Calibre 11 has covered the key developments in TAG Heuer’s movement strategy over the last 18 months and today we can bring you a detailed look at what is happening in 2012 and beyond. And the news is significant: more in-house Calibre 1887s, a new high-end mass production movement and a continued move away from ETA, Nivarox and the rest of the Swatch Group.

New in-house Movement
The most significant news from TAG Heuer today is that it has confirmed that it is tooling up to manufacture a new high-end in-house movement. …

Continuing with the 2012 Basel releases are a brace of Gold Carrera 1887 41mm Chronographs- two in 18k Rose Gold and one in Steel and Yellow Gold. The watches continue both the expansion of the Carrera 1887 range, and the tradition of the Carrera in Gold.

The increase in the number of Calibre 1887 Carreras reflects not only the popularity of the initial 1887 series, but also the increased availability of the 1887 movement as TAG Heuer ramps up production.
History of the Gold Carrera
Regular readers will recall Mark Moss’ articles on …

TAG Heuer has expanded the use of its Calibre 1887 movement to another model in the Carrera range- the 2012 Carrera 1887 43mm Chronograph. As the name implies, the watch has a 43mm case diameter, 2mm larger than the existing Carrera 1887 Chronograph.
Along with the larger diameter come a range of tweaks to the design, many of which we have seen on other watches in the Carrera range. While the 41mm Carrera 1887 is still very much a sporting Chronograph, the larger models veers towards the luxury end of the …

It’s hard to imagine today’s TAG Heuer range without the Carrera, the model that was at the heart of the range for more than twenty years, but disappeared in 1985.
Making its comeback in 1996- initially as a Limited Edition- the Carrera is now available in more than 40 different models, with case sizes ranging from 39-43mm and an array of quartz and automatic movements.
While this breadth means there is no shortage of choice, it also means that it’s a ongoing challenge to give each of the models its own distinct …

Without doubt the most discussed watch on Calibre 11 is the Carrera 1887, the new Carrera announced at Basel 2010 powered by the in-house Calibre 1887. Regular readers will know that the design of the watch has changed twice, with TAG Heuer showing a third version of the watch late last year.
There has been some confusion on the changes: why they happened and which markets would be getting which version. We asked Carrera designer Christoph Behling for his take on the changes when we spoke with him a few weeks …

It’s hard to remember a time when there has been so much focus on the movement that sits inside a watch- where it comes from, who designed it and who made it. It may sound strange to say that there was little focus on movements until around 2000- after all, they are not only an integral part of the watch, but are the actual components that deliver the primary function of a watch- keeping time.
I suspect that a big part of the reason was that by the 1990s no-one, putting …

TAG Heuer have made a second round of changes to the Carrera Calibre 1887. The model has been available in some markets for the last few months, but ahead of the launch rolling out globally, further detailed updates have been made to the design of the watch. The changes only impact the dial- the case, pushers, hands and movement are unchanged.
The Carrera 1887 prototype was first displayed in March at the Basel show and was followed by an updated version in May (a change some foolish observers called the “Final …

TAG Heuer’s links with motor-sport has provided many an excuse over the years for racing-inspired Chronogragphs. This month alone, TAG Heuer have announced three such watches, all of which were previewed at Basel: the Monaco Twenty-Four and Grey Monaco Vintage have been reviewed before at Calibre 11 and today it’s time to review the new TAG Heuer 300 SLR.
The 300 SLR (Ref. CAR2112) is a tribute to the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of the 1950s, which had both a glorious and infamous racing career. The high point was the victory …

The short life of the Calibre 1887 movement has been far from dull. Over the last 12 months we’ve had the announcement of the new movement, the initial controversy over its origins, the excitement of the launch of the Carrera 1887, the post-Basel re-design and now- finally- the first watches arriving in stores.

And these developments have been covered in detail here at Calibre 11, including this article that discussed the origins of the movement and how it differed to its Seiko origins.
And there have been two questions that have dominated …

Without a doubt the best received production TAG Heuer watch at Basel this year was the TAG Heuer 300 SLR, a limited edition version of the Carrera Calibre 1887 due to be released in the next couple of months.
The 300 SLR (Reference number CAR2112.FC6267) will be launched to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Mercedes 300 SLR victory in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana, which of course is the same race that gave the Heuer Carrera its name.
While based on the new Carrera 1887, the 300 SLR has several important differences, …

The highlight for me of TAG Heuer’s Baselworld watches was the TAG Heuer 300SLR, a new limited edition heritage watch to be released in October alongside the Monaco 24 and the new Grey Heuer Monaco re-edition.
While I didn’t manage to take any photos of the new watch, Hodinkee did manage to get some shots, which you can see here.
The 300SLR (ref. CAR2112)  is based on the new Carrera Calibre 1887, but loses the external bezel and carries no Carrera markings. The dial itself is a metallic bronze colour, reminiscent of …

Debating the merits of watch movements is usually a sport reserved for the true Watch Idiot Savant. When I bought my first automatic watch (a Heuer Monza re-edition), I took it back to the store shortly after I bought it because I noticed that if I didn’t wear it for a few days, it tended to stop. The funny thing is that as soon as I started wearing it again, it worked fine…surely I can’t be the only one who has done this.
One of the secrets of the Swiss watch …