At the past F1 Chinese Grand Prix in April, Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen (Max Verstappen) from pole position won the first Chinese race of his career on the track.
Advertising signs of various watchmakers can be seen everywhere on the track, and the audience can see the exclusive logos of many internationally renowned watchmaking brands on the track and on the racing cars. With the success of Verstappen in Shanghai, the professional racing chronograph he wore, the TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph, once again entered the public eye, attracting the keen attention of many fans and watch fans.
2016, Carrera Series Red Bull Racing Special Edition
TAG Heuer has been a partner of Red Bull Racing since 2016, but this is not the first time the brand has partnered with competitive motorsport. In fact, from the perspective of watchmaking history, the TAG Heuer brand has been selling a range of products on the market since its inception, which has a history of professional sports. In particular, two of the two racing time series, the Carrera and Monaco, named after the Carrera Panamericana Road Race and the Monaco Grand Prix, are designed to help the fierce races with their distinctive styling and precise and reliable movement configuration.
Historical "Carrera" and "Monaco" chronographs
For many watch enthusiasts, you must be familiar with the modern Carrera chronograph. So how did it come to be in the history of watchmaking? What are the characteristics that have been passed down to this day? Today we will briefly dissect:
Edouard Heuer
Time of Trip
The birth of the Carrera chronograph is a historical record. As early as 1860, when the brand was founded, Edouard Heuer made a name for himself in the field of timekeeping, with the introduction of monopusher chronograph pocket watches with high-end movements. This was followed by the launch of TAG Heuer's first dashboard-mounted chronograph, the Time of Trip, which measures every moment of the voyage on an airship across the Atlantic or a long journey in a car.
Mikrograph
But at professional events, these functions were not enough, and in 1916, the Mikrograph Chronograph Pocket Watch was introduced, the first stopwatch in history to be accurate to 1/100th of a second, and TAG Heuer patented it. Soon, it was released with a split-seconds chronograph version that became an Olympic timekeeper.
The predecessor of the Carrera chronograph
By the 50s of the 20th century, TAG Heuer had become synonymous with timekeeping and received widespread acclaim. The Maison's decision to focus on chronographs in the field of watches led to a series of new chronographs with larger screw-down cases that enhanced their waterproofness and robustness, as well as dials that for the first time took on a cleaner, more modern look that was the predecessor of the Carrera chronograph.
1963, Carrera Chronograph
In 1963, Jack Heuer, son of Edward Heuer, decided to create a chronograph designed for drivers and racing enthusiasts. As a long-time fan of motorsport, he knows all the criteria required for the sport: a well-seen, easy-to-read dial and a sturdy case that is shockproof and waterproof for driving. In addition to these essential elements, it was important to have an unmistakable professional chronograph function, and the Carrera Chronograph was born.
Carrera, which means passion, adventure and heroism in Spanish, has its origins in the Carrera Pan Americana, a legendary racing race of the 50s of the 20th century, which was also the most famous and dangerous endurance race of the time, and for half a century, the Carrera collection has been combining racing style with timeless elegance:
1963, Carrera Chronograph
A round body that is both "sturdy" and "elegant". Unlike other brands' rugged and bold style, Carrera has a sophisticated and elegant modernist palette. Jack. TAG Heuer draws on the classics of the era, including many of the modernist ideas that were popular in the early '60s. For example, the architect Oscar Niemeyer's agile and graceful geometric architecture, Eero Saarinen's clear outlines and concise architectural designs, and even the simple and clear aesthetics of Pop Art have all contributed to the epoch-making shape and style of Carrera's watches. In addition, in order to enhance the performance of the model, the watch is equipped with an innovative tension ring, which not only holds the glass in place, but also improves the water-resistance of the case, making the watch more durable.
2024, Carrera Chronograph
An open and clear chronograph dial. Jack. TAG Heuer wanted a racing driver who could quickly read the time on the dial during the intense racing competition. Under the elegant case, TAG Heuer has equipped the watch with a clean and clear chronograph dial, from the narrow bezel used in the original model to the bezel-less style that followed, the watchmakers have given the watch an open and generous dial design. On this small square dial, the dial is not too cumbersome, and only uses minimalist lines to outline the layout of different functions. In subsequent chronographs, there are also contrasting "black and white panda dials" and coloured counters with special meanings to enhance the overall legibility, and the "clear and easy to read" feature is permeated throughout.
1158 CHN 金质卡莱拉Arm表
Partnering with motorsports. The racing heroes who are constantly pushing the limits of speed have always been an eternal source of inspiration for the Carrera collection. TAG Heuer has a very important Carrera watch in its history – the Ref. 1158 CHN Gold Carrera, which itself was launched to celebrate TAG Heuer's listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange. However, in 1971, during the cooperation between TAG Heuer and Scuderia Ferrari, due to the agreement to give a watch to the drivers, Niki Lauda and Clay Reggazoni created an exclusive 1158 solid gold watch engraved with their name on the case back.
Caliber 11
In addition to the above-mentioned characteristics, in the development of chronograph movements, looking back at the history of TAG Heuer watchmaking, there is such a very important node that connects the two chronograph collections of Carrera and Monaco. In 1969, TAG Heuer launched the first modular automatic chronograph movement in history, the Calibre 11 automatic chronograph movement. The brand used it in the redesigned Autavia, Carrera and the then new Monaco collection. Unlike the design of the Carrera, the Monaco Chronograph, named after the "Monaco Grand Prix", completely breaks with the traditional watchmaking norms and has a very avant-garde and outstanding design:
Monaco Chronograph, 1969
Square water-resistant case. Launched in 1969, the Monaco was the first square waterproof chronograph in the history of watchmaking, with a large square case. In the early days, the Monaco chronograph was not well received by the general public when it was first introduced, after all, the round case was the mainstream. But if TAG Heuer wanted to break the shackles of tradition, he had to adopt some bold ideas. The biggest difficulty in making a square case is its waterproofness, and the lack of density at the corners makes it difficult to design. One of the biggest features of EPSA manufacturers is that "the deeper the watch dives, the better its waterproof performance", and the case produced by EPSA is still very good in this part of waterproofing.
2023, Monaco Racing Blue Chronograph
The crown is on the left side. The early Monaco chronograph crown mechanism with the Calibre 11 movement is located on the left side of the case. Traditionally, the crown has been positioned on the right side to allow the wearer to adjust and wind the movement, but since the Calibre 11 was the first automatic chronograph movement, TAG Heuer expressed its confidence that it did not need to be wound by "moving the crown mechanism to the left side". The design was clever and became a design feature of the early Monaco collections. Although the Caliber 11 calibre was only used in the 70s and 80s of the last century, and then discontinued and has not survived to this day, today the Caliber 11 calibre is still available in the Caliber 11 calibre (unrelated to the earlier Caliber 11 calibres) and some special models with a crown on the left side to commemorate this success.
Monaco Gulf Oil 2022
Chronograph counters that resemble the "dashboard of a racing car". Drawing on a distinctly linear aesthetic, the watchmaker has created the iconic "circle in the square" dial style, echoing the racing theme through clever colour combinations. Although the unprecedented avant-garde shape of the Monaco chronograph has discouraged many watch fans. Until the filming of "Le Mans" was about to be made, the film attracted a lot of attention with its real race and real drivers, depicting the world's toughest endurance race in the '70s, and at the same time, the chronograph worn on the wrist of the car was especially important because the film needed to be realistic.
As it happens, the Calibre 11 chronograph movement was very hot at the time, and all the chronographs equipped with this movement were sold out by TAG Heuer, and the rest was the less popular Monaco chronograph. The film's star, Steve McQueen, admired the watch after trying it on. Later, after the film was broadcast, the Monaco chronograph became famous, appearing in major classic films and major motor racing competitions.
Since then, when it comes to racing chronographs, Monaco is the first thing that comes to mind for many car enthusiasts. Today, this unique masterpiece can be seen in various sports events, and the avant-garde and trendy design style is also loved by domestic and foreign fashion stars.
In 2024, the Monaco split-seconds chronograph
Finally, since the birth of the first Carrera and Monaco watches, these two chronograph collections have become the best companions for many famous racing drivers with their undoubted professional precision, and have been extremely influential in the field of motorsports. In addition to the world's first patented automatic chronograph in 1969, they were followed by the world's first 1/100th of a second mechanical chronograph, which used two escapements to subvert the traditional chronograph and lead the way in the field of technology. For all watch fans, if you want to buy a chronograph, TAG Heuer Chronograph is a good choice.