FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T 'Plasma' Nanograph

 
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This is the last of the 'Watches and Wonders' releases to get it's 'First Impressions/C.O.C.O.' post, albeit 'First Impressions' is a bit of a joke since I can't honestly believe any of us mortals will be seeing one of these any time soon. To be honest, I've been rather unenthusiastic about doing this post because it's hard for me to grapple with a new TAG Heuer that is utterly beyond my wallet. I mean sure there are expensive models like the Carrera Tourbillons but they are still potentially attainable should I ever decide to sell a large number of pieces from the collection. This however, is a different story... should I wish to buy this watch I would need to sell my house and I don't think my wife would be very keen on that idea.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Nanograph' Unboxing by Peter Jackson the Jeweller

 

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Nanograph' Limited Edition by WatchBox Studios

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ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Nanograph

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Sheffield, 25th May 2019

Turning around and away from the new Autavia display I noticed behind me the Nanograph, all on it's lonesome in a little glass class. Well, I wasn't expecting that! Obviously the Nanograph is way beyond my means, but I was excited to see it nonetheless, a pity then that it didn't exactly blow me away.

Think back to when TAG released the Formula 1 Aston Martin, the pictures made me sit up and take notice, but when I finally got to see it, well... it just didn't pack the punch that the photographs promised. Unfortunately the Nanograph suffers much the same fate. The green isn't really all that 'in your face' and there isn't nearly enough of it for my liking. Hard to believe (not least for me), but the Nanograph fell way short and was blitzed by my first impression of the bronze/green Autavia!

Not only that, but for about £5k less I could have the limited edition blue-lume tourbillon that was sitting not three feet away, and looks a lot more exciting if I'm honest. Even the strap on the Nanograph was a bit disappointing, it looked like it had been worn for about three years. I mean I know the watch is probably having a bit of a hard life, what with being trolled around the boutiques trying to pick up sales, but... I dunno, it just didn't excite me at all. 

The worst thing is I can't even get excited about the hairspring in it, because for an eighth of the price I could have the exact same hairspring in a new Autavia. Is it me, or is it kind of shooting yourself in the foot to bring out something genuinely revolutionary and then stick it in a range of 'mid-price' watches five minutes later? Haven't they rather pulled the rug out from the Nanograph somewhat?

On the wrist, the Nanograph wears exactly like any other 45mm Carrera really. I do like the lime green stripe around the case, much like the red stripe on the original Heuer 01s, but I just wish there was more of it on the dial. Speaking of the dial, I don't know if it was the lighting in the shop but it's all very dark. All that lovely detailing you can see in the photos isn't really that visible. On the plus side, this does make the Nanograph quite legible in comparison to a lot of 'skeletonised'* watches, but if I was buying this I don't really think that would be my primary concern.

*It's not really skeletonized, I know, but it's not a normal flat dial either

Disappointing then, certainly in comparison to the impressive Autavia collection, but before I go I must just mention 'Jackie' who served me in the TAG boutique today. What a lovely, friendly, enthusiastic lady, and a credit to TAG Heuer and Watches of Switzerland (who own the store). Like Ashley in the Goldsmiths on the lower floor, I haven't got a bad word to say about her, exactly the sort of person I'd want to see when looking at watches, I just wish I could have bought something after the amount of time she spent with me. 

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T Nanograph Tourbillon

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When Mr Jean Claude Biver took over at the helm of TAG Heuer, one of the things he did was refocus the brand in the £1000-£15,000 (entry level luxury) price range and in the process curtailed the extravagances of the Haute Horlogerie department. This, unfortunately, brought an end to the launch of new innovative pieces like the Monaco V4 and the various Mikro- product ranges. To be fair, Mr Biver drastically reduced the entry price for the purchase of a Swiss-made tourbillon and thus brought high-end watchmaking to the masses (relatively speaking) and in the process turned TAG Heuer into the largest producer of tourbillons in Switzerland almost overnight. But despite that, for many fans of the brand the lack of new complicated pieces was something of a disappointment.

It would be wrong to presume though that there is a connection between the appointment of Stephane Bianchi and the announcement of the Nanograph. Clearly the Nanograph hasn't been created since last November and as I understand it Mr Biver is still very much in the picture, albeit taking a less 'hands-on' role because of ongoing health issues and inevitable entropy. Besides, while this piece represents a significant step forward for the brand (TAG Heuer becoming one of only a very few brands capable of producing their own hairsprings) it is perhaps not quite as revolutionary as pieces such as the Monaco V4 and the Mikropendulum. Nonetheless, the use of carbon nanotubes to manufacture a hairspring is a significant achievement and it's nice to see the brand pushing the envelope again, hopefully we will see more in this vein in the future.

So what's the benefit? Well...

1) The lightweight, low-density hairspring is virtually unaffected by gravity and shock. In their lab, TAG Heuer tested the watches with a 5,000g/1m fall onto a hard surface, unlike metal hairsprings (which bent) and silicon hairsprings (which broke) the carbon-composite hairsprings remained intact.

2) The carbon-composite hairspring is produced with the collet already attached, usually this small component which is required to attach the hairspring to the balance wheel axis requires complicated assembly and opens the door to further inaccuracy.

3) The carbon-composite hairspring is completely antimagnetic, which eliminates the issue of inaccuracy that can result from the watch coming into contact with a magnetic source.

4) Perfect concentruc oscillations are made possible thanks to the carbon-composite hairspring's geometry and improve the precision of the watch.

5) Optimal thermal behaviour and aeroelasticity have been achieved by pairing the carbon-composite hairspring with an aluminium alloy balance wheel.

Impressive stuff!

Furthermore, in a nod to haute horlogerie pieces of the past like the Flying 1000, TAG has decorated the watch with a bright neon green colour and also used white gold inserts in the aluminium alloy balance wheel, not to mention the company has gone to town with the hexagon/honeycomb theme, even going as far as extending it to the rotor (which is visible through the sapphire display back). 

Personally, with the hexagon theme, the carbon bezel and lugs and the splashes of yellow I think the watch looks absolutely fantastic, and I'm sure I'm not the only person thinking to themselves 'why didn't the Aston Martin Carrera look like this?' Well, as I've said before, it's one thing to put acid colours on a quartz Formula 1 costing £1500 or so, but a little more risky to decorate a mass market £5,250 Carrera, and let's face it, if they had done that, then this $25,500 masterpiece wouldn't have nearly the visual impact it does, would it?

The piece also comes in this rather stylish box which incorporates a watch winder, and appears to have a wedge shaped 'foot' underneath the front edge to facilitate the opening of the front. Clearly this is way out of my budget, but it's definitely one to put on the 'lottery-win' dream list, right next to the Monaco V4, the Mikropendulum and my personal favourite, the Flying 1000. Actually I suppose you could look at this as an affordable alternative to the Flying 1000, giving you some of that watch's looks for a fraction of the price (albeit without that piece's super high-end complication).

I think it's important that TAG Heuer get back to making watches like this (and higher end still), sure most of us will never be able to afford them, but brands need that trickle down effect that products like this deliver, especially when they are trying to capture the mass market and satisfy the needs of the more 'educated' watch enthusiast.

VIDEO: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T Nanograph