By Jovan Krstevski
While the 2016 Rio Olympics is raging on, I’m kind of very excited with the new 2016 Heuer Mikrograph which is a commemoration timepiece for the 100th Anniversary of the legendary 1916 Mikrograph which became the world’s first stopwatch with a precision of 1/100 seconds, that’s very impressive for that time. Note that this has become a patented stopwatch that TAG Heuer prides itself for and because of this extreme precision, the Mikrograph became the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games of the years 1920, 1924 and 1928 and other sporting events as well. As for me, I really like the design and its impressive functionality.
The new Heuer Mikrograph features a 45 mm stainless case with a bullhead design with a large onion style crown at the 12 o’clock surrounded by the two chrono pushers. Whew, is this design a bit weird? Well, not at all since it’s practically a watch and a stopwatch in one package, a perfect combo to be honest. This design also reminds me of the popular pocket watches of old wherein you just stick a photo of your loved one inside the cover. Anyways, the case design allows the central part to be removed thereby allowing the removable centerpiece to be used as a dedicated stopwatch, nice indeed. Plus the new Heuer Mikrograph watch comes with a desk holder and a dashboard holder, pretty splendid in my opinion.
When it comes to the dial, the design is very clear, it’s based on the original 1916 model. I like it because it makes the reading of the 1/100th-second increments in a very simple and accurate manner. Besides you’ll also agree that the statement “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” pretty much applies to this watch. This classic dial design pretty much pays tribute to the original stopwatch design. For me this is the best design for this watch, so thank you, Christoph Behling, leader of the TAG Heuer design team. Moreover, the clarity of the dial is just superb with blued chrono hands and seconds hand for absolute readability. The power reserve indicator being on the left at 9 o’clock looks unobtrusive which yields the 3 o’clock free for the 60 seconds chronograph while the date is subtly presented below the 4 o’clock – these areas are busy when it comes to chronometers. The 30 minute counter chronograph is also ideally placed at the 12 o’clock.
As if the watch design is not impressive enough, the movement is equally impressive too. The new Heuer Mikrograph movement has two balances beating at 28,800 and 360,000 vibrations per hour respectively. This is very impressive in the sense that this design guarantees precision and chronometry thanks to the isolation of the two “normal speed” and “high speed” watchmaking chains.
If you fancy TAG Heuer watches so much you’ll notice that the 2011 model has a different movement design. Where in the 2016 Heuer Mikrograph, the movement is rotated by 90 degrees anti-clockwise. This changes the dial layout too but for good and the removal of the running seconds counter is also a breather.
The company announces that a 100 piece limited edition will be available by the Fall with a price tag of around Euro 18,750 / US$ 21,000. For more info, please visit tagheuer.com
