Sunday, April 03, 2005

Tag Heuer SLR

The SLR Chronograph by TAG Heuer, exclusively designed for Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren owners.
The two logos – the TAG Heuer shield and the star of Mercedes-Benz – grace the black dial, which looks like a sports car dashboard. The two SLR “gill” patterns stamped at 3 o’clock pay homage to the car’s signature side-mounted exhausts, an echo of the 1950s SLRS. Another unique touch is the off-centred date counter at 7:30. Under the hood lies the peerless Calibre 36 automatic movement. Like the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren’s hand-built, supercharged 626-hp V8 engine, this is an exceptional source of power. The only 1/10 of a second automatic chronograph, beating at 36.000 alternances/, it is the standard-bearer of TAG Heuer’s watchmaking tradition. Yet it also represents an exciting new innovation, unique to the SLR Chronograph: the Calibre 36 has been specially outfitted by TAG Heuer watchmakers with a regulator that provides the TAG Heuer SLR’s dial the look and utility of a sports-car dashboard, with individual gauges for each function. All of which can be read simultaneously. Therefore it’s name: Calibre 36 Regulator

For reading the time, the hour hand has been shifted to the counter at 12 o'clock, while the hand at the center of the dial displays minutes and the counter at 9 o'clock displays seconds. For chronograph functions, the 6 o'clock counter displays hours, the 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock displays minutes and seconds sweep by on the central hand.

Another inspiration drawn from the prestigious sports car is the unique placement of the timepiece’s chronograph push buttons on the top of the fine-brushed stainless-steel case. This extraordinary ergonomic innovation – a first in the world of watchmaking – mirrors the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren’s unique steering wheel gearshift. Water resistant to 50 meters, the polished crown is adorned with the Mercedes-Benz logo, while the caseback is engraved with a limited edition number.

The SLR Chronograph is 14mm thick, with a diameter of 40 mm from 3 to 9 o’clock. Both sides of the sapphire crystal are treated with an anti-reflective coating. The dial is black and the stylish strap is in crocodile leather, with a folding, push-button buckle. Luminous markers give added visibility to the hands.


http://www.tagheuer.com

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