THE THOUSAND LIVES OF A DIAMOND
Surprising with its blackened aluminum shell studded with diamonds with angular shapes, this special watch is the ambassador of a know-how that is gradually making its way into the watchmaking industry.
Innovation has been the driving force behind TAG Heuer‘s creativity from the origins of the company founded in 1860 to the 60th anniversary of its legendary Carrera watch in 2023, and will continue to be, as it is deeply ingrained in its genes. It is precisely this iconic sixty-year-old that the Le Locle-based brand has chosen to take on the role of ambassador for a know-how that is still relatively unknown in the watchmaking industry: the use of synthetic stones. However, the highly exclusive Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde Chronographe Tourbillon 44mm, successfully introduced at Watches and Wonders, doesn’t just follow the usual codes based on a classic setting of brilliants, but imposes its own by displaying a constellation of laboratory gems on its blackened aluminum carapace.
Randomly distributed on the case, cut in baguette shapes, they present different, unprecedented geometrical figures, also inviting themselves onto the first links of the bracelet. The crown itself is crafted entirely from a single 2.5-carat diamond, taking up the typical fluted silhouette of the winder, while the piston pushers that control the chronograph function are in DLC-coated steel. The dial, meanwhile, is composed of a polycrystalline diamond – a kaleidoscope of crystals grown together to form a single crystal – and hosts rectangular indexes designed in synthetic stone. The minute (at 3 o’clock) and hour (at 9 o’clock) counters, positioned in a bicompax position and delimited by two black circles, display short time measurements. At 6 o’clock, an aperture reveals the rhythmic round of a tourbillon that, like the other indications, is driven by the COSC-certified Heuer 02T Nanograph caliber, which delivers 65 hours of power reserve once fully wound by its openworked oscillating weight.
