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For the 60th anniversary of its eternally modern TAG Heuer Carrera timepiece, TAG Heuer has introduced two exceptional new models inspired by the collector favourite “glassbox” design.

At Watches and Wonders Geneva 2023, TAG Heuer celebrated the 60th anniversary of a global icon: the TAG Heuer Carrera. For six decades, the Swiss watchmaker’s timeless model has defined performance watch design, racing spirit, and the culture of success.

Since its introduction in 1963, the TAG Heuer Carrera has become a symbol of aspiration, achievement, and good taste. Across six decades, it has appeared on the wrists of icons of coolfrom Mick Jagger to James Hunt to Ryan Gosling. Always the same stylish profile, backed by Swiss mechanics and refinement.

The story of the TAG Heuer Carrera has become legend. It began in the early 1960s when a young Jack Heuer, freshly installed as the company’s chief executive, went to 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida, a race timed by Heuer. There he met Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez, whose young sons were already on the path to becoming successful racing drivers. They told him about a race in their home country of Mexico called the Carrera Panamericana, a furiously fast and extremely dangerous road race that ran on five occasions in the early 1950s before it was cancelled.

Jack, who had an uncommon knack for harnessing the power of a good story, was intrigued by the speed, emotion, and romance of the race, and decided that it would make a good name for one of his new lines of wristwatch chronographs.

Carrera was a word with multiple meanings and could be translated as “race,” “career,” or simply “path.” This, Jack decided, was the perfect name for a watch with a racing spirit aimed at a young, stylish, upwardly mobile generation in tune with the increasingly liberated tastes of the 1960s.

Jack was a production engineer with a specialty in electrical engineering, having studied at the prestigious Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. He was culturally curious too, and had developed an interest in the work of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and the furniture designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and had even saved up to buy an Eames lounge chair for his dorm room. In the work of these two icons, he saw a compelling marriage of modernism, function, beauty, and the ability to create a signature style. All this would be carried over into the watch designs that he oversaw - and into the Heuer Carrera.

In 1963, the Heuer Carrera made its debut. This was a carefully thought-out design and a clear expression of Jack’s philosophy. On the one hand, it was a tool, created to be useful and functional, so its design was clean and legible, without any extraneous elements that would distract the wearer’s eye. On the other, it was also modern and inventive. It was Jack’s idea, for example, to push the tachymeter scale onto the tension ring - an innovative device proprietary to the Carrera that was used to hold the crystal in place and protect the watch from dust and water.

The purity and simple effectiveness of the design also made tagheuer.com it beautiful, so much so that across six decades, the TAG Heuer Carrera has become a perennial favourite among watch buyers and collectors, an industry icon, and an incredible success story.

For the brand's 60th anniversary, TAG Heuer proudly introduced two new models: the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph and TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon, both of which promise to become keystone designs in the company’s collection of contemporary watches.

Measuring 39mm in diameter, the stainless steel case of the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph has a universal quality, while the overall ergonomics have been honed and refined, making the watch as comfortable to wear as possible, even across a range of wrist sizes.

The case is topped with a sapphire crystal shaped liked the domed hesalite crystals found on Heuer Carrera models from the 1970s, only now, the crystal has been redeveloped so that the curve flows seamlessly over the tachymeter scale that runs around the dial edge and into the case. In the same way, the flange and indexes have been curved, too, further contributing to the watch’s seamless aesthetic, coherence, and legibility. In keeping with Jack’s original purpose for the watch, this development is more than aesthetic –it also means the tachymeter can be read from a wider range of angles.

Equally pronounced are the new pushers, which have been shaped and positioned to make them as efficient for the user as possible. At its heart, the TAG Heuer Carrera remains an extremely refined watch, designed for purpose and defined both by its function and its form.

At launch, there were two models: one with a signature blue dial on a blue calfskin leather strap, and a second with a racier, blackand-silver “reverse panda” dial, the nickname given to black watch dials with high-contrast white or silver subdials. The reverse panda model is a greatest hits compilation of some of the most coveted Heuer Carreras of the 1960s, such as the reference 3147 Dato 12, the first Heuer Carrera with chronograph and calendar functions, and the reference 2447 NS, perhaps the rarest Heuer Carrera of them all, with an extremely limited production run of just a few years. It comes on a black perforated calfskin leather strap.

Both new models continue the TAG Heuer Carrera’s legacy of cool with a fresh, highly memorable look. The Calibre Heuer 02 continues to evolve TAG Heuer’s in-house automatic chronograph caliber.

Named TH20-00 and visible through the watch’s sapphire crystal case back, the next-generation movement now features an oscillating weight offering bidirectional winding, whereas previous versions only charged the movement’s mainspring if the rotor moved in a counter-clockwise direction.

This evolution, overseen by TAG Heuer’s Movements Director Carole Forestier, is more significant than it may initially appear. In daily use, it delivers faster and more reliable winding, ensuring the watch is running closer to its maximum 80-hour power reserve and improving precision for more of the time it is in use. TH20-00 also has elevated finishings, thereby conforming to TAG Heuer’s vision to create technical yet elegant watches and movements. It joins the TAG Heuer TH30-00 and TH50-00 calibers in the new series of movements.

The two watches offer two expressions of the same evergreen philosophy. The blue model is inspired by modernity, whereas the black-and-silver model picks up more strongly on the TAG Heuer tagheuer.com

Carrera’s racing pedigree. Subtle differences in the application of the subdial scales help achieve this, as does the position of the date: at 6 o’clock on the blue, and pushed up to 12 o’clock on the black-and-silver model to make the chronograph readout as clean as possible.

TAG Heuer’s designers worked to balance brushed and polished surfaces next to one another, so that the watch’s visual impact is both velvety and assured. At the same time, carefully applied finishes to those angled edges mean they feel smooth to the touch. The effect is startling: An ergonomic yet strident design that is precise yet refined, technical yet elegant. Jack’s vision continued.

TAG Heuer is so confident in the advanced mechanics behind these watches that it is offering a five-year warranty on both new models.

The brand is also delighted to announce the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon. This elegant new model serves as a sister watch to a collection of previously introduced TAG Heuer Carrera tourbillon pieces with larger, sportier case designs.

The new watch follows the same design principles and shares a base form with the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph, only it has a dial elevated by an aperture at 6 o’clock that reveals a tourbillon cage.

Powered by TAG Heuer’s in-house tourbillon movement, the TH20-09. The chronometer-certified automatic movement also has a chronograph function and is backed by a 65-hour power reserve.

Every element of the watch has been refined to reflect the mechanical beauty of the tourbillon. For example, thanks to the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon’s curved sapphire crystal and fluid form, the tourbillon’s beauty can now be observed from a wider range of angles. And, on the dial, the flange and indexes have been subtly curved to mirror and complement the crystal’s edge, enhancing the watch’s elegant feel.

Arancia La Spugnatura

Joining the vibrant sensorial journey across the most spectacular destinations of the Italian coast, Acqua di Parma's latest addition to the exhilarating Blu Mediterraneo collection arrives in a beautifully fitting fashion. The new Limited Edition fragrance fit for the Summer is Arancia La Spugnatura.

Utilising an ancient and exquisite artisanal extraction technique to elicit the rare and precious citrus essence, La Spugnatura delivers the heart of a vivacious and multi-faceted composition. Traditionally used only to obtain the most precious essence from the bergamot fruit, La Spugnatura is an antique extraction method practiced by just a few artisans in Italy. True to the Maison's DNA of being inspired by its heritage to create contemporary interpretations, Acqua di Parma has explored and engaged with the age-old technique on a different citrus fruit, Arancia Vaniglia, to craft the new limited edition scent. The starring fruit of ‘the city of oranges’ Ribera in Sicily, the Arancia Vaniglia name alludes to the perfect olfactive oxymoron where its contrasting olfactory properties intersect the freshness of oranges with the alluring softness of vanilla. A bittersweet symphony that unfolds a surprising olfactive experience.

Arancia la Spugnatura is the maximum expression of this distinctive ingredient in all its depth and richness. Joyful, luminous, and embracing, it’s a fragrance that splendidly surprises like the glorious rays of the Italian sun. The initial burst of citrus notes brings contrasts, as does the Arancia Vaniglia, which combines the freshness typical of citrus fruits with a degree of softness and roundness; a contrast which is also found in the yellow mandarin versus the bitter almond, which adds a bittersweet touch. Finally, black pepper adds a touch of texture and brilliance. Created by master perfumer François Demachy, the composition is an equilibrium of contrasts.

A project long nurtured by the Maison, which has always worked to preserve the oldest and most valuable artisanal processes, it is at home in Italy where very few artisans in the world still practice the ancient sponging technique. A fascinating traditional expertise, which sees an entirely manual extraction of the citrus essence. A true art that requires time and skillful, precise, delicate gestures. The artisan cuts each fruit in two equal halves with a well-sharpened knife. Then, using a utensil in the shape of a spoon named “cavatore,” he separates the skin from the pulp. Immediately after, the orange rinds are manually pressed on sea sponges, which absorb all the essence. In the final phase, the artisan squeezes the sponges full of essential oil with precise movements into a terracotta container to collect the rich citrus elixir. The limited production capacity that depends entirely on manual processes gives rise to the ingredient’s scarcity. Only 300g of essence is extracted from approximately 100kg of fruit, and two artisans can work through a volume equaling 300kgs of fruits in a day. Subsequently, the supply chain uses all other components of the orange fruit for various purposes without generating any waste. The sponge, malleable and soft when in contact with the rind, preserves all the facets of the fruit and it is this unique sillage that distinguishes the elixir that gives life to Arancia La

Spugnatura.

The porcelain represents the most special category within the ceramic family. An excellent piece of artisanship that is distinctive for its intense blue colour embodying the Blu Mediterraneo collection. The long process starts with the production of the plaster mould, in which the porcelain mix is manually poured to create its iconic Art Déco form. The mould is rotated several times on its axis to ensure that the mixture adheres to the sides and is then turned upside down to unload any extra mix. Then, the bottle is left to dry for 30-40 minutes before being removed from the mould in a solid form. The artisan then refines the individual bottles, removing any minimal imperfections to obtain an even surface that is smooth to the touch. It is then dipped into a glaze bath and placed to bake in an oven for 8 hours, during which the bottle takes on a deeper blue tone that is highlighted by a shiny finish. For the final touch, the bottle is hand-embellished with white, burnished orange, and golden motifs inspired by the ingredients of the perfume before being baked for a second time to set the décor. Capped off with a blue porcelain lid, the bottle has a neck that is made from a unique grinding technique developed specifically for Acqua di Parma and is fitted with a removable screw top pump. The label on the bottle is made from scrap powder from marble quarries while the iconic cylindrical box is made from FSC-certified paper set in a special blue tone to match the porcelain bottle.