Simpler, faster and more efficient than science dreamed possible, impervious to gravity and dramatically reducing isochronous error, potentially easier to manufacture and able to precisely measure time to a phenomenal 5/10,000th of a second today, and probably even more precisely tomorrow…

TAG Heuer challenges three centuries of hairspring/balance wheel mechanical regulation conventions to create a totally new mechanical regulator. The legendary Swiss brand is now unveiling a first Concept version, a 5/10,000th of a second chronograph beating at 1,000 Hz or 7,200,000 beats per hour!

In 2010, TAG Heuer presented the Grand Carrera Pendulum Concept, the world’s first-ever mechanical regulator to replace a conventional hairspring with magnets. Following TAG Heuer’s Calibre 360 Chronograph (2005), which beats at 50Hz and measures and displays to the 1/100^th of a second, the 6Hz Pendulum Concept, which is still under development, confirmed TAG Heuer’s position as the unrivalled pioneer of high frequencies.

In 2011, TAG Heuer launched the MIKROTIMER FLYING 1000, the world’s first 500hz mechanical chronograph. A revolutionary mechanical chronograph regulator without any balance wheel system and equipped with two escapements, the Mikrotimer’s beats 3.6 million times per hour, making it 125 times faster than a standard Swiss chronograph. Its central chronograph hand completes a full rotation 10 times per second. Now being successfully commercialized, the Mikrotimer was voted the 2011 Swiss Sports Watch of the Year at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix. The victory marked the 7th time in 10 years that TAG Heuer was singled out by the Geneva jury for its engineering and design prowess. 

Now comes the pioneering MIKROGIRDER, the Swiss legend’s greatest achievement in watchmaking engineering to date, a game-changing technology which promises to completely revolutionize the very heart of the watch — the regulator. More than the Pendulum or the Mikrotimer, the MIKROGIRDER represents a total departure from the conventional, 3-centuries-old Christiaan Huygens system, which today still reigns over the mechanical watch industry.

THE RACE TO NOW: TAG HEUER’S RELENTLESS QUEST FOR PRECISION

For more than 150 years, TAG Heuer has been committed to one major goal and mission: providing consumers with the most precise mechanical timepieces possible.

In the world of Swiss watchmaking, accuracy is certified by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC). The resulting certification, however, only covers watch functionality (HMS – Hours-Minutes-Seconds), not chronograph functionality.

To ensure ultimate chronograph quality and precision, TAG Heuer is developing a reference protocol that will soon establish the highest possible quality standard. In order to succeed, TAG Heuer needs access to the most accurate timepieces for measurement — at least 10 times more precise than any chronograph currently sold to consumers. This is one of the key reasons why, in the 21^st century, TAG Heuer’s R&D has been so single-mindedly focused on pushing further and higher the limits of high frequencies… from 4 Hz to 1,000 HZ in just 7 years!