60 years on and still prodigious. This distinctive 42mm version of the TAG Heuer glass box celebrates the Carrera’s 60th anniversary with great aplomb. Showing an intense blue dial with orange highlights and showcasing the TAG Heuer in-house tourbillon movement, the Calibre TH20-09 automatic COSC.

A tourbillon is designed to counteract the effects of gravity on the accuracy of a mechanical watch. In a conventional watch movement, the balance wheel is positioned in a horizontal plane, which makes it vulnerable to the effects of gravity when the watch is in different positions. This can lead to variations in the rate of the watch, affecting its accuracy.

In a tourbillon movement, the entire escapement mechanism, including the balance wheel, hairspring, and escapement, is placed inside a rotating cage. The cage rotates once every minute, which means that the escapement mechanism and the balance wheel are constantly changing their position in relation to gravity. This helps to average out any positional errors, resulting in a more accurate timekeeping.

One of the earliest Tag Heuer watches to feature a tourbillon movement was the Carrera Calibre 360, which was released in 2006. This watch had a tourbillon movement that displayed both the time and chronograph functions, and it was produced in limited quantities.

Since then, Tag Heuer has continued to produce watches with tourbillon movements, including the Carrera Heuer-02T and the Monaco V4 Tourbillon, both of which were introduced in 2016. Like the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon 42mm which uses the TH20-09 chronograph tourbillon movement, these watches featured tourbillon movements that were visible through the sapphire crystal case backs, and they remain highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts.

Overall, Tag Heuer has a reputation for innovation and precision in their watchmaking, and the use of tourbillon movements in their watches is a testament to their commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the world of high-end watchmaking.