Introducing: The TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02

February 19, 2018

TAG Heuer's flagship Carrera line, which remains the company's best-selling collection now comes with the Heuer 02 chronograph movement. Many readers will remember this automatic column-wheel chronograph with vertical clutch from the Heritage Autavia Caliber Heuer 02, the watch that resulted from the Autavia Cup competition. In the lead up to Baselworld, TAG Heuer is announcing a total of 12 C count 'em C new Carreras, most featuring 43mm cases. There is also a 45mm execution with GMT. Why This Watch Matters This is the first time we've seen the Heuer 02 C a pretty nice automatic column-wheel chronograph movement C powering a Carrera, the flagship watch line from TAG Heuer. (That's if you exclude the TAG Heuer Carrera 02T, a tourbillon-equipped version of the chronograph that rocked Baselworld 2016 with its sub CHF 15,000 sticker price.) The Heuer 02 caliber is a movement that had a long road to production from the beginning. It first saw life as the Caliber 1969, but was soon rechristened the CH80. This was right around the time that Jean-Claude Biver became CEO of TAG Heuer and paused the project. When it was finally deemed the right time for Heuer 02 to enter production, it debuted in the aforementioned 2017 Autavia Cup winner the TAG Heuer Heritage Autavia Caliber Heuer 02, which was TAG Heuer's highest profile mechanical watch launch of last year. It's a great looking, if somewhat large, sports watch with wonderful vintage styling. I spent a week with it a few months ago, and I must say I really loved my time with it.? Initial Thoughts While I believe there is a market for this watch, I doubt it's to be found among the core of HODINKEE's readers. This is a 43mm or 45mm open-dialed chronograph whose thoroughly modern styling bears more than a glancing likeness to the Hublot Big Bang, with its futuristic, modular construction. Interesting to note that while the TAG Heuer Modular Connected can be disassembled by hand and reconfigured by the owner to have different lugs, say, or a mechanical watch head, this watch is modular in the sense that TAG Heuer can easily create variations in the product line by substituting different materials for lugs, case, etc. The wearer cannot play with it in the same way. When I reached out to Jean-Claude Biver for clarification on this point, he mentioned that the brand will add an online configurator later on, making it easy to personalize your watch. The Basics Brand: TAG HeuerModel: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02Reference Number: CBG2010.FT6144: black dial and brown leather strap; CBG2011.FC6430: blue dial and blue leather strap; CBG2051.FC6426: pink gold lugs and bezel;CBG2016.FT6161: carbon lugs and bezel; CBG2090.BH0661: full ceramic; CBG2A1Z.BA0658: 45mm version with GMT functionDiameter: 43mm (45mm for GMT)Case Material: Varies by reference, but includes steel, gold, carbon, and full ceramic optionsDial Color: Blue or black skeleton dialIndexes: Rhodium-plated, black gold or 5N pink gold-plated hour and minute hands and indexes with white or black Super-LumiNovaLume: YesWater Resistance: 100 metersStrap/Bracelet: Rubber, brown leather and rubber, steel or matte black ceramic with S-shaped links, blue alligator leather and rubber, or matte black alligator leather and rubber. Folding buckle in steel, PVD-covered steel or Grade 2 titanium with double safety push-buttons and TAG Heuer logo. The Movement Caliber: Heuer 02 Automatic ChronographFunctions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph (one version with GMT)Diameter: 32mmPower Reserve: 75 hoursWinding: AutomaticFrequency: 4 Hz (28,000 vph)Chronometer Certified? Pricing & Availability Price: To be confirmedAvailability: June 2018For more click here.