The TAG Heuer Mikrogrider

THE TAG HEUER MIKROGIRDER

Simpler, faster and more efficient than science dreamed possible, impervious to gravity and dramatically reducing isochronous error, potentially easier to manufacture and able to precisely measure time to a phenomenal 5/10,000th of a second today, and probably even more precisely tomorrow…

TAG Heuer challenges three centuries of hairspring/balance wheel mechanical regulation conventions to create a totally new mechanical regulator. The legendary Swiss brand is now unveiling a 5/10,000th of a second chronograph beating at 1,000 Hz or 7,200,000 beats per hour!

THE TAG HEUER MIKROGIRDER: THE FIRST STEP TO ULTIMATE ACCURACY

Conceived, developed and manufactured in-house in the company’s R&D lab in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the MIKROGIRDER is the fastest mechanical regulator ever crafted and tested. Overturning three centuries of watchmaking convention in the way mechanical energy is generated, stored and regulated, the MIKROGIRDER opens a promising new era in watchmaking, with potentially powerful and energy-sparing new movements precise to ever-smaller fractions of time.

Accurate to an unprecedented 5/10,000 of a second, the MIKROGIRDER is a completely new regulator system — a coupling beam/girder and excitatory beam/girder system working with a linear oscillator (versus a spiral shape in a classical hairspring) that vibrates isochronously at a very small angle, as opposed to a traditional watch, which vibrates at an angle of up to 320 degrees.

The advantages are numerous. In a classic spiral hairspring system, the effect of gravity due to mass is a dominant issue. With the MIKROGIRDER, the problem no longer even exists. There is no loss of amplitude and the movement’s frequency can be modulated on a very large spectrum of frequency without overburdening the power supply. The result is a significant increase in precision (division of time) and performance (frequency accuracy and stability). The MIKROGIRDER energy performance will enable TAG Heuer chronographs to attain ultra-high frequencies never before dreamed possible. Ten patents are pending on this breakthrough.

ULTRA-HIGH FREQUENCY ON AN UNPRECEDENTED SCALE

The statistics are nothing short of astounding: 1,000 Hz = 1/2000th = 5/10,000th of a second = 7,200,000 beats per hour. In comparison, a regular watch functions at 4hz, or only 28,800 beats per hour. The MIKROGIRDER is 250 times faster!

The MIKROGIRDER’s dual frequency system ensures precision and chronometry through 2 independent chains. As there is no possibility of interference between “normal speed” and “high speed”, there is better precision and accuracy. The power reserve is improved, too, and wear and tear dramatically reduced, as “high speed” is “on demand” instead of being always engaged. Finally, the dual frequency system offers the ultimate in readability. Finally, for ultimate readability, the smallest fractions of time — 1/1,000th and 5/10,000 of a second — are displayed on a central hand that completes a full revolution around the dial a mind-boggling 20 times per second. And like the Mikrotimer Flying 1000, a special counter at 3 o’clock and a 5/10,000-of-a-second scale on the dial’s edge let you read this incredible measurement quickly and effortlessly.