Inside the
Nanograph
A new TAG
Heuer tourbillon
debuts a first-
ever carbon
hairspring.
BY MICHAEL THOMPSON
74 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SPRING 2019
MANY WATCHMAKERS IN RECENT YEARS HAVE TOUTED THE ADVANTAGES OF
WATCHES fit with silicon hairsprings, citing improved shock resistance, greater precision
and complete anti-magnetism. Now, TAG Heuer takes that chorus to the next level with a
wholly new hairspring material: carbon composite.
The watchmaker’s new Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon Nanograph, introduced
in Geneva earlier this year, is regulated using a carbon-composite hairspring within its
tourbillon.
Produced by TAG Heuer from a gas, the low-density carbon-composite hairspring offers
advantages when compared to more traditional Elinvar or newer generation silicon
hairsprings, according to the brand.
Primarily, the carbon-composite hairspring is virtually unaffected by gravity and shock.
TAG Heuer says it has tested the hairspring in watches that suffered a simulated 5,000-
gram/1 m fall onto a hard surface. Where metal hairsprings bent and silicon hairsprings
broke, the carbon-composite hairspring remained completely intact.
TAG Heuer touts additional advantages, including perfect concentric oscillations (which
improve precision) and pure anti-magnetism. In addition, the carbon-composite hairspring
is produced with the collet already attached. Usually, this small part, which attaches the
metallic hairspring to the balance wheel axis, requires additional assembly that, when not
done properly, can negatively affect accuracy. By pairing the hairspring to an aluminum
alloy balance wheel, TAG Heuer adds that it has also reduced the hairspring’s negative
reaction to both heat and friction.
Given all the technical advantages nanotechnology can seemingly offer to movement
precision and longevity, we suspect TAG Heuer has already devised plans to utilize its
technology inside non-tourbillon calibers in coming years.