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Two Chronograph Icons May Have Just Changed the Watch Industry Forever

It’s the dawn of a new era.

Close-up of a black wristwatch with a tachymeter bezel showing numbers from 80 to 240. The watch hands and hour markers are illuminated in bright blue. The watch has a textured black case and two push buttons on the right side. The background is a gradient from light gray at the top to turquoise at the bottom.TAG Heuer

By Johnny Brayson

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In 2001, Ulysse Nardin launched the Freak, the world’s first watch to feature silicon components in its escapement.

A quarter century later, and silicon is the hairspring material du jour for most high-end brands, including Rolex, Omega and Patek Philippe, all of whom prize the material for its lightweight durability and its amagnetic, thermally stable properties.

But it looks like the horological age of silicon could soon come to an end. That is, if TAG Heuer has anything to say about it.

Spring into action

Following nine years of development and thousands upon thousands of hours of testing, TAG Heuer has officially debuted its carbon fiber-based TH-Carbonspring hairspring, which it says is now finally ready for industrialization.

Close-up of multiple small, circular, mechanical watch hairsprings arranged in a grid pattern on a reflective surface. Each coil has tightly wound concentric rings with a small central hub, resembling precision-engineered components. The image is in black and white, highlighting the texture and detail of the coils.
TAG Heuer hasn’t given its secrets regarding the exact composition of the TH-Carbonspring hairsprings, outside of disclosing that they’re carbon-based.
TAG Heuer

The new hairspring was fully designed by TAG Heuer Lab and is produced in-house by TAG Heuer, which has filed four patents relating to the technology; one of which has already been approved.

According to TAG, the TH-Carbonspring offers three distinct benefits over traditional metal hairsprings:

  • 1. It’s amagnetic, so magnetic fields won’t affect its precision
  • 2. It’s resistant to shocks, offering further protection against a frequent enemy of mechanical watch precision
  • 3. It’s extremely lightweight, which reduces inertia and increases chronometric performance

The TH-Carbonspring is a major watchmaking breakthrough and a milestone in the history of this endlessly innovative 165-year-old company.

TAG Heuer CEO Antoine Pin

This all sounds great, but TAG doesn’t make it inherently clear why this new carbon technology is superior to silicon. Both materials are amagnetic, so that’s a wash, and silicon is also lightweight and anti-shock. I’m assuming the TH-Carbonspring is more shock-resistant than silicon, and it’s most likely lighter since carbon is lighter than silicon, but it would be nice to get some clarification on any perceived exclusive benefits here.

In any case, a fancy new hairspring material — especially one fully developed and produced in-house — is still pretty exciting stuff for TAG Heuer, and it shows how seriously the brand wants to be taken as a watchmaker.

A gloved hand holding a metallic, round, tray containing mechanical watch hairsprings, inside a dark, high-tech environment, likely a cleanroom or laboratory setting.
The carbon hairsprings took nearly a decade of development before getting to a point where industrialization was possible.
TAG Heuer

An iconic pair

To show off its new carbon hairspring technology, TAG Heuer has tapped the most extravagant versions of its two greatest icons — the Monaco Flyback Chronograph and Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport — and given them both carbon-drenched makeovers.

Both watches feature cases, pushers and crowns made of forged carbon, with the Carrera also receiving a tachymeter bezel in the lightweight composite material. Both dials are also made of carbon fiber featuring a snailed pattern inspired by the coil of their hairsprings.

Square-shaped TAG Heuer Monaco wristwatch with a black textured dial and two subdials, featuring a black carbon fiber case and a black woven strap. The watch has three prominent pushers on the right side and a slightly curved crystal. The dial includes the TAG Heuer logo and the word "Monaco.
The TH-Carbonspring will debut in an all-carbon version of the Monaco Flyback Chronograph.
TAG Heuer

The two watches both follow the same monochromatic template, with black subdials, applied black carbon indices, black gold hands and white lacquered chronograph seconds hands. Both also feature sapphire crystals front and back, along with Super-LumiNova lume on their hands (and indices, in the case of the Carrera).

Both watches come on black rubber straps with black DLC titanium folding clasps. The Monaco’s strap has a woven textile-like finish, while the Carrera’s strap has a more traditional rubber look and features a carbon fiber end link. The Monaco measures 39mm across and 14.1mm thick, while the Carrera is 44mm across and 15.4mm tall. Both watches are water resistant to 100m.

Black TAG Heuer Carrera watch with a textured dial featuring two subdials, a visible tourbillon at the 6 o'clock position, and a tachymeter scale on the bezel. The watch has silver hour markers and hands, with a black rubber strap.
Early next year, a similarly carbon-drenched Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport will follow the Monaco in using a TH-Carbonspring hairspring.
TAG Heuer

The Monaco and Carrera are both powered by in-house, COSC-certified, automatic chronograph movements that, obviously, boast TH-Carbonsprings in their escapements. The Monaco runs on the Cal. TH20-60, which features flyback functionality, and the Carrera gets the Cal. TH20-61, which has a flying tourbillon at 6:00 that’s visible through a cutout on the carbon dial.

The Monaco will hit the market first this December with an SRP of $17,900, while the Carrera isn’t expected to arrive until Q1 next year, when it will be priced at $42,100. Both watches are limited to 50 individually numbered examples each.

Black TAG Heuer Monaco watch with a square carbon fiber case, black textured dial featuring two subdials, silver hands, and a black woven strap. The dial includes the TAG Heuer logo, "MONACO," "FLYBACK," and "SWISS MADE" text.TAG Heuer

TAG Heuer Monaco Flyback Chronograph TH-Carbonspring

Specs

Case 39mm
Movement TAG Heuer Cal. TH20-60 automatic flyback chronograph
Water Resistance 100m
About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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