12 o’clock. The polished, rhodium-plated hour and minute hands with matt black lacquer are topped with white Super-LumiNova.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma is powered by the H02 Tourbillon Nanograph movement beating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz) with a 65-hour power reserve.

This advanced COSC-certified calibre carries the groundbreaking in-house carbon hairspring developed by the TAG Heuer Institute for the Carrera Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph presented in 2019 and brought to life by the same CVD method used for the lab-grown diamonds.

The key benefits of this high-tech hairspring are:

‒ The lightweight, low-density hairspring is virtually unaffected by gravity and shock.

‒ Perfect concentric oscillations are made possible thanks to the carbon-composite hairspring’s geometry and improve the precision of the watch.

‒ The carbon-composite hairspring is produced with the collet already attached; usually, this small part, which attaches the metallic hairspring to the balance wheel axis, requires complicated assembly and generates further inaccuracy.

‒ The carbon-composite hairspring is completely antimagnetic.

‒ Optimal thermal behaviour and aeroelasticity have been achieved by pairing the carbon-composite hairspring with an aluminium alloy balance wheel.

This special edition has been extensively hand-finished and features the oscillating weight in the form of the TAG Heuer shield.

Matched to a black leather strap with black stitching and a black titanium grade 2 ADLC-treated clasp, the new TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma Tourbillon Nanograph ref. XCBN5A90.FC8315 has an indicative price of CHF 350,000. tagheuer.com