At Geneva Watch Days 2025, TAG Heuer unveiled a revolution: the TH-Carbonspring, a breakthrough that redefines the very heartbeat of mechanical watchmaking.
Nearly a decade in development, this in-house carbon hairspring delivers unprecedented resistance to magnetism, shocks, and environmental fluctuations, while its lightweight properties enhance chronometric precision and long-term stability. It is not a refinement of the past but a bold reinvention—proof of TAG Heuer’s avant-garde spirit and relentless drive to innovate.
The birth of the TH-Carbonspring
The hairspring, first invented by Christian Huygens in 1675, transformed timekeeping by regulating the oscillations of the balance wheel. But for all its ingenuity, the hairspring has remained vulnerable.
Steel, then alloys, and most recently silicon each sought to address its flaws—yet challenges persisted. Magnetism, everyday shocks, and temperature variations continued to undermine performance.
Rather than iterate on silicon, TAG Heuer chose to break with convention. After years of setbacks and breakthroughs, the TAG Heuer LAB conceived the TH-Carbonspring: a carbon-based oscillator that stands at the forefront of horological science.
Its advantages are threefold. It is amagnetic, ensuring immunity to the invisible fields generated by modern electronics. It is shock-resistant, impervious to the jolts of daily life that can disrupt traditional movements. And it is lightweight, reducing inertia and increasing precision across thousands of hours of performance.
The road to this invention was not linear. Early prototypes, including a near-breakthrough in 2019, failed to meet TAG Heuer’s uncompromising precision standards.
Yet these near-misses became crucial stepping stones. Engineers refined the blueprint, introducing new manufacturing steps and endurance testing, until—six years later—the TH-Carbonspring was ready for industrialization. The result: a fully patented, in-house technology backed by a five-year warranty, heralding a new era in mechanical watchmaking.
The Monaco Flyback Chronograph TH-Carbonspring
To debut this innovation, TAG Heuer turned to one of its boldest icons: the Monaco. Long synonymous with motorsport daring, the TAG Heuer Monaco Flyback Chronograph TH-Carbonspring emerges as a stealth, high-tech evolution of the square-cased legend.
Its 39mm forged carbon case radiates toughness and modernity, while the dial carries a spiral-shaped engraving—a poetic homage to the hairspring within. Black-gold hour and minute hands, coated in white Super-LumiNova®, sweep across carbon indexes with crisp legibility, while white-lacquered chronograph hands provide high-contrast clarity. Black-gold pushers and crown reinforce its stealth aesthetic, while a black rubber strap embossed with a fabric-like texture ensures both comfort and sport-ready style.
Beneath the surface, the watch is powered by the Calibre TH20-60, TAG Heuer’s COSC-certified automatic flyback chronograph. With its 80-hour power reserve, it offers technical resilience that matches the radical new oscillator it houses. Limited to just 50 numbered pieces, this Monaco is as rare as it is revolutionary.
The Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport TH-Carbonspring
If the Monaco embodies sleek rebellion, the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport TH-Carbonspring represents raw mechanical spectacle. Its 44mm forged carbon case and tachymeter bezel assert muscular presence, built to withstand extreme conditions while exuding refined sportiness.
On the dial, the spiral carbon engraving reappears, but here it frames the drama of a visible flying tourbillon at six o’clock, circled by a black-gold ring. Black-gold facetted hands with luminous tips glide across the carbon indexes, while contrasting white-lacquered chronograph hands amplify legibility. Forged carbon pushers and crown underscore its cutting-edge DNA, while a sleek black rubber strap grounds the piece in athletic functionality.
Driving this creation is the Calibre TH20-61, a COSC-certified automatic chronograph tourbillon movement with a 65-hour power reserve. Precision-engineered and aesthetically commanding, it demonstrates TAG Heuer’s dual mastery of technical resilience and haute horlogerie theatre. Like the Monaco, it is limited to 50 numbered pieces, destined for connoisseurs who value rarity and innovation in equal measure.
A new era begins
The Monaco Flyback Chronograph and Carrera Tourbillon Extreme Sport are not just carriers of the TH-Carbonspring—they are heralds of a new era. Forged in carbon, limited in number, and driven by TAG Heuer’s most daring innovation in a generation, they embody the Maison’s design mantra: Designed to Win.
This is not the chequered flag. It is pole position. The TH-Carbonspring signals the dawn of high-performance mechanical watches built for the realities of the 21st century. With it, TAG Heuer proves once again that true innovation is not about iteration—it is about audacity, resilience, and the courage to rewrite the rules of time itself.
