ow in its 166th year as a watchmaker and having mastered the chronograph complication across three centuries since the company’s founding in 1860, TAG Heuer initially introduced the Carrera during a golden era for watchmaking.

Under the leadership of Jack Heuer, the fourth generation of the family to lead the business, the TAG Heuer Carrera debuted in 1963 as the young Jack reimagined the staid Swiss watchmaking industry in a modern way.

With a name inspired by the legendary Mexican road race, the Carrera Panamericana, Jack had heard the stories of the feats of bravery in the face of danger that the race required from the parents of Mexican racing drivers Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez.

With its clean, legible design, innovative tension ring below the crystal that increased water resistance and allowed a scale to be applied to it, and featuring a design that would become signature with its peaked lugs, the first Carrera would lay down design codes that have echoed across decades into the latest timepieces of today.

Following on from the critically acclaimed redesign of the TAG Heuer Carrera collection in 2023 that would debut a new “glassbox” design that has been offered in 39mm, 42mm and now 41 mm, the sensibilities of these models provided a strong foundation for a new haute horlogerie interpretation.

For the TAG Heuer Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph, a brand new 42 mm grade 5 titanium case has been designed and crafted by the brand’s in-house experts. Maintaining the signature peaked lugs and exceptional legibility, the new aesthetics preserves the essence of the TAG Heuer Carrera but elevates it to new heights.

Refined, elongated pushers sit either side of the crown to activate the chronograph and an elegantly integrated pusher at 9 o’clock resides in the case band to activate the split-seconds function. The glassbox has been further finessed, giving the impression of perfect integration into the case and giving the effect of magnifying the dial and rehaut.

Featuring a tachymeter scale, the flange is curved to follow the profile of the crystal, minimising parallax error, and the translucent sapphire glass dial allows for the exceptional finishing of the movement to be clearly visible. Further conveying the key code of transparency in the Avant-Garde Horlogerie timepieces of TAG Heuer, the subsidiary dials are individually constructed from the same material as the main dial, providing the watch with enhanced depth.

The sapphire caseback has been carefully designed to allow for the owner to view the incredible movement from all angles, giving the impression that the Calibre TH81-01 is floating.

The movement itself is a work of art. Continuing the important collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, this new variation, referenced TH81-01, continues the work that was completed for the TH81-00 that powers the TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph.

Beating at 5Hz thus ensuring peak precision and with a 65-hour power reserve allowing for great autonomy, this exceptional movement conforms to the highest quality standards of TAG Heuer. Crafted in grade-5 titanium and featuring the chronograph complication in its ultimate form, this movement is not just a testament to durability and accuracy, it stands as a totem to the very best of Swiss made watchmaking know-how.

Made up of more than 350 components, the Calibre TH81-01 is entirely finished by hand, using more than 10 different techniques, such as black polish for the screws or hand-beveling for the various bridges. All of these are crowned by TAG Heuer’s signature finishing technique, the checkered flag pattern, which is engraved by hand one square after another and has become the mark of the Maison’s greatest movements.

Last but not least, the oscillating weight further reinforces the movement’s identity through its shape as the TAG Heuer shield. Also finished by hand with fine-brushed surfaces, it features a delicate miniature gradient painting on its periphery, highlighting the incredible savoir-faire put into this exceptional calibre.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Movement

• Calibre TH81-01
• Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph
• Frequency: 5Hz
• Power reserve: 65h (chrono off), 55h (chrono on)

Functions

• Hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, split-seconds function

Dial

• Transluscent sapphire glass dial
• Anthracite translucent acrylic glassflange
• 3 counters: 3 o’clock: anthracite translucent sapphire glass minute chronograph applied counter; red lacquered hand; red and white markings / 9 o’clock: anthracite translucent sapphire glass hour chronograph applied counter; red lacquered hand; red and white markings / 6 o’clock: translucent sapphire glass dial permanent second indicator; rhodium plated fine brushed hand; white markings
• Fine brushed, polished rhodium plated curved applied indexes with white Super-LumiNova^®
• Fine brushed open-worked hour and minute hands with white Super-LumiNova^®
• White lacquered central hand
• Red lacquered open worked split-seconds hand
• Rhodium plated polished TAG HEUER applied logo “CARRERA”, “SWISS”, “MADE” printed

Case

• 42mm diameter
• Fine brushed, polished, grade-5 titanium case
• Glassbox beveled, domed sapphire crystal
• Fine brushed, polished, grade-5 titanium crown at 3 o’clock
• Fine brushed, polished grade-5 titanium shaped chronograph push-button at 2 o’clock
• Fine brushed, polished grade-5 titanium shaped chronograph push-button at 4 o’clock
• Fine brushed, polished grade-5 titanium shaped split-seconds push-button at 9 o’clock
• Glassbox sapphire caseback
• Water resistance: 30 meters

Bracelet

• Black rubber strap with textile embossing & red stitching
• Fine brushed, polished titanium grade folding clasp with double safety push-buttons; TAG Heuer shield

Dimensions

• Diameter: 42 mm
• Lug-to-lug: 48.6mm
• Lug Width: 22 mm
• Thickness: 15.17mm

Estimated SRP

• 110,000 CHF