The most accurate mechanical timepiece ever crafted
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Image Gallery ( 3 images )April 17, 2005 TAG Heuer released another first at the Baselworld 2005 global watch mecca - the most accurate mechanical timepiece ever crafted, the “Calibre 360” Concept Chronograph. The “Calibre 360” Concept Chronograph is the first mechanical wrist chronograph to measure and display time to 1/100th of a second, thanks to the exceptionally high frequency of its balance wheel, which oscillates at 360,000 beats per hour, 10 times faster than any other chronograph—a rate that until now was considered impossible.
The ultra resistant and light titanium Ti5 "Calibre 360" Concept Chronograph is the flagship of the range and is being marketed in association with McLaren Mercedes F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya and is designed to highlight TAG Heuer's superior innovation and commanding lead over the rest of the Swiss watchmaking industry, as underlined in 2004 by the consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the business magazine Bilanz, which identified TAG Heuer as one of the three most innovative companies in Switzerland and one of the leading innovators in Europe.
Formula 1 driver and watch collector Juan Pablo Montoya had input in the design of this car racing-inspired Concept Chronograph.
TAG Heuer's history has been more than just radical. Starting with its first stopwatch patent in 1869, followed by the revolutionary oscillating pinion of 1887 — still an essential component in today's mechanical chronographs like the TAG Heuer Calibre 16 — the Company has relentlessly pushed Swiss watchmaking tradition forward by challenging and innovating on its most time-honored conventions.
In1916, with the invention of the Micrograph — the first pocket timepiece accurate to 1/100th of a second — TAG Heuer took the first step towards this year's revolutionary “Calibre 360” Concept Chronograph.
It quickly became the timepiece of choice at top-level sports events, solidifying TAG Heuer's reputation as the world's best timekeeper. Having earned renown for the mechanical perfection of its products, the company continued its quest for accuracy and innovation in the service of both sports and science. In 1969, TAG Heuer revolutionized chronographs at Basel by being the first to market an automatic chronograph movement, the famous Calibre 11 (Chronomatic) with a microrotor to rewind the barrels.
First the Micrograph, then the 1969 Chronomatic Calibre 11, and now the TAG Heuer “Calibre 360” Concept Chronograph. The world's most accurate wrist chronograph, the revolutionary new “Calibre 360” Concept Chronograph directly incorporates technology and techniques drawn from both of these prior innovations.
The “Calibre 360” Concept Chronograph represents the culmination of TAG Heuer’s know-how and expertise in the field of precision mechanical watchmaking and sports timekeeping. Finally, after years of painstaking research and experimentation, every mechanical obstacle has been eliminated through a groundbreaking manufacturing concept and a world first in horology: The first 1/100th of a second wrist mechanical chronograph To achieve this exceptional level of precision, TAG Heuer has developed a unique and complex movement, the principle of which was set by the Chronomatic Calibre 11 in 1969. Made of more than 234 components and modules which 131 are directly from the chronograph movement, it actually fuses two distinctive mechanical movements, each connected to the other but operating independently.
To ensure precision adjustment and independent operation, the basis of the “Calibre 360” Concept Chronograph is an automatic movement, the TAG Heuer Calibre 7, with a power-reserve of 42 hours and a heart beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour. Highly resistant to wrist shock and wear effects, embellished with Côtes de Genève decoration on the oscillating mass, this movement has been certified as a chronometer by the COSC (the Swiss Official Chronometer Control institute).
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