LVMH WATCH WEEK 2026: TAG HEUER IS THE MASTER OF THE CHRONOGRAPH

Milan played host to LVMH Watch Week in January 2026, and TAG Heuer arrived with a clear message: the brand that has been mastering chronographs across three centuries shows no signs of slowing down. Under the theme Master of Chronograph, the Swiss Maison presented three distinct additions to its celebrated Carrera collection, each representing a different facet of TAG Heuer's identity.

The Carrera has long stood as one of watchmaking's most enduring designs. Created by Jack Heuer in 1963, the collection took its name from the legendary Carrera Panamericana road race in Mexico, a gruelling test of speed and endurance that captured the imagination of motorsport enthusiasts worldwide. Jack Heuer's vision was simple but revolutionary: a chronograph that prioritised legibility and elegance without compromising on the technical demands of professional racing. More than six decades later, that vision continues to inform everything TAG Heuer creates.

The centre piece of TAG Heuer's 2026 announcements is the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph in 41 mm, an expansion of the glassbox family that first appeared during the collection's 60th anniversary celebrations in 2023. That revival brought back the distinctive domed sapphire crystal and flowing dial flange that defined early Carrera models, marrying vintage aesthetics with contemporary movement technology.

The new 41 mm size positions itself as a contemporary companion to the heritage-inspired 39 mm variant, offering a slightly larger canvas whilst maintaining the proportions and design philosophy that have made the glassbox Carreras so popular among collectors. The sculptural sapphire crystal curves seamlessly over a three-dimensional dial, capturing light from every angle. A clean, date-free dial displays monochromatic counters arranged in the classic tri-compax layout, creating depth and clarity that harks back to Jack Heuer's original emphasis on legibility.

Three inaugural references launch the new size. The signature blue dial features a circular-brushed surface with azuré tone-on-tone counters and rhodium-plated hands filled with white Super-LumiNova. A teal green edition introduces what TAG Heuer describes as a new signature colour for the brand, the dial playing with light and shadow as the wrist moves. For those seeking something with a more overt racing character, the black dial variant features red accents on the chronograph hands and outer ring, channelling the energy of the circuit.

All three references are paired with TAG Heuer's seven-row steel bracelet, a sophisticated reinterpretation of the heritage beads-of-rice design that has become synonymous with the modern Carrera collection. The bracelet combines brushed and polished links, enhancing the vintage character of the glassbox models whilst providing contemporary comfort.

Powering each watch is the in-house Calibre TH20-01, an automatic chronograph movement featuring a vertical clutch for seamless engagement, a column wheel for precise pusher actuation, and an impressive 80-hour power reserve. The movement is visible through the transparent sapphire caseback, where owners will also find the Victory Wreath engraving on the right-hand lug, a subtle emblem introduced within the Carrera collection as a tribute to achievement and perseverance.

TAG Heuer's relationship with the sea is as storied as its motorsport connections. In 2023, the brand revisited its maritime history with a modern interpretation of the Skipper regatta countdown timer from the 1960s. For 2026, that oceanic thread continues with the return of another celebrated model: the Seafarer.

The original Heuer Seafarer dates to 1949, when it was launched alongside the Heuer Solunar (a portmanteau of 'solar' and 'lunar'). Both watches featured a tide indicator at 6 o'clock, conceived by Walter Haynes, then president of Abercrombie & Fitch, who commissioned Heuer to refine his concept for production. The retailer subsequently sold the watches through its New York store to sailors and outdoorsmen who needed to know high and low tide times at a glance.

A young Jack Heuer played a part in the watch's development, discussing the proposed mechanism with his school physics teacher, who improved the gear ratio calculations to enhance accuracy. Now, 77 years after it first appeared, the tide indicator returns in the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Seafarer.

The modern Seafarer builds on the glassbox platform in a robust 42 mm steel case. At its heart lies the new in-house Calibre TH20-04, developed specifically to incorporate the tide indicator function. The complication is simple to operate: a dedicated 'TIDE' button at 9 o'clock causes the tide disc to rotate. After checking tide times at a given location, the wearer aligns the quadrants marked 'HIGH' and 'LOW' with the relevant known times. The disc completes one full rotation in 29.53125 days, accurately tracking the lunar tidal cycle.

The dial pays tribute to the model's heritage whilst introducing distinctly modern touches. An opaline champagne surface provides the backdrop for 18k 3N yellow gold-plated indexes and hands. The 'Intrepid Teal' colour, named after the 1967 America's Cup-winning yacht that inspired Jack Heuer to create the original Skipper the following year, appears on the hour and minute hands, the 30-minute chronograph counter, and the tide indicator itself, where it pairs with a dark yellow borrowed from original Seafarer models.

Each Seafarer comes with both the seven-row steel bracelet and an additional sports strap in a beige colourway reminiscent of traditional boat rigging, its lining matching the Intrepid Teal details of the dial. Like the Carrera Chronograph, the movement offers an 80-hour power reserve and is visible through a sapphire caseback engraved with the Victory Wreath.

The most technically ambitious announcement from TAG Heuer at LVMH Watch Week is the brand's first-ever Carrera with a split-seconds (rattrapante) complication. This high-end watchmaking creation represents a milestone for the collection, demonstrating that the Carrera's clean, legible aesthetic can accommodate even the most complex chronograph functions.

The split-seconds chronograph allows the wearer to time two simultaneous events of different durations, a function historically associated with motorsport timing, where it might be used to compare lap times between drivers or track split times during a single lap. It remains one of the most demanding complications to execute, requiring considerable engineering expertise and meticulous hand-finishing.

TAG Heuer's design team has created an entirely new 42 mm case in grade-5 titanium, maintaining the signature peaked lugs and emphasis on legibility whilst elevating the aesthetic to suit the movement within. Refined pushers at 2 and 4 o'clock operate the chronograph start, stop, and reset functions, whilst an elegantly integrated pusher at 9 o'clock activates the split-seconds function. The glassbox crystal has been finessed to give the impression of perfect integration with the case, magnifying the dial and rehaut beneath.

That dial is perhaps the most striking element of the watch. A translucent sapphire glass construction allows the exceptional finishing of the movement to remain visible from the front, a design code that carries forward from the TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph. The subsidiary dials are individually constructed from the same material, adding depth to the overall composition. A curved tachymeter and 1/5th second flange follow the profile of the crystal, minimising parallax error and maintaining legibility even from oblique angles.

The Calibre TH81-01 at the heart of the watch continues TAG Heuer's collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, building on the TH81-00 that powers the Monaco Split-Seconds variants. Comprising more than 350 individual components, the movement beats at 5Hz for chronograph precision and offers a 65-hour power reserve when the chronograph is not running. Each component is hand-finished using more than ten different techniques, including black polishing for screws and anglage on bridges. The signature checkered flag motif, applied by hand using the graté technique, crowns the movement as a mark of TAG Heuer's highest watchmaking.

The oscillating mass takes the form of the TAG Heuer shield logo, its periphery finished with a hand-painted gradient line. Through the sapphire caseback, the movement appears to float within the case, a visual effect that emphasises the transparency and technical accomplishment of the piece.

What connects these three releases is more than just the Carrera name. Each creation demonstrates TAG Heuer's commitment to legibility, a principle Jack Heuer established when he created the original Carrera more than 60 years ago. Whether expressed through the clean, date-free dials of the new 41 mm glassbox Chronograph, the practical tide indicator of the Seafarer, or the complex yet readable display of the Split-Seconds, every watch serves a purpose beyond mere aesthetics.

The 2026 releases also share a reverence for the brand's history. The Carrera Chronograph extends the glassbox design language that proved so successful in 2023. The Seafarer revives a complication that first appeared in TAG Heuer's catalogue nearly eight decades ago. Even the Split-Seconds, for all its contemporary finishing and materials, draws on a legacy of high-complication chronographs that stretches back to the brand's earliest years.