chuck:

as usual, you were quicker on the posting than me. Interesting to compare the two different versions featuring the 1/100 timing.

Jeff

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: From: "TAG Heuer Web"
: To: Subject: TAG Heuer "Calibre
: 360" Concept Chronograph Press
: Release Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 18:24:22+0200

: Avant-Garde Daringness in motion:

: The TAG Heuer „Calibre 360,, Concept
: Chronograph

: The first ever 1/100th of a second mechanical
: wrist chronograph

: TAG Heuer, the world leader in prestigious
: chronographs since 1860, which has set
: several major milestones in Swiss
: chronograph history, is presenting at
: Baselworld 2005 the most accurate mechanical
: timepiece ever crafted, the „Calibre 360,,
: Concept Chronograph. The „Calibre 360,,
: Concept Chronograph is the first mechanical
: wrist chronograph to measure and display
: time to 1/100th of a second, thanks to the
: exceptionally high frequency of its balance
: wheel, which oscillates at 360,000 beats per
: hour, 10 times faster than any other
: chronograph˜a rate that until now was
: considered impossible. More than ever, with
: this quantum leap in mechanical watchmaking
: accuracy, TAG Heuer asserts its unique
: know-how and reaffirms its motto: „Swiss
: avant-garde since 1860.‰

: This ultra resistant and light titanium Ti5
: "Calibre 360" Concept Chronograph
: is the flagship of a rich new offering in
: prestigious TAG Heuer Chronographs presented
: this year in Basel, such as the Aquaracer
: Automatic, the Link Tachymeter automatic,
: the Link Lady Diamonds and the Microtimer
: Lady Diamonds Chronograph.

: It confirms TAG Heuer's superior innovation
: potential and its commanding lead over the
: rest of the Swiss watchmaking industry, as
: underlined in 2004 by the consulting firm
: A.T. Kearney and the business magazine
: Bilanz, which identified TAG Heuer as one of
: the three most innovative companies in
: Switzerland and one of the leading
: innovators in Europe. The prestigious
: distinction bears testimony to TAG Heuer's
: determination to always exceed the
: boundaries of imagination in a sector not
: usually given to radical developments.

: Formula 1 driver and watch collector Juan
: Pablo Montoya has tested this new
: revolutionary timepiece and has given his
: input in the design of this car
: racing-inspired Concept Chronograph.

: 360,000 Beats per Hour: A Major Breakthrough
: for the Swiss Watch Industry

: Every year at the Basel Watchmaking Fair, TAG
: Heuer puts it reputation as one of the
: world's most audacious and innovative watch
: brands on the line.

: Last year marked the launch of the Monaco V4
: Concept Watch. A revolutionary timepiece
: with a belt-driven mechanical movement
: inspired by high-performance racecar
: engines, it has so far been named
: "Watch of the Year" by Wallpaper*
: magazine, the "Best of What's New"
: by Popular Science and „The Best of the
: Best‰ in the category Fashion Product Design
: (including watches, eyewear, clothes, bags,
: footwear, jewelry and travel accessories) at
: the Red Dot Design Awards, joining previous
: award winners such as Lamborghini, Apple,
: Bang & Olufsen, BMW, Maserati and Nokia.
: This watch is currently being
: industrialized.

: Another 2003 Basel launch, the Monaco 69
: Concept Watch, a double-sided,
: digital-analog wonder, went on to win the
: coveted Best Design Award at the „Grand Prix
: d‚Horlogerie de Genève‰.

: In 2002, TAG Heuer unveiled the Microtimer F1
: Concept Watch, the first Swiss wrist
: chronograph accurate to 1/1,000th of a
: second. It too won the Best Design Award at
: the „Grand Prix d‚Horlogerie de Genève‰ and
: was successfully brought to market in 2003.

: And these are only TAG Heuer achievements in
: the 21st century

: 1860 to the Present: The TAG Heuer Revolution
: Continues

: A history marked by truly ground-breaking
: technology and leadership in Chronographs

: TAG Heuer's history has been more than just
: radical. Starting with its first stopwatch
: patent in 1869, followed by the
: revolutionary oscillating pinion of 1887 ˜
: still an essential component in today's
: mechanical chronographs like the TAG Heuer
: Calibre 16 ˜ the Company has relentlessly
: pushed Swiss watchmaking tradition forward
: by challenging and innovating on its most
: time-honored conventions. Not content to
: rest on its laurels, it seeks perfection,
: the mastery of time beyond every definition
: of what is possible.

: In 1916, with the invention of the Micrograph
: ˜ the first pocket timepiece accurate to
: 1/100th of a second ˜ TAG Heuer took the
: first step towards this year's revolutionary
: „Calibre 360,, Concept Chronograph. It
: quickly became the timepiece of choice at
: top-level sports events, solidifying TAG
: Heuer's reputation as the world's best
: timekeeper. Having earned renown for the
: mechanical perfection of its products, the
: company continued its quest for accuracy and
: innovation in the service of both sports and
: science. In 1969, TAG Heuer revolutionized
: chronographs at Basel by being the first to
: market an automatic chronograph movement,
: the famous Calibre 11 (Chronomatic) with a
: microrotor to rewind the barrels.

: Three revolutions in Swiss Watchmaking, all
: driven by TAG Heuer

: First the Micrograph, then the 1969
: Chronomatic Calibre 11, and now the TAG
: Heuer „Calibre 360,, Concept Chronograph.
: The world's most accurate wrist chronograph,
: the revolutionary new „Calibre 360,, Concept
: Chronograph directly incorporates technology
: and techniques drawn from both of these
: prior innovations.

: The „Calibre 360,, Concept Chronograph
: represents the culmination of TAG Heuer‚s
: know-how and expertise in the field of
: precision mechanical watchmaking and sports
: timekeeping. Finally, after years of
: painstaking research and experimentation,
: every mechanical obstacle has been
: eliminated through a groundbreaking
: manufacturing concept and a world first in
: horology: The first 1/100th of a second
: wrist mechanical chronograph

: To achieve this exceptional level of
: precision, TAG Heuer has developed a unique
: and complex movement, the principle of which
: was set by the Chronomatic Calibre 11
: in1969. Made of more than 234 components and
: modules which 131 are directly from the
: chronograph movement, it actually fuses two
: distinctive mechanical movements, each
: connected to the other but operating
: independently.

: A world first: two distinct movements
: controlled by a single crown

: To ensure precision adjustment and independent
: operation, the basis of the „Calibre 360,,
: Concept Chronograph is an automatic
: movement, the TAG Heuer Calibre7, with a
: power-reserve of 42 hours and a heart
: beating at28, 800 vibrations per hour.
: Highly resistant to wrist shock and wear
: effects, embellished with Côtes de Genève
: decoration on the oscillating mass, this
: movement has been certified as a chronometer
: by the COSC (the Swiss Official Chronometer
: Control institute).

: What is most extraordinary about the
: „Calibre360,, movement is that the
: chronograph function is not just a
: "module" added on to the automatic
: watch movement.

: With its barrel, separate manual winding
: system, gearwheel and the independent
: balance wheel and spiral mechanism, it is a
: genuine and wholly separate movement, a
: chronograph with a power-reserve counter and
: a quick-rotating barrel that offers 100
: minutes of power reserve, plus its most
: remarkable component: a single-pallet
: escapement wheel and special balance wheel.
: The high-precision mechanism, specially
: created and hand-assembled, provides an
: unbelievable oscillating frequency of
: 360,000 vibrations per hour. With such a
: high-powered system, the „Calibre 360,,
: creates a new milestone in Swiss watchmaking
: history. The quantum leap to360, 000
: vibrations per hour from usually 28,800 or
: 36,000 could be compared to a Formula 1
: engine jumping from 18,000 rpm to 180,000
: rpm !

: As the „Calibre 360,, is a worldwide first in
: the history of watchmaking, TAG Heuer has
: filed for two exclusive worldwide patents :

: The first patent protects the 1/100th of a
: second counter on a mechanical wrist
: chronograph.

: The second patent protects the unique crown
: control system. The single crown winds both
: movements and controls the watch‚s hour and
: date settings. A clockwise rotation loads
: the barrel on the manual chronograph
: movement; a counter-clockwise rotation
: rewinds the automatic movement that gives
: the time.

: From Dream to Reality : Avant-garde design
: inspired by high-tech car engines

: As usual, TAG Heuer's designers, stimulated by
: the input of watch collector and star
: Formula 1 driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, have
: created an exceptionally daring timepiece to
: house the „Calibre 360,, movement. This
: masterpiece is easily recognizable thanks to
: its unique and exceptional architecture:
: like a pure high-tech engine, the
: chronograph functions are displayed through
: the wrought Côtes-de-Genève „chronograph
: engine‰, which contrasts with the flat-black
: dial. At 6 o'clock, an oversized circular
: fine-brushed counter keeps track of the
: 1/100ths-of-a-second red hand, while at 9
: o'clock, a red minute needle directly
: integrated into the „chronograph engine‰
: displays the elapsed time on a 9 minutes
: scale disk, particularly adapted for the
: car-race timekeeping. At 12 o'clock, the
: wearer can see the power-reserve indicator
: of 100 minutes, displayed in the same way as
: the fuel indicator of car‚s dashboards,
: through the „chronograph engine's‰ angled
: polished opening. The result is a look as
: radically inspired by car racing as the
: high-tech technology housed inside it.

: Designed to accentuate the Calibre 360‚s
: exceptional movement, the case has been
: crafted from titanium Grade 5, an exclusive
: TAG Heuer material developed with McLaren in
: 1997 for the Kirium series, and combining
: utmost resistance with utmost lightness as
: well as sparkling polish effect. It‚s a pure
: TAG Heuer case with oversized crown and
: asymmetrical pushbuttons, the larger of
: which, at two o‚clock and capped bright red,
: controls the stopwatch. Once pressed, the
: chronograph mechanism springs into action,
: simultaneously activating the chronograph
: second hand in the centre of the dial and
: the 100ths-of-a-second hand located in a
: counter at six o‚clock. Thanks to the high
: oscillating frequency, the centre hand
: advances at a perfectly regular pace, and
: the 100ths counter makes a complete rotation
: in one second. This invention is not only an
: aesthetic success; it also lets the user
: explore just how long a second can last and
: discover how pleasant it is to watch time
: pass in a „smooth-as-silk‰ fashion.

: On the caseback, two semicircle windows in
: sapphire give another perspective on this
: extraordinary movement, a new classic
: masterpiece, uniquely designed and
: manufactured by TAG Heuer.

: Developed with Juan Pablo Montoya, the
: bracelet is, naturally, in stylish black
: rubber with folding buckle, further
: enhancing comfort and ergonomy, even when
: driving at 300 km/h and crossing the finish
: line with a few 100ths-of-a-second lead.

: The TAG Heuer „Calibre 360,, Concept
: Chronograph: A new world first and a
: brand-new concept in watchmaking.

: With the boldly innovative „Calibre 360,,
: Concept Chronograph, the world's most
: iconoclastic watchmaker has once more
: revolutionized Swiss watchmaking by creating
: a startling new icon of high-tech design.
: The „Calibre360,, Concept Chronograph does
: not break with tradition; it learns from it,
: borrows from it, and in so doing pushes it
: further, into the next millennium. Once
: again, TAG Heuer lives up to its reputation
: by surpassing all expectations. And once
: again, the brand to beat lays claim to the
: cutting-edge of watchmaking and honors its
: motto: „Swiss Avant-Garde since 1860,,

: TAG Heuer, the benchmark in prestigious sports
: watches and chronographs since 1860,
: currently ranks as the fourth luxury brand
: in the world watch market. The Swiss
: watchmaking legend draws from its active
: engagement in the world of sports to create
: the most accurate measuring instruments and
: sports-inspired timepieces ever made. From
: the Olympic Games in the 1920s to its new
: role as official timekeeper and chronograph
: for the legendary Indy 500 and IRL
: championship, TAG Heuer has maintained a
: constant quest for innovation and
: excellence, pursuing the summit of
: performance and prestige. This is reflected
: in its partnerships with Team McLaren
: Mercedes in Formula 1 racing; with number
: one worldwide golfer Tiger Woods and with
: Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raïkkönen at the
: top of Formula 1. With the tennis sparkling
: star Maria Sharapova, Hollywood greats Brad
: Pitt and Uma Thurman, TAG Heuer more than
: ever stands for „Sport and Glamour‰.

: TAG Heuer International Press Contact:

: charlotte.walhain@tagheuer.com

: Charlotte Walhain ˆ Tel: + 1 33 1 55 80 09 22
: ˆ Fax: + 1 33 1 55 80 09 21

: Mobile: + 1 33 6 12 22 78 87

: OK, a little searching around yields the
: following for images scaned in from a
: Japanese watch magazine/book published late
: last year:

:

:

:

:

: If we scrutinize the enlargements of these
: scans we learn that the watch is based on
: the ETA 2892 with some sort of module to add
: the chronograph and other complications.
: This is probably the most extensive module
: ever grafted to the 2892.

: It'll be interesting to see if this ever makes
: it to an actual model.

: -- Chuck