Watches And Wonders 2022: TAG Heuer- Carrera Plasma With A H02 Tourbillon Creates Technological Disruptions
5 min read
When does a new watch become more than just a new watch? When it heralds the start of a new era in the world of premium design. For decades, diamond has been the world's most exclusive and appealing substance, yet the qualities that make it so special have limited how it may be utilised and the effects it can produce – until now. TAG Heuer has dropped the Carrera Plasma, featuring lab-grown diamonds at Watches And Wonders 2022.
This is a defining moment in the brand's approximately 160-year existence, as well as the watch industry as a whole. The diversity of lab-grown diamonds allows for unrestricted creativity, and this technological disruption is a new method of mastering design and the dance of light with the material.
This pivotal point for TAG Heuer as a luxury watchmaker – entering the lab-grown diamonds market – focuses on the avant-garde aesthetics, adaptability, and design principles that have the power to make a watch genuinely distinctive, all while maintaining the TAG Heuer watch offering. The TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma is yet another illustration of the brand's avant-garde revolutionary attitude, which is profoundly ingrained in the brand's DNA.
TAG Heuer is not only pushing at the edge of traditional luxury watchmaking but also redefining
technological and creative limits: “Innovation and redefining frontiers is in our DNA. With the
introduction of the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma, we want to expand the possible palette and designs for diamond watches and diamonds in general, and create a new and breathtaking vision of mastering carbon and diamond design as well as cutting-edge light effects”, said Frédéric Arnault.
Where legacy meets avant-garde innovation
What better model to use to push the boundaries of traditional luxury watchmaking technology, design codes, and history than the Carrera, one of the most famous of all TAG Heuer watches?TAG Heuer introduces a whole new level of creative flexibility and possible diamond shapes, as well as implementations of diverse design processes employing lab-grown diamonds, by incorporating the cutting-edge feature of lab-grown diamonds into its product universe. This also gives customers something truly unique, a product that incorporates cutting-edge technology and employs it in novel ways.
“Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technology, which we refer to as ‘Diamant d’Avant-Garde’ at
TAG Heuer, enables us to explore the versatility of carbon in the form of lab-grown diamonds – to create a stunning timepiece where diamonds are used in very unique shapes and textures. Lab-grown diamonds allow us to innovate and experiment with this exceptional material, and this opens up a new realm of possibilities for designers, watchmakers and engineers”, said Edouard Mignon, Chief Innovation Officer, TAG Heuer & LVMH Watches & Jewelry Division.
A Masterpiece Of Materials And Contrasts
The H02 Tourbillon Nanograph movement powers the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma, which includes Diamant d'Avant-Garde lab-grown diamonds placed in the case and embellished indices. One of the most amazing features of this new and unusual watch is the polycrystalline diamond dial. The lab-grown diamonds used in this Carrera Plasma are made by a network of partners, including Lusix, Capsoul, and Diamaze, who specialise in this innovative, cutting-edge technology.It’s 44 mm watch case is mostly composed of sandblasted anodized aluminium, which is a perfect match for the material's lightness and colour, as well as the strength and purity of the diamond. TAG Heuer's designers have also created a black ceramic polished bezel, which emphasises the watch's elegance and contrast patterns even more.
One of the standout features of this new Carrera Plasma is the unusual polycrystalline diamond dial. This diamond effect on the custom dial plate is the result of a group of crystals growing together as one, resulting in yet another one-diamond morphology. Another example of a rich CVD development is when a large number of diamonds combine to produce magnificent reflections and a diverse visual effect while remaining a single diamond piece.
The new Carrera Plasma's design is stunning, and the movement inside is even better: the calibre houses the groundbreaking in-house carbon hairspring, developed by the TAG Heuer Institute and brought to life using the same CVD method as lab-grown diamonds, showcasing the material in all of its forms.
This special edition has been extensively hand-finished and features the oscillating weight in the form of the TAG Heuer shield. It comes with an elegant black leather strap with black stitching and a black titanium grade 2 ADLC-treated clasp for an even bolder look.
This spectacular TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma offered as a Watches and Wonders invention, represents the work of a specialised and dedicated team to design this Diamant d'Avant-Garde plasma technology in the purest TAG Heuer DNA. It will be unveiled soon all over the world and will come with a five-year international guarantee.
