Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...

Geneva, May 08, 2010

LOT 149

Tag Heuer Calibre 360 concept chronograph Prototype Tag Heuer, "Calibre 360 chronograph", No. 1/1, the world?s first mechanical wristwatch with 100th of a second diablotine. Produced in 2005 for the 2005 Basel Fair. Exceptional, self-winding, water-resistant, Grade 5 Titanium (Ti5) gentleman's wristwatch with two trains, round button chronograph, 1/100th second diablotine, 100 minute power reserve and 10 minute register in apertures, and Tag Heuer stainless steel deployant clasp. Prototype first sold by Antiquorum for the benefit of the Geneva Musée de l'Horlogerie on November 13, 2005. Generously donated by Jean Christophe Babin, CEO of Tag Heuer.

CHF 10,000 - 15,000

USD 9,500 - 14,000 / EUR 7,000 - 10,000

Sold: CHF 13,800

C. Three-body, polished, glazed case back with 6 screws, inclined bezel, down-turned faceted lugs, sapphire crystals, chronograph pushers in the band the start stop pusher with red tip . D. Black applied steel Arabic five minute markers outer minute/fifth second divisions, applied central stainless steel panel with fausses cotes decoration, 100th of a second diablotine and apertures for the hour and minute registers. Luminous steel skeletonized hands. M. Cal. 360, Rhodium plated, two train, tandem winding the chronograph train with monometallic balance (Vph 360,000) and micrometer regulator, the going train, self-winding with straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance-spring, micrometer regulator. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 41.5 mm. Thickness 17 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 1

As new
Movement: 1

As new
Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

The present lot is the watch which Tag Heuer used to launch this model at the Basel fair in 2005 as well as in all the advertising and press for this model. Tag Heuer and the Chronograph The Heuer name and the Tag Heuer brand are intimately linked to the history of the chronograph. By 1860, Edouard Heuer, the founder of the Tag Heuer firm, had begun directing his attention to sports watches and chronographs. When the USA's Thomas Burke won a gold medal with a 1/5th of a second lead over Fritz Hofmann at the 1896 Athens Olympic Games, it was a victory as well for Edouard Heuer's son Charles-Auguste, whose goal was 1/10th of a second. By early 1916, the first prototypes featured a tiny central hand that accomplished a full turn in just three seconds, also marking 1 and 2 seconds. From 1916 to 1969, the company produced the Mikrograph, measuring 1/100th of a second, and the SemiKrograph, measuring 1/50th of a second - at the time, the most accurate mechanical timekeeping instruments in the world. Today, Tag Heuer continues to set milestones in Swiss chronograph history with its ?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 previously considered impossible. The very first Calibre 360, presented by Tag Heuer at the 2005 Basel fair, was first offered at auction by Antiquorum Geneva, sold for the benefit of the Geneva Musée de l'horlogerie