TAG Heuer has produced another world first. The Mikrograph movement was able to mechanically measure and display 1/100th of a second reliably and accurately. It did this using an innovative double-barrel system, and was wound by a circular oscillating weight. This Mikrograph movement, presented in January, represented what was at the time a landmark development in mechanical accuracy.
This milestone has since been eclipsed, by no other than TAG Heuer itself, but the Mikrograph at 1/100th of a second represents previously unattainable accuracy.
This movement has been put into another example of the company's daring, the square-shaped Monaco case that first saw the light of day on racetracks around the world in 1969.
The two landmarks combine with the one-of-a-kind TAG Heuer Monaco Mikrograph, which has been auctioned off at the Only Watch event in Geneva. This is only the second watch model into which the Mikrograph has been installed. The round face of the Mikrograph stretches to the boundaries of the square case more than does the original of the Monaco, which aids in allowing the graduations counting off hundredths of a second to be big enough to actually read. The circle within the square holds within it a soft rectangle that shows chronograph minutes at 3 o'clock and small seconds at 9 o'clock, both of which use a rotating disc rather than traditional hands. A subcounter at 6 o'clock shows chronograph seconds, and the flying central hand indicates 100ths of a second.
On top of the soft rectangle is a small dial on which short, thick hands point time telling hours and minutes. A power reserve indicator does its work at 12 o'clock. This multilevel design is enchanting to look at, more so with varying silver opaline and black lacquer finishes.
Black lacquer is also used on the oversized crown and chronograph pushbuttons, all on the right, unlike those of the original Monaco but consistent with the Mikrograph movement itself.
