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TAG HEUER MERIDIIST: THE AVANT-GARDE COMMUNICATION INSTRUMENT

Unveiled in 2008, the MERIDIIST was created by TAG Heuer’s designers and engineers for demanding travellers looking for the most reliable communication instrument. Its name is the fusion of MERIDIAN and SPECIALIST.

The MERIDIIST was modelled in its conception as a true pocket watch. Taking its inspiration from the original MONACO, the radical square-shaped racing chronograph made famous by Steve McQueen in the 1970 film classic Le Mans. Its distinctive contours give the MERIDIIST the timelessness design of an iconic watch.

With an outstanding Power Reserve of 28 days in standby time and 7 hours talk time, the MERIDIIST is the ultimate mobile phone for those who cannot afford to miss an important call due to a fast discharging battery.
The dual display offers the user a new level of refinement with the ease of viewing the time and handling incoming calls directly from the inside pocket.
The case is crafted in 316L stainless steel, with the highest standards of finishes and the finest materials of horology. Drawing its expertise and know-how from the world of high end watchmaking, TAG Heuer hand assembles the 400 mechanical components of the MERIDIIST to guarantee the highest level of reliability.

MERIDIIST INFINITE: THE WORLD’S FIRST PERPETUAL POWER RESERVE
A revolutionary technology pioneers a new era in the mobile industry, pushing the limits of portable devices autonomy.
For the first time, a communication instrument can maintain the charge level of its battery in standby mode. An invisible photovoltaic component is built into the sapphire crystal screen, which produces enough electricity under certain natural or artificial light sources to charge the phone.

Available in a Limited Edition of 1911 pieces, the first TAG Heuer communication instrument entirely made of titanium grade 5, carbon and rubber, the new MERIDIIST INFINITE celebrates the first dashboard chronograph ‘Time of Trip’, designed for aircraft and automobiles and patented by TAG Heuer in 1911.

Faithful to its commitment to Avant-Garde, TAG Heuer has invented the first Perpetual Power Reserve.

MERIDIIST II: SPECIAL EDITION 2014
TAG Heuer presents this year a Special Edition of the MERIDIIST II with a distinctive side key and camera shutter design. It comprises three variations which introduce a new grey PVD finishing: smoky grey, all black and a combination of smoky grey and rose gold. They express not only TAG Heuer’s pursuit of perfection in the art of manufacturing, but also reference the design of the TAG Heuer Carrera MikroPendulumS, the conceptual timepiece presented during Baselworld 2013.

Thinner, lighter, faster and more powerful, the MERIDIIST II Special Edition features dual SIM slots for maximum connectivity, 28 days of Power Reserve and an exclusive 24/7 worldwide personal Concierge Service.

The MERIDIIST II is a design object of the highest order, setting the pace in the luxury category thanks to its integrated performance and services, the sleek elegance of its slim design, and also the richness of its materials and finishes.

MONACO V4 TOURBILLON - THE EVOLUTION OF THE V4 REVOLUTION

2004-2014: Celebration of the V4’s 10th Anniversary

FROM THE WORLD’S FIRST WATCH DRIVEN BY BELTS TO THE WORLD’S FIRST TOURBILLON DRIVEN BY BELTS
A decade on, TAG Heuer’s breakthrough V4 technology continues to astound

BASELWORLD 2004 - A STAR IS BORN…

In 2004, TAG Heuer changed the course of watchmaking by unveiling the MONACO V4 Concept Watch, the world’s first watch with belt drives, linear mass and ball bearings.
The V4 name derived from the V-shaped main plate on which the movement's four barrels are mounted: the 2-by-2 belt series on ball bearings are angled at +/-13 degrees, and look like the cylinders in a Formula One motor-racing engine.

The concept watch’s patented belt-driven transmission and linear mass represented nothing short of a complete rewriting of the fundamental principles of mechanical watchmaking. Housed inside another revolution, the audacious, square-faced Monaco seen on Steve McQueen wrist in the 1971 race-film classic Le Mans, it won Best Design at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, Germany’s Red Dot Design Award, Wallpaper Magazine's "Watch of the Year” and Popular Science's "Best of What's New”.
It also reestablished TAG Heuer as the world leader of advanced mechanical movement design…

FIVE YEARS LATER: THE CONCEPT BECOMES REALITY…

In 2009, against all expectations, TAG Heuer stunned the watchmaking world by unveiling what many industry insiders said would never see the light of day: a fully commercialized production model of the MONACO V4. The breakthrough came as a result of five years of intensive research by TAG Heuer’s Haute Horlogerie engineers to overcome the last stumbling blocks—most important being the successful development of ultra-thin and ultra-resistant transmission belts.

A true work of art, the MONACO V4 was the most avant-garde watch industrialized to date, housing the first new complication in a commercially realized timepiece since the first automatic chronograph movement, Calibre 11 Chronomatic, was issued by Heuer in 1969.
Several limited editions will follow — in rose gold, titanium, platinum and ceramic, each more breathtaking than the last, until…

BASELWORLD 2014 - WHEN AVANT-GARDE HAUTE HORLOGERIE MEETS TRADITION

Building on its top-secret development of transmission belts no thicker than a single hair, TAG Heuer takes its avant-garde creation to the next level—juxtaposing its patented belt technology with one of the most emblematic complication of watchmaking—the tourbillon.
The result—the fully patented MONACO V4 TOURBILLON—breaks with all accepted watchmaking codes and conventions.

By far the most intricate and iconic complication of Haute Horlogerie, a tourbillon is a mechanical system for regulating the speed at which a watch beats. Traditionally, it overcomes the effects of gravity by placing the balance wheel and escapement inside a rotating cage.
The MONACO V4 TOURBILLON complicates this complication further, by using, in a world first, a micro-belt to drive the tourbillon. Thanks to the belt driving the tourbillon, there is no backlash on the tourbillon. The major advantage is the absolute fluidity of its rotation. The avant-garde timepiece is equipped with an automatic linear rewinding system, and the mass is guided by a linear railroad instead of a traditional rotating system. The four notched micro-thin (0.07mm) transmission belts, the design and engineering of which remain one of the best-kept secrets in watchmaking, create a very efficient shock absorbing system. In another first, the barrels are held and rotated on ball bearings.
Entirely hand-crafted and assembled in TAG Heuer’s Haute Horlogerie workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Its exclusive materials include space-grade black titanium for the case.
Only by taking risks, by challenging and transcending traditions, can such achievements be realized. Uniquely combining belts and tourbillon technology, the patented MONACO V4 TOURBILLON proves once again TAG Heuer’s continued tenure at the forefront of Haute Horlogerie design and technology.

THE ART OF MANUFACTURING

Manufacturing is an art form at TAG Heuer, at the avant-garde of industrial creation. Backed by 154 years of know-how and mastered by each of its designers, engineers and craftsman, it is expressed in every in-house dial, case and movement it creates.
This inimitable artistry especially reveals itself in the Carrera collection. With a new fleet housing TAG Heuer’s newest movement — its second movement entirely manufactured in-house, this time with an unprecedented 80-hour power reserve — and a new outstanding offer of Carrera watches and chronographs of classic design, this iconic legend continues apace.

THE ART OF MOVEMENTS

Centuries-old know-how and cutting-edge technologies have combined to raise TAG Heuer to the rank of a truly Avant-Garde Manufacture. At the heart of the Swiss Jura, the brand produces two precision chronographs that Fine Watchmaking enthusiasts will find housed in cases featuring iconic designs.

The first is the Calibre 1887, a chronograph movement produced and assembled at the company workshops in La Chaux-de-Fonds and Chevenez.

Launched in 2009, this extremely accurate chronograph movement pays tribute to the invention of the oscillating pinion patented by Edouard Heuer in 1887. It earned acclaim among the public and in watchmaking circles by winning the prestigious “Petite Aiguille” award in the 2010 Grand-Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

In 2013, TAG Heuer launched its second movement – the Calibre CH 80 – developed and created by a team of engineers dedicated to transforming utopian dreams into reality. Building on the experience acquired during the making of Calibre 1887, the Research and Development department developed this new ‘engine’ within an impressively short two-year timeframe.

TAG Heuer has spent 40 million Swiss francs to achieve fully vertical industrial integration. The brand has four production sites in Switzerland that enable it to produce its two chronographs and its cases (Cornol, Canton Jura) and dials (Tramelan, Canton Berne). TAG Heuer aims to reach an annual production of 100,000 chronographs by the year 2015, making it the uncontested leader in prestige chronographs and one of the very few Swiss Manufactures capable of producing all of its own major components – movements, dials and cases.

CALIBRE CH 80: THE NEW CHRONOGRAPH BY TAG HEUER
Launched in November 2013 under the code name 1969, the new TAG Heuer chronograph was named CH 80 in reference to its production site (Chevenez) and its 80-hour power reserve.

Extremely slim (6.5 mm), this 233-part new movement is equipped with a vertical clutch system that gives it exceptional power and precision. Its frequency is 28,800 vibrations (4Hz) per hour, with a daily variation in rate between -4/+6 seconds.

Manufactured in TAG Heuer Avant-Garde workshops at La Chaux-de-Fonds and Chevenez, the Calibre CH 80 movement powers counters at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, plus the date window. It has exceptional “Côtes de Genève” finishing and snailing on the blackened tungsten oscillating weight and nickel-plated minutes and gear-train bridges with finely beveled and polished angles. The movement is composed of an assortment and a four-spoked balance supplied by the Swiss company Atokalpa. The bridges, plates and ébauches are all produced in Chevenez.
Above all, this new mechanism boasts an optimal combination of three parameters: thinness, a large power reserve, and significant volume potential.

CARRERA: THE EVOLUTION OF AN ICON
Born in 1963 from the imagination of Jack Heuer, one of the last living Swiss watchmaking legends, the Carrera was inspired by the legendary “Carrera Panamericana Mexico Road race,” the world’s most grueling open-road endurance competition. It is the first sports chronograph specifically designed for professional drivers and sports car enthusiasts.

The Carrera’s uncluttered elegance, rugged construction and at-a-glance legibility continues to set it instantly apart. Marrying modern and classic design elements, its resolutely sporty touches draw upon the timeless codes of motorsports – such as the black and white of vintage dashboard counters or the perforated leather driving gloves favored by Juan-Manuel Fangio and his contemporaries.

The timeless icon has perpetually reinvented itself, reworking the codes that shaped its legend to create a future worthy of its past and present. This year, more than a half century after its creation, the collection is newly enriched with several ultra-classic models.

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre CH 80 Chronograph – 41 mm
The newcomer to the TAG Heuer Carrera collection, the Carrera Calibre CH 80 Chronograph houses the finest avant-garde mechanism in existence: the Calibre CH 80, an in-house manufactured movement combining thinness and endurance with an unprecedented 80-hour power reserve.

Inspired by the first generation of Carrera watches, the Carrera Calibre CH 80 Chronograph reinterprets the aesthetic codes established by its illustrious forebears, giving them a modern and sporty twist.

Powerful design, pure lines and optimal ergonomics: the passion for fine mechanisms is reflected in the meticulous finishing of this prestigious chronograph’s movement and design.
Loyal to the design created in 1963 by Jack Heuer – the man behind some of the most revolutionary advances in the field of sports timing – the displays are arranged in a classic layout, with the chronograph minutes counter at 3 o’clock, the chronograph hours counter at 9 o’clock and small seconds at 6 o’clock. The overall look is based on black and white contrasts, a tribute to the first Carrera “Panda” chronograph that instantly became the must-have watch of the world’s top racing drivers.

The slim movement and sleek design gives it a vintage touch that has been enhanced by a few sporty references, including red accents on the central seconds hands and the tips of the small hands, as well as on the inner bezel ring, the crown and the first quarter of the minute track. This proudly proclaimed sporting heritage demonstrates the privileged ties the brand has cultivated throughout its history with the world of motor racing.

The red-lined strap in perforated calfskin is a stylish nod to the racing gloves worn by drivers in the 1960s.

The polished steel case with facetted lugs is fitted with a sapphire crystal case-back enabling devotees of fine mechanics a chance to savor the beauty and power of the new TAG Heuer movement, Calibre CH 80.

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 Automatic – Steel & Rose Gold (18K 5N) – 39mm
Loyal to its prestigious heritage, the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 Automatic appears in a new light through a subtle re-interpretion of the characteristics that made it such a success. This elegantly sophisticated model, with its pure design and harmonious lines, highlights its various facets in an exquisitely refined manner by cladding its bracelet, bezel and crown in the glowing warmth of 18-carat rose gold. The H-shaped bracelet, which has become the recognizable signature of the Carrera collection, is a delightful blend of gold and fine-brushed steel with meticulously polished edges on lateral rows.

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 Automatic – Steel and Yellow Gold – 39mm
A new classic Carrera by TAG Heuer, powered by the supremely accurate Calibre 5 automatic movement, and sporting a fully refreshed update of the effortlessly easy-to-read dial that made the original such a trendsetter. The sapphire crystal case-back and polished steel case are standout Carrera design elements, as is the fixed bezel in polished solid gold (18K 3N). The details are stunning in their sophistication: hand-applied TAG Heuer logo, indexes and date window. The elegant reinterpretation of an enduring masterpiece, with maximized Carrera refinement and allure.

TAG Heuer Carrera 5 Day-Date Automatic – 41mm
The newcomer to the Carrera Calibre 5 range is a Day Date that is bound to appeal to people who truly value style. The very essence of the Carrera legend is expressed within its 41 mm diameter. The quest for refinement is taken to extremes with the rose gold-plated hands, indexes, date window and logo, all delicately hand-fitted by our dial-making artisans. The polished and satin-brushed indexes accentuate the contrast with the hands, creating a highly readable dial – the trademark of the Carrera and a loyal tribute to Jack Heuer’s original design. The date window with its polished sides provides a simultaneous day-date display, while the entirely polished case may be fitted with an ergonomic bracelet featuring H-shaped links or an alligator leather strap for a more traditional look.

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 7 Twin-Time Automatic – 41mm
The indispensable accessory for today’s sophisticated traveler, the Carrera Calibre 7 enables the wearer to keep an eye – and a foothold – in each time zone thanks to the Twin-Time function. The 24-hour scale around the inner bezel ring of the sunburst-effect anthracite dial indicates the second time zone via the central hand, cleverly replaced by a sporty red arrow. The 41 mm steel case requires 15 stamping operations to achieve the required degree of perfection and is fitted with a sapphire crystal case back designed to reveal the secrets of the movement in action.

Original language: English